Why Be a Career Peer Educator?

We’ve been very lucky at Career Services to have had a great group of volunteers around every year.  These volunteers, or “career peers” as we warmly refer to them, take care of some very important business for us – from advising students on resume and cover letter writing, to helping out with our many events, to facilitating and participating in ongoing professional development sessions, and much more.

It’s clear that we get a lot from our career peers.  But what do they get from their experience?  Four of our very own career peers volunteered to share some of the reasons that they got involved.

Becoming a Career Peer Educator was one of the biggest steps I took in my academic and professional career up to date. I have acquired a lot of useful skills that I can now apply both in class and when searching for jobs. As peer educators, we get a chance to work with a very diverse group of people who come from different places: fellow students, professional staff, faculty members, and employers. My engagement with Career Services has also helped me get my first co-op position, as well as diversify my university experience during the school year. I found my role as a Peer Educator to be very fulfilling, because it allowed me to help a lot of people overcome their anxieties and discover the talents that they did not necessarily know they had.

-Dasha Patrusheva, Career Peer Educator

One afternoon, I was skimming through my emails and the ones about applying for the peer education positions grabbed my attention. However, I questioned myself, thinking that I wouldn’t have time for a volunteer position. How would I manage my time to do two part-time jobs and studying full-time?  After receiving another email from a friend, saying that applying for the Career Peer Education program is a great opportunity to acquire new skills, job-relatedtrainings, etc., I finally decided to apply and felt fortunate to be accepted in this fantastic program which is all about learning, self-reflection, developing core competencies, networking, and helping other students to enhance their opportunities as well.

-Shabnam, Career Peer Coach

Itching to feel more in tune with my university and eager to showcase my previously withheld curiosity, I joined the Peer Educator program in my second year and got much of what I was looking for and more besides!  After a thorough training and a chance to assess my personalized  skills report, I found myself interacting with fellow students while in a leadership role, yet all the while taking from it just as much as I put in.  One academic year later, I feel as though I now have a much stronger grasp on my unique talents and capabilities…and I know how to put them to good use, too

-Awna Besan, Career Peer Educator

We also asked our volunteers why they thought that students should consider becoming Career Peers next year.

Not only are Career Peers provided training to help other students, but they can also find out more information about relevant resources and opportunities for their OWN career. Teaching and learning are lifelong skills that you will need to use no matter what career you decide to choose. So why not start the journey to pursue YOUR career goals, by becoming a Career Peer?

-Natasha Kwan, Career Peer Educator

If you are looking for an opportunity to become more engaged with SFU and learn outside of the classroom, consider becoming a Career Peer. Whether you like working independently or in a team setting, you will get a chance to put your talents to work, as well as work on improving your other skills. You will also get more confidence when applying for future jobs, doing presentations, and meeting new people. And, most importantly, you will be able to give back to your SFU community and help others.

-Dasha Patrusheva, Career Peer Educator

I would highly recommend the Peer Education Program to students that are looking for a rewarding volunteer position and a meaningful work experience.  It has helped me to realize my strengths, as well as the competencies that I needed to work on such as stress tolerance, time management, team-building, networking skills, etc. In summary, participating in this superb program as a Career Peer Educator and Coach has been beneficial for my future career and I’m planning to stay for another year.

-Shabnam, Career Peer Coach

A program that prioritizes and then develops the capabilities of each individualvolunteer is hard to come by. It’s definitely not one to miss.

-Awna Besan, Career Peer Educator

If you’re interested in applying to be a Career Peer Educator, read more here.