The INDEV program at the University of Waterloo is responsible for fostering a passion within me for helping others and has led me to where I am in my career today. My practicum placement, in the 4th year of the program, was with an organization called Sustainable Rural Development in Hanoi, Vietnam. While I was in Vietnam, Typhoon Haiyan landed in the nearby Philippines, and its effects felt very close to home. The basement of the home I was living in flooded. I decided to take some time off from my placement, fly to the Philippines, and volunteer in the recovery efforts with an organization called “All Hands and Hearts”.
While there, I was able to help repair a local hospital and connect with local people to assess their immediate needs. The experience generated a passion in me to help with disaster response and recovery work. It was my ”lightbulb moment” when I realized that I wanted to help people in times of disaster. After graduating from the International Development program, I decided to peruse my Master’s degree in Disaster and Emergency Management from Royal Roads University in Victoria, British Columbia.
Shortly before graduating from Royal Roads, I enrolled as a volunteer with the Canadian Red Cross hoping to build upon my practical experience in Emergency Management. This connection with the Canadian Red Cross lead me to my first job in the field; a case worker in Fort McMurray. I was responsible for assessing the needs of those impacted by the 2016 Fort McMurray fires and providing financial assistance and referrals to other organizations. This position then lead me to my current job of Emergency Management Coordinator in Winnipeg with the Canadian Red Cross. This role requires engaging with local volunteers to prepare them for responding to disasters. I am also responsible for developing disaster response procedures for the team and playing a leadership role when disasters strike. Within this role, I have been deployed to British Columbia and North Carolina, as well as many places in Manitoba, to support disaster response operations – not to mention COVID-related operations since the pandemic! My future goal is to travel internationally with the Red Cross and keep developing my disaster response expertise. The International Development program paved the way for me to achieve this goal, and I would not be where I am today without the knowledge and experience I gained while in the program.
Learn more about the International Development undergraduate program.