We hope you have been enjoying these warmer days and wish you a fantastic rest of your summer! As we approach the year ahead, we would like to look back on the 2022-2023 year, all the connections made, and the guidance provided.
Thank you for making 2022-2023
such a successful year for the Career Mentor Program! Continued support from wonderful mentors like you allows our program to keep helping students as they explore their career options and discover what their futures could look like.
The 2022-2023 academic year saw a return to in-person learning and on-campus services and required us to shift our lives and routines once again. Through all this, UM students worked incredibly hard and adapted once more in pursuit of their goals. We are so grateful for your time, patience, and kindness in helping to guide them along the way.
This past year has also been one of many transitions for the CMP, with the return to campus and transitioning between three program coordinators! Even with these changes, our office was able to coordinate 137 mentor matches! Students were curious about many occupations, with roles in Health Care and Mental Health receiving the most requests. Social Worker was the specific occupation that saw the most requests and student-mentor matches. Students shared that their primary focus in using the program was to narrow down career options, make decisions, and learn about the day-to-day in a specific field.
For most students planning their career journey, the process often begins with gaining knowledge and exposure to the job. We know that you offer a safe and receptive space for students to ask ‘real’ questions and that the experiences shared by mentors can be very reassuring for students. Thank you for your openness and for providing valuable guidance. Following mentor meetings, students expressed increased confidence, direction, and much gratitude. Many felt better positioned to pursue their goals.
Thank you for another great year!
Sincerely,
Chantal Bilodeau
Thank you to our CMP Student Staff
I would like to thank our wonderful student staff member, Mai Anh Dang, for supporting the CMP this past year. With the many transitions and three CMP coordinators, she was incredibly adaptable. Her consistent support and knowledge of the program kept things running smoothly.
Mentor Profile
This year we’d like to feature and appreciate our long-standing career mentor David Groff. David has been with a volunteer with the UM Career Mentor Program for over 22 years. As he transitions to retirement, we wish him all the best and thank him for the support and guidance he’s offered to students.
Get to know David Groff
School Social Worker at Pembina Trails
David has been a Social Worker for 40 years and a School Social Worker for 37 of them. He is also a graduate of the University of Manitoba from what was then the School of Social Work and is now known as the Faculty of Social Work.
Upon graduation, he worked in the child welfare system, which he found was a valuable learning experience as the work involved families, children, youth and the systems
surrounding them. The work involves understanding the public education system, formulating positive working relationships with school staff, knowledge of the community resources and working collaboratively with parents/ caregivers.
Over the years he has worked with teachers, school administrators, and parents/caregivers so that children/youth have success in their academic program.
As a School Social Worker, I am employed by a school division. We are referred to as School Clinicians. School Clinicians include the disciplines of School Social Work, School Psychology, Speech and Language Pathology, Occupational Therapy, and Physiotherapy. School clinicians work in a number of schools. We work collaboratively with classroom teachers, resource teachers, school counsellors, school administrators, and of course the parent/caregivers of students. We are also connected to the wider social service/medical community as we work with them to provide services to our students.
My approach to mentoring a student is to acquaint them to the profession. I feel that the 1 – 1 ½ hours that I can spend with them is to understand from them where they are in their journey, what brought them to me, explain the profession of Social Work and more specifically School Social Work, followed by answering their questions and giving them a tour of the school. I always do the connection with the student in a school so that they can see how School Social Work fits into the school. It is more real if the interview is in a school.
I love all questions from students. They range from wanting to find out about the role, the qualifications, how I spend my days, writing reports, salary. They often ask about volunteer opportunities, and I always suggest volunteering is a good way to see if working in social services is a good fit for them.
Having interests is huge in life. We all need to do things that we enjoy. I enjoy going for walks with my wife, spending time with friends and family, travelling, following the Jets, Bombers and Goldeyes, and all different types of music. I can enjoy the Symphony, the folk festival or an arena concert. I like to be outside in the summer, going to lakes, a round of golf or going for a bike ride, and I always have a book on the go.
What is something that people may not know about your role?
