Join us for this term’s Careers for English Majors event!
Hear English alumni working in a variety of sectors talk about how they got into their current career and advice they have for students thinking about the job market. An opportunity for small-group conversations with breakout rooms will follow the panel. The event will be catered so bring your appetite!
Alumni Guests
Galen Naidoo Harris (BA ’19, Honours Rhetoric, Media & Professional Communications)
Galen currently works at Wilfred Laurier University as a Government and Community Relations officer. Before starting his journey at Laurier, Galen worked as a Manager of Community Affairs and before then, a Social Media Developer at the Cognitive & Interpersonal Therapy Centre. Galen has and continues to demonstrate professional skills in Marketing, Communications, social media, and Writing Positions in federal governments as well as not-for-profits.
Samantha King (BA ’11, Honours English Literature and Rhetoric)
Currently the Manager, Business Intelligence for Canadian Retirement, Samantha has held a number of roles over her decade-long tenure with Manulife, all of which have focused on people, processes, and data. Blending her empathetic leadership style with a keen ability to explain complex technical concepts, Samantha leverages her skill at storytelling to obtain buy-in and drive engagement from her team members, stakeholders, and customers alike. Outside of her day job, Samantha enjoys volunteering, working with a number of organizations as a board executive, committee member, and event volunteer.
Gaurav Pokharel (BA ’12, Honours Rhetoric & Professional Writing (Co-op))
Gaurav brings 10 years of experience in the executive recruitment industry, having supported global, national, and boutique search firms. He currently works at Massey Henry supporting the sourcing and assessment of senior candidates as well as leads the development of communications related to the recruitment process. Before becoming a Senior Consultant at Massey Henry, Gaurav worked as a Marketing and Communications Lead in Litigation Practice for McCarthy Tetrault. Gaurav also volunteers as a Mentor for several initiatives, including Skills for Change, a not-for-profit organization that provides new Canadian immigrants with a broad range of employment services.
Olivia Vanderwal (BA '15, Honours English Literature)
Olivia graduated from the University of Waterloo in 2015 with a BA in English Literature. Shortly after, she completed her MA in the same field at the University of Ottawa. She worked in social media and digital communications in the non-profit sector for four years and has recently started a position back at Waterloo as a Digital Communications Specialist in the Faculty of Arts.
Scott Wahl (BA ’95, Honours English (Co-op))
Scott credits UW Co-op Program for launching his 25-year career in tech. He got his start in technical communications and online information systems. Since then he has led a range of teams and functions, including product localization, product management, professional services, and operations Scott is currently Vice President of Product Operations at PointClickCare, a leading healthcare technology provider. Prior to PointClickCare, Scott was Vice President in Global Software at Dematic, where he was responsible for software strategy, product management and project engineering. He also worked at BlackBerry as the Vice President for Software Services from 2008 to 2014. Outside of work, Scott likes to run, read and travel.