The Confluence | December 10th, 2018 | Exam Week Blues

Confluence YOUR OFFICIAL COLLEGE MAGAZINE

DECEMBER 10th, 2018

The

BEST OF 2018

LET ME BE YOUR SHADOW 06

FINN 08

EPHEMERAL 09

EXAM WEEK BLUES

CHAPBOOK RELEASE PARTY, IN REVIEW 10

It’s the Chief Damon Robinson Editor-in-Chief

It’s been a semester!

Hey guys, it’s me again. I’m glad to have met those this semester who have reached out. Thanks to all the readers who have taken the time out of their long days to pick up a copy of the Confluence. You guys are truly the greatest people to have ever existed on this Earth. Statistically proven.

I to take a moment to publically give my best wishes to the students who were effected in a house fire last month. Nearly everything was lost and it is a truly tragic thing to have happen near the end of the semester. To those who were effected, I urge you to remain strong in these hard times. You haven’t been given an easy road but you will show everyone what it takes to overcome adversity and succeed.

This semester has shown a lot of us who we are as students. The quizzes, long study sessions and the awkward moments when you walk past someone in the hallway and you have forgotten their name. All of it has shaped us to be who we are: extremely tired and ready for a Christmas break. I hope you guys take the opportunity to relax, and enjoy your time spent here for what it was. For some of you, this has been the last semester. To those, au revoir! You guys have made it. To others, I’ll see you in a bit.

Best wishes guys, I hope you take a well deserved break. We have major changes coming next semester, I hope you will enjoy it.

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Cheers.

Damon Robinson

Paige Riding

Harman Dandiwal

Editor-in-Chief, The Confluence

News Editor, The Confluence

Organizer, CNCSU

Here Comes the News Paige Riding News Editor

Fellow CNC patrons! Students of College of New Caledonia! Friends! Pals!

Hi! Thank you again for reading our humble little magazine. This is our last issue of the year. With final exams approaching, the strain students feel is at an all-time high. The race is almost done, so please try to finish strong.

I would like to take this opportunity to be cheesy. I want to thank my fellow union members for the past three-and-a-half months. Taking on the role of the News Editor was unexpected for me; with another job and a full-time school schedule, taking on another job seemed insane. And frankly, it was. I’m heading out of this semester with a respectable GPA, some money for next semester, and the most obnoxious black circles under my eyes… ever. Writing for various humanities courses, as well as for The Confluence, proved to be straining yet rewarding. I could not have done this without my teammates (and my undeniable competitiveness.)

My time at CNC ends in the spring. I thought I would be excited to move to university to finish my degree (which I absolutely am,) but it’s also a bit saddening that I will be leaving this community behind. My professors this semester were as challenging as they were helpful. My classmates inspired me, annoyed me, and helped me along. Like the little aliens say in Toy Story, “…I am eternally grateful.”

I will see you all in 2019. I hope your break from school alleviates some stress, (because, guess what! We get to do it all again next semester!). I hope the time with your family and friends charges your batteries. Pet your animals. Sleep in if you can. Make extra money at work. Most of all, please take care this holiday season.

Happy Holidays,

Submissions, inqueries and requests can be made to editor@cncsu.ca, in person at the CNCSU office room 1-303, or mailed to “The Confluence c/o CNCSU 3330-22nd Ave. Prince George, BC. V2N 1P8” All submissions are welcome, the authors of edited works used in the confluence receive a $20 cheque upon publication. Advertisement rates are available upon request.

ABOUT THE COVER Karm Shah is a student at the College of New Caledonia who has shown his skill in photography to the team over the last year. Mixing his passion for taking incredible photos as a freelancer with his studies shows his dedication to the craft.

Thanks Karm for taking the time to take the cover shot for this issue!

Karm Shah Student, Freelance Photographer

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The Confluence is produced biweekly at the CNCSU office on CNC’s Prince George campus

by Damon Robinson and Paige Riding.

CONTENTS LET ME BE YOUR SHADOW PAGE 6

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FINN PAGE 10

EPHEMERAL PAGE 14

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CHAPBOOK RELEASE PARTY IN REVIEW PAGE 14

LET ME BE YOUR SHADOW

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WRitten by: KATHLEEN STURT Here I am again for the fifth time enrolled in post-secondary school since I graduated high school. I surely thought that by this point in my life I would have my career figured out and settled into a life-long career.

