Continuing education, perfect for a U-turn
Many students are finding their true callings through classes for new careers
If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. If at first you don’t succeed at finding what you love to do, take continuing education. Coneli Camayang and Sharon Johnston are among many students who have found their true calling by taking that very approach.
In 2011, Camayang was working for one of the big U.S. banks in Toronto when she started taking part-time courses at George Brown College, working towards a fashion styling certificate. The program was a runway to a new career: Since she graduated in 2013, Camayang has been a full-time stylist with Judy Inc.
“I had a passion for fashion at an early age, but it didn’t seem practical,” she explains, noting she took a business undergrad in university. Now she’s traded a banker’s life for work on sets for TV, commercials and photo shoots — not to mention the occasional runway show.
Johnston, meanwhile, juggles several responsibilities.
She operates a horse-training centre outside Waterloo, Ont., and also happens to be the viceregal consort of Canada — the wife of Gov. Gen. David Johnston.
Yet taking creative writing at Humber College paved the way for her debut novel, Matrons and Madams, published last year — with second and third books of the trilogy in the works. After a one-week class, Johnston enrolled in a correspondence course to earn her postgraduate certificate in creative writing, which pairs students with an established mentor. She worked with Joseph Kertes, the founder of Humber’s creative writing and comedy programs.
The story they shaped over eight months became her debut novel. She credits Kertes for teaching her the discipline to “show and don’t tell” in her writing, and how to take criticism and use it to her advantage.
“Humber shaped me into a writer,” she says.
Kertes, an award-winning novelist and also the college’s former dean of creative and performing arts, says continuing their education in the arts allows students to follow, or at least dabble in, their dreams.
“We have a lot of students who wanted to follow their hearts, and their parents told them not to,” he explains. “They are like children when they come back to our programs.”
In Humber’s comedy program, it’s the class clowns who get the best marks.
“We can’t teach you to be funny, we can teach you to be funnier,” Kertes explains, adding that the goal is to turn “funny thoughts” into a refined routine or screenplay.
Thanks to platforms like YouTube, the whole world’s a potential stage for graduates.
George Brown grad Rob Morrison, 26, is another example of reinvention. He took the school’s construction project management and con- struction estimating certificates. After acquiring his university business degree, he worked in the financial sector, but it didn’t suit his “handson personality.” Today, he’s a project manager for New Empire Design/ Build Contractors Ltd.
Known to be a numbers wizard, the most vital thing George Brown taught him was how to read blueprints and architectural drawings.
“A lot of people in my class were straight off the job site,” including labourers, site supervisors and carpenters, he explains.
“I benefited from collaboration. You can make connections that end up securing you a job.”
Camayang views continuing education as a safe, baby step toward making a career switch.
“If you have a passion in a subject, I say educate yourself on it — whether you want it to be a career or not,” she explains. “Rather than quit your job and try to move into that industry, it’s a helpful transition phase.”
In special cases, the lessons continue long after the course credit. Kertes is still serving as Johnston’s mentor and pro-bono consultant on her second book.
“Joe taught me how to write,” she says, “now he just has to steady me sometimes.”
“I benefited from collaboration. You can make connections that end up securing you a job.” ROB MORRISON GRADUATE OF GEORGE BROWN COLLEGE