Much like choosing what program to study at a university, picking a career is no easy task. That’s why Daniel Gao, Julianne Jay, Vinny Sharma and Natasha Lam, all first-year students at the University of Toronto Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education (KPE), decided to come to KPE’s annual Career Café event to start their planning early.
First year kinesiology students Daniel Gao, Julianne Jay, Vinny Sharma and Natasha Lam enjoy a bite before the start of the Career Café presentations.
Presented by the KPE Undergraduate Association (KPEUA) and KINections, the Faculty’s student engagement program that helps students connect and get involved beyond the classroom, the Career Café gives students an opportunity to connect with alumni and get advice on how to turn their degree into a career.
“I’m really interested in physiotherapy, so I decided to come out tonight to make some connections and maybe learn something new,” said Gao.
Jay said she wasn’t completely sure what she wanted to do after graduation, but was hoping the event would give her an idea about some of the careers pursued by alumni and the steps they took to get there.
“I’m still unsure about what I want to do when I graduate,” said Sharma, “so this might help me narrow it down.”
“I heard people typically go into physiotherapy or personal training after their BKIN, but I saw there would be a paralegal presenting and I was intrigued. I didn’t know you could do that with a KIN degree,” said Lam.
In fact, there are many things you can do with a kinesiology degree, as the alumni presenters made clear.
Anthony de Giorgio completed his bachelor of physical health and education (BPHE) in 2011 and a bachelor of education from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) in 2012. There weren’t too many teaching jobs available at the time, so de Giorgio and his wife decided to go abroad, spending a couple of years teaching in Kuwait, followed by two more years of teaching in the Bahamas.
When they returned to Toronto, de Giorgio enrolled in the Faculty’s master of professional kinesiology (MPK) program and after graduating landed a job teaching sport science and physical education to grades 11 through 12 in Upper Canada College (UCC).
“My U of T degree, the breadth of my kinesiology education, is what distinguished me for the job,” he said.
Alessandra Marrone completed a bachelor of kinesiology in 2020, at the start of the pandemic. It was hard to get much practice with the city in lock down mode, so she decided to get a paralegal certificate from Centennial College. She is now working as a licensed paralegal at Neinstein LLP, a medical malpractice firm in Toronto.
“It may sound like my work is not directly related to my kinesiology degree, but so much of what I learned in my BKin are skills I can apply to my job today,” said Marrone, who had especially fond memories of the in-field learning she experienced as an undergraduate student.
“I learned so many soft skills through my placements.”
Vanessa Treasure completed her bachelor of kinesiology in 2015. She is also a Varsity Blues alum, having competed on the U of T swim team as a student. Treasure said she always “kept her toes in the water” at U of T, working at the pool as a student and later facilitating barre fitness classes through the Faculty’s Sport and Recreation program. She found she enjoyed coaching so much, she went on to become a manager at F45, a popular boutique fitness studio. When a manager’s position opened up at the Sport and Rec fitness and performance program, she applied and got the job.
“I always chased work I enjoyed, so keep looking for what gives you joy,” said Treasure. “I enjoy physical activity so much and I’m compelled to share that feeling with others.”
She shared another tip with the students: “I said yes to many things and I got involved in many things. This helped me meet people who helped me down the road."
Treasure has since become the director of fitness, wellness and recreation at Hart House.
JD Rios completed his bachelor of kinesiology in 2017, obtained his master of professional kinesiology in 2020 and trained to become a clinical exercise physiologist.
While working the phonelines for the Peel Regional Police (PRP), he shared with his supervisor his education and training, so when the opportunity presented itself to develop exercise training programs for them, he was the right person at the right place with the best qualifications.
“Your U of T education really puts you at an advantage,” he said.
Rios also administers occupational fitness testing for the PRP, creates service-wide employee fitness challenges and lectures on performance nutrition and exercise training principles.
The students also heard from the following alumni: Peter Shipley, a retired member of the Ontario Provincial Police, currently serving as assistant director at the U of T Campus Safety service and teaching at Georgian College; Hillary Malinger, a registered physiotherapist looking after Team Canada’s indoor women’s volleyball team and co-owner of the Cadence physiotherapy clinic; and Marcus Mazzucco, a lawyer for the Ontario Ministry of Health and sessional instructor at KPE delivering courses about global sports law and legal aspects of sport, recreation and kinesiology.
Following the presentations, students had the opportunity to network with the presenters and get a free professional headshot. Asked for his impressions of the event, Gao said it was a great first experience at a university networking event.
“I had the opportunity to talk to someone in the physiotherapy field and hear about their personal experiences for which I am very grateful,” he said, adding that he was surprised by the breath of careers a bachelor of kinesiology can lead to – from physiotherapists to paralegals. “It’s encouraged me to keep an open mind about my future career.”
He also took to heart the advice all presenters had for the students coming behind them, to follow their passion.
Jay was similarly impressed by the breadth of career options available to kinesiology graduates.
“I’ve been stressed for a while now trying to decide what I want to be, but this reassured me that I have time and options to decide my career path,” she said.
This event was sponsored by U of T affinity partner, TD Insurance.