However, that is not the case. I have bounced from different careers by researching my choices and thinking it is for me, spending thousands of dollars on the schooling, to getting that job, and after a few months finding out that it is not for me. What a waste of my time and money, and also a waste of my employer’s time. If I had the opportunity to get a feel for the job before spending thousands of dollars on the schooling for the jobs I finished school for, I honestly don’t think I would have registered for them and I would have continued to look at different options and career goals. I believe that job shadowing should be available for high school students and should be a mandatory part of the college and university application process for all programs.

Job shadowing would allow high school students, and even those just entering post-secondary school, an opportunity to view firsthand the day-to-day routine in the career field they are interested in. Job shadowing allows students to explore many aspects of the career and to see if it is a good fit for them (Butler, Jacquie).

“Many people want to have a certain career, and when they get there, they realize it is not what they thought it was,” Hannah said when asked if job shadowing should be in the school system (Wilkins, Hannah). Most students pick jobs based on how easy they think the career would be or how much money they will make from it. However, this shouldn’t be the deciding factor when picking a career. Before being allowed to apply for the medical lab assistant program at Thompson River’s University, I had to do a job shadow. However, I didn’t find this exact shadow to be sufficient as I was passed through four different sections of the lab quickly. I believe I

only spent a half hour to forty-five minutes in each section. The job shadowing I did, did not give me a full comprehension of the job. If the job shadowing were longer, even just for the day, I would not have applied to the program because I would have been able to see more of what the job involves. Unfortunately, I spent the money and once I got into the job, I found that it was not for me and I felt like I was stuck and had to get my money’s worth out of the education I paid for. The job was extremely stressful from the crazy demands and the toxic environment.

Bringing job shadowing into the school system would bring about many advantages: “…it would be beneficial because there would be less career-hopping which can lead to staff shortages in job fields, and increased student debts, and I believe it would have a positive effect on mental health as it would help decrease the number of people feeling stuck in jobs they dislike,” Chantal said (Bracey,

field and find that being a nurse or a doctor is not for them but say an x-ray technologist is more to their liking. Other advantages stated by both Chantal and Melissa would be fewer student loans, less job hopping, and the most significant advantage of all: less mental health issues that swim around people who hate their career choices.

However, there is no perfect solution for job shadowing, but there are ways around it. Many jobs would be challenging to shadow such as counseling. When asked if job shadowing should be allowed for all careers, Dana said “I am not sure that job shadowing would be that welcome in counseling sessions… most clients probably wouldn’t want that” (Hansen, Dana). She brings up a valid point that there are some career choices where job shadowing would not be available due to sensitive information discussed during sessions. Then she suggested the “Adventures in Healthcare”

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Chantal). Allowing students to spend up to a week shadowing a potential future employer would give the students a better insight into whether that chosen field is right for them.

Job shadowing would give students a much more realistic outlook on their chosen career through the dayto-day tasks and education required for that specific career, as well as understanding on what the students want and do not want in a career. Just because it brings in the big bucks, doesn’t always mean it is the right choice for them. Melissa noted, “I feel it would have encouraged a new passion, maybe something I might never have thought of or considered.

Something I would have wanted to do, instead of taking the nearest highest paying job” (Newell, Melissa).

Being able to shadow in the student’s chosen career could potentially open the doors for a new passion that the student never thought of initially (“Job Shadowing in High School”).

They may be interested in the medical

program that was introduced in 2016.

This four-day program showcased different career paths in the medical field to students in grade 10 and 11 through hands-on experience through the different aspects of health care as well as tours of the different health care facilities (“Adventures in Health Care”). A program like this for other careers, such as counseling that would be difficult to job shadow for would be highly beneficial for students and a great addition to the school system. Other disadvantages would include bad timing and choosing the wrong person to do the shadowing. Most employees do not want to shadow potential employees.

Having an employee who does not care about shadowing could lead to a lack of questions being answered.

Accordingly, bad habits could be introduced to the student, false pictures of the job being painted, and the student could be completely ignored. The timing could also pose as an issue for shadowing (Finn, par. 7). Many jobs do not have the same outcomes every day. Some days are slower than others. A student shadowing could potentially shadow on a day that happens to be very quiet, giving the student a false sense of the job. However, having the proper shadowing candidate who is more willing to answer all of the student’s questions would hopefully be more open to telling them about the crazy days as well.