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As a School Social Worker, I am employed by a school division. We are referred to as School Clinicians. School Clinicians include the disciplines of School Social Work, School Psychology, Speech and Language Pathology, Occupational Therapy, and Physiotherapy. School clinicians work in a number of schools. We work collaboratively with classroom teachers, resource teachers, school counsellors, school administrators, and of course the parent/caregivers of students. We are also connected to the wider social service/medical community as we work with them to provide services to our students.
What is your approach to mentoring a student?
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My approach to mentoring a student is to acquaint them to the profession. I feel that the 1 – 1 ½ hours that I can spend with them is to understand from them where they are in their journey, what brought them to me, explain the profession of Social Work and more specifically School Social Work, followed by answering their questions and giving them a tour of the school. I always do the connection with the student in a school so that they can see how School Social Work fits into the school. It is more real if the interview is in a school.
What question do you like being asked by a student and why?
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I love all questions from students. They range from wanting to find out about the role, the qualifications, how I spend my days, writing reports, salary. They often ask about volunteer opportunities, and I always suggest volunteering is a good way to see if working in social services is a good fit for them.
What is a fun fact about yourself or an interest/hobby that you have outside of work?
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Having interests is huge in life. We all need to do things that we enjoy. I enjoy going for walks with my wife, spending time with friends and family, travelling, following the Jets, Bombers and Goldeyes, and all different types of music. I can enjoy the Symphony, the folk festival or an arena concert. I like to be outside in the summer, going to lakes, a round of golf or going for a bike ride, and I always have a book on the go.
What students had to say
“My mentor gave me many personal examples, and those from classmates in the industry. The most helpful piece of information was learning that there is a lot of demand in this field and that it wouldn't be hard for me to find work after getting my degree. I also learned that I'm not behind in my studies, as my mentor was in the same position I am in when she was in school. My meeting helped me feel more confident in my career path.” – University 1 student
“My career mentor said she knows many students that are in the same boat as me and it is normal to be at this spot at this time of my degree, which helped me feel more confident... Knowing that made me feel calmer. I also learned the steps and process to entering the profession - completing my degree, an internship and then passing an exam. I had no idea of all these steps, so that information was very helpful” – Faculty of Arts student
“Meeting with my Career Mentor made me feel more confident in my career path and helped clear up a lot of things that I was concerned about. The most helpful thing I learned was the pros/cons of working in a hospital/established practice versus owning your own private practice.” – Faculty of Science student
What’s new!
Introducing the Career, Community, and Experiential learning centre (CCELC)
The Career Services unit, which operates the Career Mentor Program, is now part of the new Career, Community & Experiential Learning Centre at UM. This dynamic unit has four committed teams that work cross functionally to elevate the student experience and expand connections within and outside the UM community: Career Services, Experiential Learning Partnerships, Student Life, and Community Engaged Learning.
Within UM’s current strategic plan, experiential learning and enhanced learning opportunities is a current pillar or priority, which includes the goal of establishing and promoting “a robust range of cocurricular EL opportunities on and off campus… that will enable students to develop competencies, achieve personal and career-related goals, and overcome barriers to engagement.” Community partners, including employers and other organizations, who wish to connect with students can now reach out directly to the Experiential Learning Partnerships office to explore a range of ways to engage: ELPartnerships@umanitoba.ca.
Additional mentoring
Indigenous Career Mentor Program
The Indigenous Career Mentor Program (ICMP) connects Indigenous students with Indigenous mentors for career guidance and industry information. In both the CMP and ICMP, students are connected with professionals in the community for informational interviews.
Onyx Initiative
This past year UM became an educational partner with the Onyx Initiative which offers a mentorship program for Black students enrolled in Canadian post-secondary institutions. Visit their website for more information.
UM Café: Ten Thousand Coffees
UM Café: Ten Thousand Coffees networking program is always recruiting UM Alumni to connect with students for coffee chats.
This newsletter is sent to all volunteer mentors within the Career Mentor Program. Please contact us at cmp@umanitoba.ca if you would like to unsubscribe, no longer wish to participate in the program or to provide us with any updates regarding your contact information.
