*NOTE: since I applied the application has changed slightly, but this is a good basis. Once the application is released this year, I will update accordingly.*
Deck Supervisor: 496
I have been an employee of the Town of Oakville (Town) since 2015, first employed as an Instructor and Lifeguard. I was later promoted to positions of increasing responsibility, working as a Relief Supervisor and Full Supervisor in the summer of 2017 and 2018 respectively, one of the youngest Town employees in these roles.
As Deck Supervisor I am the Acting Manager in the absence of the Pool Coordinator. As Manager I am responsible for the supervision of staff, operations of the pool and overseeing the safety of the patrons. I have full responsibility for the enforcement of all Ontario Pool Regulations and Town policies to ensure a safe environment. I must work to create a supportive team environment, where staff work cohesively and work is shared fairly. There are a variety of swim programs for which I am responsible including Recreational Swims and Lessons.
During recreational swims I am required to oversee staff and ensure they are aware of patron safety at all times by enforcing rules and communicating clear guidelines. To supervise effectively it is necessary for me to be on deck as much as possible to support staff as well as proactively working to fix situations that may emerge. I am also there to ensure that the Town is always being represented to the highest standard.
During lessons, I am required to consistently support instructors and organize classes to ensure that Town programs are delivered at the same high standard as recreational swims. Supporting instructors requires me to monitor my employees and ensure they are following the lesson requirements to the best of their abilities. I assist instructors in dealing with any children they may be struggling to teach as well as acting as the liaison with parents, addressing any concerns they may have. I evaluate the work of the aquatic staff throughout the term, providing input into the formal written evaluations of staff.
This position also requires me to respond to medical emergencies following guidelines and standards outlined by the Canadian Lifesaving Society. During my time with the Town, I have dealt successfully with a variety of incidents ranging from mild neurotrauma injuries to minor body lacerations. I am required to recertify my Standard First Aid (SFA), CPR ‘C’ and National Lifeguard (NL) every two years. Over the years however I have developed a real passion for first aid, driving me to also expand my qualifications so I am now certified to teach and examine both SFA and NL.
As Deck Supervisor, I serve as the connection between Senior Management of the Recreation & Culture Department and facility patrons. I deal with a variety of challenging circumstances and am constantly problem solving by making compromises and judgement calls, both integral parts of the job. Interacting with members of the public has also improved my ability to engage with people in a professional and friendly manner at all times. Overall, the skills I have aquired will prepare me for future careers, school, and life.
SWAM London: 500
S.W.A.M. (Swimming with a Mission) London is a club that I have been involved in since my first year at Western. S.W.A.M. is a Western club and a non-profit student run organization that provides one-on-one swimming lessons to those with special needs, affordably. I have taught with S.W.A.M. as a full-time instructor since 2017 and have had the pleasure of working with the same boy throughout my time. My participant’s name is Jack, a 13 year old boy with non-verbal autism to whom I have taught over 20 lessons. As a new lifeguard one of the swim sessions that I worked on regularly was ‘Swim Your Way’ (SYW), a swim only open to families with a child with special needs. This was one of my favorite shifts as I began to get to know the families and realize the benefits of those with special needs being able to swim. Many individuals are unable to do activities independently, but at swimming was an exception. They were free in the water and seeing the joy they got from swimming brought me joy too. I wanted to assist more children and families looking for that sense of freedom, the main driver for me to get involved with S.W.A.M.
A large part of the S.W.A.M. program is getting to know your child and forming a relationship with them and their parents. This is crucial to create a personalized program for that child and work on what they hope to improve as well as accommodate for their limitations. For Jack specifically his parents expressed that they wanted him to learn front crawl as well as improve his kicking on his back. In working on his front crawl I had to use my prior knowledge of teaching and adapt it for Jack. This required me to use my intuition as I had no prior training in working working with someone with these specific abilities. I started by first moving his arms until he created enough understanding for me just to tap his arms, and him to understand. I then was able to help him associate words to the action of moving his arms. This process is ongoing and takes constant reinforcement but slowly Jack is understanding the pattern of front crawl and is become more and more independent every lesson.
The connection that me and Jack have made is one that I will treasure and helped me throughout the process of teaching him. Working with Jack requires a lot of patience and attention to detail in order to be consistent from one week to the next. I have had positive feedback from Jack’s parents about his progress and obvious desire to return every week showing his own feedback. Jack’s mother has approached me about becoming a mentor and nanny for him much like the ‘big sister’ program. I welcome this opportunity to test and develop my skills in this area.
