As a young boy, growing up in Miramichi, New Brunswick, I was always interested in technology, however, I was intimidated
by the amount of information available online. I also loved to build things. Thus, over time, began my interest in engineering.
Unsure as to which field of engineering I was most interested in, I decided to participate in a Rotary Youth Exchange to broaden
my horizons academically, linguistically and culturally. My exchange took me to Belgium where I was completely immersed in Belgian
culture. I spoke French 24/7, lived with various host families and because of this was able to experience life from a new perspective
which provided many exciting opportunities.
One of the many opportunities afforded to me was the ability to travel throughout Belgium and Europe. During my exchange year, I was
able to visit eight different countries outside of Belgium. Because of the amount of time that I spent on trains and busses, I was able
to think about what I wanted to do with my life and what direction I would take. I knew I wanted to be an engineer before I left for my
exchange, but my experiences abroad made me realize that my passion was Software Engineering. I missed working with technology. This exchange
gave me the opportunity to grow as a person and allowed me to find my "purpose".
I returned from my Rotary Youth Exchange in Belgium to Miramichi, New Brunswick in July 2019. There, I worked for Discover Miramichi, a local tourism company, as a Social Media Manager. This job involved travelling around the Miramichi region and various parts of New Brunswick to take photos and videos of tourist destinations and then promote these, in English and in French, on the Discover Miramichi social pages. During this time, I was also preparing to enter Software Engineering that Fall at Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario.
Growing up in a small town in New Brunswick and moving to Ottawa, Ontario was certainly a big change. I had travelled to large cities before, and I had loved them. However, I felt at home living in a city so much larger than Miramichi. By comparison, the population of Carleton University was more than twice the size of my hometown.
At first, I found the transition of high school to university a bit of a challenge, but what new university student does not? I enrolled in the required courses so I would be exposed to all elements of engineering to ensure that my interest in Software Engineering was the path I would follow. By second term, when I began the course, Software Development and Mechatronics, I knew I had found my place. This is what I want to do!
Due to the COVID pandemic, I had to finish my year back home in Miramichi, isolated in my house with my brother, mother, and father. I passed all my courses with a very good understanding of the concepts, solid marks, and a love of technology, cementing the idea of me becoming a Software Engineer.
After completing my second year at Carleton University, I was eligible to participate in a required four-month co-op term required for my degree. From May
to August 2021, I was able to secure a Data Analyst position at Global Affairs Canada, a branch of the Canadian government that manages international relations,
trade and financial aide. I was specifically collaborating with the financial aide portion.
During my time with Global Affairs Canada, I was tasked with developing a way to analyze and determine how much money was being spent in various portions of the
budgets collectively. As a result, I became very proficient in IBM Cognos and Excel. And, due to my French background in Belgium, I was able to use it as well to
develop this tool.
During this co-op I was able to experience how professional and government workplaces function. I am incredibly grateful to have been given the opportunity to
work with Global Affairs Canada.
Upon the conclusion of my first co-op term, I returned to my studies and quickly realized that I enjoyed the professional atmosphere and how professionals learn
more than being in a classroom. While I enjoyed learning new skills academically, I wanted to return to the professional world as quickly as I could.
Following my Fall semester 2021, I was again eligible for co-op. This time the co-op term was 12 months and I had the option to split it into three different co-op
placements or one large one. In January 2022, I began an eight-month co-op term with IBM as an Automation and Test Developer.
I thoroughly enjoyed this placement and requested to extend my placement to twelve months. During my time at IBM, I was able to switch from the role of Automation and
Test Developer to Software Developer. In this position I used technologies like NodeJS and Jenkins, and with them transformed the testing suite for Planning Analytics,
a sister software similar to Cognos, not only making it much more efficient, but also increasing the coverage by almost 300%.
This co-op placement educated me on how a large private technology company operates. This placement reinforced my choice to study Software Engineering.
Outside of school and co-op placements, I enjoy spending time with family and friends as they are a large reason I am where I am today. I still enjoy travelling, but I have not gotten the chance to do much of it as I have been focused on my degree. Also, I am a Level IV referee, there is only one level higher which is the credential NHL referees must possess. During the hockey season, from September to April, I referee Junior Hockey, 16-21 year olds, on the weekends and during school breaks. I get a lot of enjoyment out of being a referee as I received two concussions from hockey when I was younger, and refereeing keeps me involved in the sport.
I am now enrolled in my final year of Software Engineering at Carleton University and have begun my fourth-year capstone engineering project. I am excited and a little bit nervous as to where my life will go when I graduate, but I am certain that becoming a Software Engineer is leading me in the right direction. Becoming a Software Engineer is certainly one of the best choices I have made.
