| Trinity Choiniere-Hamilton
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Co-Chair
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CIRNAC
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Hey there! My name is Trinity and I work as a student for the Centre of Abilities Management and Workplace Wellness with CIRNAC. I absolutely love my position and the team I work with. I do so many different things that is hard to summarize my position. Put simply, I provide mental health program support , generate data reports, and assist in the implementation of the 2021-2024 ISC and CIRNAC Workplace Well-Being and Mental Health Strategy.
I am also an undergraduate honours psychology student at Carleton University. I love anything to do with the brain, human behaviour, and statistics! I also have a DEC from Heritage College in Social Sciences and Humanities. Other than psychology, I am interested in Indigenous studies, the opioid crisis, and policing!
If there is anything I would encourage you to do during your work term it would be to join the YPN and to not be fearful of asking questions! The YPN is a great place to meet people and learn about applying yourself, roads in government, and learning from mentors. If this sounds interesting to you please send an email to rjp-ypn@rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca and subscribe to the newsletter! As for asking questions, your learning and ability to succeed in your current position is reliant on being able to ask questions and be transparent. In addition, if you are ever in a crunch and need support, be sure to brainstorm some possible solutions before reaching out to co-workers or your supervisor. This will show that you are proactive and are offering support in finding solutions.
Most of all, make the most of your experience by connecting with your team and other students.
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| Chris Ulch
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Co-Chair
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ISC
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Hello! My name is Chris and I am a program assistant for the lands unit at ISC. I'm an operations management major, which is a degree most aren't familiar with, but can be described as the crossroads of business, mathematics, statistics, and computer science.
In my role, I work on a variety of projects related to lands operations and typically work in Excel to organize information, streamline work flows, or expediate information access by building mini-applications using VBA in Excel. My second area of study, which is ironically probably my favorite, is psychology! I always attempt to apply these concepts in my work by building tools that are intuitive to use, aesthetically appealing, and enjoyable to work with.
My advice for students would be to offer help to as many people as you can. Each of us have a unique skill set that can help tie a project together, or a unique perspective that can help solve a problem. People will appreciate when you apply yourself, and it's a great way to build relationships! You'll likely find that those at ISC and CIRNAC value relationships more than many other departments or organizations, and we hope you'll come to value them to the same extent if you don't already.
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| Nathan Donald
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Member
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CIRNAC
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Hey everyone! My name is Nathan and I am a Land and Water Policy Researcher under the Natural Resources and Environment Branch of CIRNAC. It's a really cool position where I focus on land claims, water licensing, and many other topics in between. I am also the SIS coordinator for CIRNAC/ISC, so I host the weekly student meetings where we either hangout or listen to intriguing presenters!
At school, I am double majoring in Political Science and Geography, which actually have a lot more in common than I anticipated! Most of my research has focused on Climate Justice, Food Insecurity, Indigenous Reconciliation, Water Policy, and Social Movements!
My advice for onboarding students is do not feel afraid to ask questions. There is a lot of stuff that flies at you in the first couple weeks, and sometimes my supervisors would just throw a bunch of info at me and at the end say, "you get all that"? It is okay to say no, as it is so much better to be on the same page than to be guessing what you should do next. Everyone empathizes with the onboarding process so yeah, do not feel afraid to be honest :)
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