Manager of Voter Engagement and Governance Officer: 499
During my first year, I had the pleasure of being the Get Out the Vote Campaign Commissioner on the 2017-2018 Committee. This position required me to lead the Marketing and Logistics Sub-committee (MLC) in designing a plan for marketing the election to increase student voter turnout. This year am I back on the Elections Committee, serving on both the MLC and the Elections Governance Committee (EGC).
As the Manager of Voter Engagement I am responsible for overseeing and leading the MLC in creating a marketing plan to increase voter engagement. Our current projects include a video encouraging students to nominate themselves as candidates for the elections. This video was an idea that I came up with based around the idea of ‘in public’ videos and taking inspiration from Western TV and alike channels. For this video, we placed ourselves on Concrete Beach and talked to students about elections and the University Student Council (USC). Although this video intends to be informative, we believe that the best way to engage students is by making them laugh. Additionally, we’re planning a video of the same format to release during voting hoping to increase voter turnout. This video hopes to engage students by using comedy and hopefully gaining traction across social media platforms. I feature in both of these promotional videos as the host, asking students questions. With all of these efforts we hope to improve voter turnout in pursuit of a more democratic election and USC.
As well as my role as Manager of Voter Engagement, I also hold the position of Governance Officer on the EGC, managing how the elections are run. The student body and its reporting entities have been critical of the EGC and this year the we face an interesting challenge due to a by-law change which required a change in the system we use to penalize infractions committed. We are the first committee dealing with this change, requiring us to redesign and communicate a new rules and discipline matrix with little previous guidance. This process has proved to be a long and hard one, requiring many hours of work and a lot of collaboration amongst the seven members of the EGC to design a new system that is transparent, seen as fair by the students, and that will be a lasting legacy for future elections. Our abilities to communicate, compromise and work together have been tested and improved during this process.
As a requirement of both of my positions on the EGC and MLC I am required to attend all events relating to the election as well as make time between my class hours to assist in managing the elections booth, running all January and the beginning of February. I typically spend 6-8 hours at the booth every week in addition to the time spent at election events, meetings as well as the personal time that I dedicate. From January 7 to February 8th I am expected to spend 10-15 hours a week dedicated to elections.
Accommodations: 226
At the age of six, I was diagnosed with dyslexia (as it was referred to at the time), exposing my struggle with reading and writing. I was tested again in grade 12 by a psychologist, who reaffirmed my issue, specifically outlining reading comprehension as a problem area in which I scored in the 9th percentile. This disability means I can either read accurately or fast but not both, having an effect on my ability to read textbooks and write exams. In addition, she identified anxious tendencies which can arise during tests and exams or particularly difficult times.
International Experience
2016
Worked in England on an unpaid internship and job shadowing in the London Insurance market
Shadowed many different areas of the business, with a focus on aviation and space insurance
I performed the annual lay-up’s for a client of Willis Towers Watson that has planes all across north america
Working in a variety of positions including broking, underwriting and risk management
2019
I plan to return to England for 2 months this upcoming summer and work in a paid position in the London aviation insurance market, where I hope to start my career after graduation
Awards
Principal’s Award for Student Leadership
Received during my Grade 12 commencement from Etobicoke School of the Arts
Achieved through my work in student government, event planning, academic excellence, involvement across a variety of the arts, as well as my influence and leadership both inside and outside the classroom
One of the three large, non-academic awards given out at the commencement
S.W.A.M. Partners of the Week
Me and my partner Jack received this award for our work together and the progress and connection that we made as partners at S.W.A.M.
This award was presented to me, not just for my work with Jack, but for my help and enthusiasm with S.W.A.M.
