What was your most memorable experience at GCM?
How did GCM help you get to where you are in your career? The neat thing about the GCM program is that you get to take a wide variety of courses. Doing so helps you get a better understanding of the different fields that make up the graphic arts industry and allows you to explore the areas you are interested or excel in.
My most memorable experience was being involved with different extra-curricular clubs at GCM, specifically RyeTAGA and RyePack. I will always remember the long nights of working on the RyeTAGA journal and projects for various RyePack packaging competitions. I am also grateful for the opportunities to travel throughout my undergrad. For example, I greatly enjoyed my trip to Germany to attend Drupa with fellow GCM students.
What makes you passionate about the packaging industry and about your role with Canadian Tire? It’s one area of the printing industry that is constantly growing and expanding. I’ve always loved packaging as it has many ties to the retail industry. This is why I was attracted to my current job as packaging specialist — I get to help develop the packaging for privately-owned Canadian Tire brands that appear on our shelves.
What do you find are the most enjoyable parts of being a packaging specialist? I work with a variety of different teams and products, not knowing what to expect next is always fun and exciting. It’s also very rewarding to see the products that I’ve worked on sitting on Canadian Tire shelves!
If you could name one lesson or piece of advice that led you to be where you are today what would that be? I would not be where I am today if I didn’t keep my options open. I think it’s also important to be willing to venture out of your comfort zone and try something different. More specifically related to student life, make sure to get involved with clubs and organizations — there are so many different groups that cater to such a wide range of interests. Doing so allows you to meet other students from different programs, which will make your university experience that much more enjoyable.
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