Reflecting on Careers Morning

Yesterday marked our annual Careers Morning for students in Grades 9-12. Throughout the morning, students were able to attend presentations led by Greenwood alumni or parents in professional fields. There was a whole range of sessions for students to join including medicine, fashion, entrepreneurship, law and more! 

To start off the morning, I attended Dr. Mark Palmert’s presentation which was focused on the field of Medicine. Mark is a Greenwood parent who has two kids who have graduated from Greenwood and one daughter who is currently in Grade 11 at the school. 

Mark was always interested in science research and was recommended to go into a program for medical research. He graduated from the Medical Scientist Training Program at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio with an MD and PhD. “You’ve got to understand, it’s a long path… but I didn’t see a problem with that,” says Mark in regards to his education. 

Mark began his career as a Paediatric Endocrinologist at Boston Children’s Hospital. In 2007, he moved to Toronto to join the Department of Paediatrics as Head of the Division of Endocrinology at SickKids Hospital. Mark chose to go into this specialty because he likes that “everything makes sense” and it’s a very “logical field.” 

After a while in that role, Mark became the Chair of Paediatrics at SickKids. He now spends his time in the hospital doing administrative and clinical work and conducting research. In the clinic, he spends his time working with kids with diabetes, working with hormones and working in transgender care. 

The second presentation I attended was focused on Entrepreneurship. This session was led by Greenwood alumni Eric Mckinnon ‘06, Adam Lewis ‘11, and Gabrielle Johnson ‘14. All three presenters have had very different paths and experiences that have led them to where they are today.

Eric McKinnon is a graduate of the University of British Columbia and also studied at Emily Carr specializing in fine art and art history. After graduating from university, Eric went on to work for the Peggy Guggenheim Museum in Venice, Italy and then the parent organization the Solomon R. Guggenheim in New York City.

After spending time in New York, Eric knew he wanted to move back to Toronto but he was having a hard time finding a job. After finally being fed up, Eric decided to start his own art gallery in Toronto called Broken Cage Gallery. He always looked at art galleries as intimidating so he wanted to make his a more fun experience and inclusive for everyone.

Starting on a different path, Adam Lewis attended Dalhousie University for Commerce. When he graduated he went straight into working in the corporate world. Adam realized he was unhappy with the path he took and wanted to change things up. “Entrepreneurship isn't really something you teach in the classroom or out of a textbook,” says Adam. He decided to take a risk and began his own pre-packaged coffee business called Drink MIURA.

In Grade 11, Gabrielle Johnson was taking a lot of math and science courses and realized they weren’t topics she was interested in pursuing. Gabrielle was always passionate about the Arts and decided to take more art courses in her Grade 12 year. After graduating Greenwood, Gabrielle attended Mount Allison University in New Brunswick to obtain a bachelor in Fine Arts. Her entrepreneurial habits began at school where she started a photography business taking pictures for graduate students. 

After graduating university, Gabrielle wasn’t sure what she wanted to do with her life. She landed a couple of jobs as an artist but realized she would run things differently if she had her own art studio. To fulfill that dream, Gabrielle eventually started her own art studio in the east end of Toronto called The Make Station.

Careers Morning was a very informative and engaging experience. I learned a lot about the two fields that I’m interested in pursuing in the future. Although the pandemic posed a barrier to the typical Careers Morning event format, it was a great virtual experience. One piece of advice that really stuck with me was from Adam Lewis: “You don’t learn from your successes, you only learn from your failures.”