Extra Mile Award
Presented to me by the Bronte Pool coordinator for my work as Deck Supervisor in the summer of 2018
Received due to my hard and effective work with staff cohesion and pool management, going above and beyond the requirements of my job
JOMA Photography: 1
Owner and founder of JOMA Photography, my personal photography business
Based on the knowledge I learnt from photography class at my Arts high school I was able to translate my photography style and aesthetic into event photography
Worked multiple photography jobs for a variety of ages and events requiring me to adapt accordingly
Responsible for all operations and communications of the business
Leadership Instructor: 2
Working as a lifeguard I developed a real passion for first aid and recently expanded my qualifications so I am able to instruct and examine both the National Lifeguard (NL) and Standard First Aid (SFA) qualifications
Responsible for the instruction and examination of all requirements outlined by the Lifesaving Society
Strong leadership skills are needed in this position as there is huge responsibility involved when certifying someone in the NL and SFA qualifications as they will be responsible for protecting lives
These classes consist of up to 16 participants typically aged 14-18, so class control and organization is essential while teaching
Referee: 3
One of few female referees in the Golden Horseshoe Soccer League, a regional league for elite-level youth players, drawing on skills including:
Split second decision-making where you must trust your instincts and training
Ability to defuse a situation from getting further out of hand and demonstrate effective leadership skills
Dealing with players, coaches and spectators of all ages, including the ability to talk people down in heated situations and maintain control of the game
Have been a referee since the age of 13, making this upcoming summer my seventh
First Year Coordinator Purple Spur Executive: 4
In 2018 I regained a position on the Purple Spur Executive as First Year Coordinator, a highly coveted second year position
I have responsibility for reviewing all first year applications and selecting individuals for interviewing. Also responsible for interviewing and selecting the first year applicants to be on the Executive Team
I act as a mentor and leader for the first year students, making them feel welcome on our Executive family and well as guiding them through their tasks as first year executives
Hip-Hop Western: Advanced Recreational Team: 5
Member of the Advanced Recreational Team run by Hip-Hop Western
A high level of commitment is required in order to ensure were able to learn and perform choreography in time for our showcase. The commitment requirement is rising this semester in order for us to adequately be prepared for our final showcase, with hour and a half practice every week
Requires being able to pick up choreography quickly and effective so you are able to work with the other dancers to ensure a cohesive piece
Many late nights are dedicated to rehearsals as well as practicing outside of set rehearsal times to ensure total competence of the choreography
Band: Sea Monkeys: 6
An active member of a Pop-Rock 4 person ensemble as the bass player
Responsible for writing and recording my own original song with the help of our Manager, a very talented musician as well as learning of performing 2 other songs
Requires strong collaboration skills to ensure cohesion and happiness among the members of the group, as well as time management and commitment to excellence
Get out the Vote Commissioner: 7
Required to lead the Marketing and Logistics Sub-committee in designing a plan for marketing the election
Commitment to attend all meetings as well as all events involving elections, often multiple times a week
Created a marketing plan, including events, promotional material, and plan of action for the nomination, pledge to vote, voting and results periods
Featured in a promotional video to encourage voting amongst the student population
Dance Force Advanced Recreational II Participant: 8
Active member of Dance Force’s Advanced Recreation II Team
Requires a strong ability to pick up and retain choreography in short periods of time, for the long-term
Due to the limited time we have to learn dances, it is crucial to the integrity of the team that you attend all practices to ensure you are adequately prepared and that there is cohesion within the team
Purple Spur Fashion Show: Model: 9
Active model for the Purple Spur Fashion Show 2019, a charitable event which in 2018 raised $25, 000
This year the show will be donating all proceeds to Jack.org, a mental health organization which aims to revolutionize the way this generation thinks about and tackles mental health
Weekly commitment to scene rehearsals as well as additional photoshoots and rehearsals leading up to the show
Model in the promotional photo and video shoot requiring me to work with the directors, photographers and other models to ensure we create the best promotional material possible
Intramural Soccer Participant: 10
Participant on a Co-ed Intramural soccer team for Fall of 2018, making it into playoff rounds
Required a high-level of commitment due to regulations requiring a certain number of girls on the pitch at all times
Required teamwork and cohesion in order to ensure the success of the team
Nannying: 11
Working with a 10-year-old girl and 13-year-old boy as a nanny while their parents were in Europe
Required a great deal of time organization and driving to ensure both children were accounted for and where they needed to be, including early morning swim practices
Responsibility and management over the children, the family pet and the house to ensure all of these things were taken care of to the best of my ability
First Year Purple Spur Executive: 12
Participation in the organization and planning of charitable events for Spur
Won an event contest among the first years and then went on to plan the event with a fellow first year required me to display cohesion and teamwork as well as effective and logistical planning
Won First Year Exec of the year through my commitment to the club
First-year Orientation Leader: 13
Worked with a team to produce a Karaoke Night taking place during the first week of January at Ontario Hall Residence
Required commitment to weekly meetings among our committee to discuss planning and logistics for the event, demanding teamwork and timeliness
Created a promotional poster for the Karaoke Night to be displayed across the residence
Published in Successful College Essays, Successful Western Ivey Essays