Job shadowing should be a required part of the application process for all post-secondary programs and should also be available to high school students. If shadowing is not available for specific careers, then a program like the “Adventures in Healthcare” would be a welcoming asset. Finding your path is never easy, but job shadowing would undoubtedly help you along the way.

Poetry

FINN

By: Christine Force

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Soft, white, dirty bastard You don’t stop, you demand.

Take me. Take me.

Pushing me against the wall Touching me with your dull, white nails Leaving welts like fire burning Cold air blowing on sweaty skin You pull, tug, stop still, refuse to move Smelling the grass between my legs Tangling around me Until I let you go And you run…free Ignore me, I’m calling you Dirtier than before, exhausted You sleep. Leaving me alone.

EPHEMERAL

By: Madison Buckner

In an existence enveloped with maybes or never’s, Always and forever’s,

Let’s dance in the passion of ephemerality’s

Guaranteed for nothing more than a momentary bliss; Come, dear,

Feel my desire

Quieter, now, lest we startle the quagmire Are you ready, my love?

Take my hand; allow me to experience you

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Experiencing me

ChAPBOOK RELEASE PARTY

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IN REVIEW

WRitten by: PAIGE RIDING

The English 205 Creative Writing Poetry class held their annual Chapbook Release Party at Sonar Night Club on Monday, November 26th. The night was full of young poets presenting their hearts on stage through internal rhyme.

“The annual event is a fantastic opportunity for the students of the Creative Writing course to present their works outside of the classroom setting.”

The nightclub converted into a seating area around the stage. Its seats filled with the fellow students, faculty, and the families and friends of the poets.

Graham Pearce, the instructor of the course, sat in the front row, directly stage left, sipping his beer.

The smile of pride for his class never left his face.

Approximately forty people entered the dancefloorturned-seating area. As the lights went out and patrons continued to sip my overpriced drink, the opening act stepped onto the stage.

yanked on them with a solid grasp. Dennis Schreiner, an English professor at CNC, noted that his work was “thought-provoking.” It would be interesting to know if this young poet’s work on tragic death and internal pain is therapeutic or challenging to present in front of an audience.

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The shock value of the sex talk and the vulgarity throughout most of the night lost its luster. By the time the final poet finished her set, the number of times the theme of lust was covered throughout the Justin Madu, rising comedic talent in Prince night was innumerable. “Some people want just to George, opened the night with punchy jokes of swear to swear,” noted an attendee of the evening in self-deprecation and pop-culture. Despite joking that a follow-up interview. While poetry should continue the audience was not expecting a comedy act, theyto challenge one’s comfort zone, with poets conseemed to respond well to his material. Long buildtinuously building new boxes just to break through ups to some punchlines provided less payoff than them, there comes the point when profanity replaces perhaps expected. Other jokes about “tears hidden strong words rather than strengthening them. in a shower” and the like were met with roars. His stage presence was undeniable. His ability to hold an In sharp contrast, many of the students enrolled artsy crowd with relatable material is to be amended. in the class diverted from this trend and used huOverall, this comedian’s tongue-in-cheek presentamour and imagery. Mason Young notably got the tion was a great way to loosen up the audience on a crowd laughing. He announced that his inspiration rainy November evening. stemmed from the horror genre and anime. His work was gory, horrid, and hilarious in how With the crowd settled and ready for some iamunexpected his poems were. Christine Force’s use of bic pentameter, the first poet took to the small dramatic pausing during her witty poem titled stage. The acts included various students present“Silence” went over the head of many audience ing around three or four of their pieces from their members. chapbooks from the second-year course. Common motifs arose, especially of loneliness, heartache, By the end of the night, the audience left the and love. Other students touched on mental illness, venue with a small window of understanding of challenging its reigns on their lives through their each of the poets. The annual event is a fantastic words. Full of angst and rage at the world, the poets opportunity for the students of the Creative Writdid not hold back against the topics of their works. ing course to present their works outside of the Vicious attacks against internal and external conclassroom setting. With an exceptional venue, good flicts, the mind and the body, unrequited love, and drinks, and even better company, the Chapbook fate led to high emotions. Braiden Hink works not Release Party was overall a successful night. only tugged on the heartstrings of the audience but

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