Branch Coordinator, Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care
Public Administration, Bachelor of Public Administration (BPA) 2016

Tell prospective students a bit about the work you do?

Since August 2016, I have been fortunate enough to work for the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care in the Digital Health Solutions and Innovation Branch as the Branch Coordinator. I am part of the Project Management Team, but my work expands over the entire Branch providing administrative, technical and HR support. On a daily basis I take care of the following:

1. Purchasing and procuring supplies and resources for the Branch;
2. Tracking and updating Health Services Cluster packages;
3. Coordinating FTE and FFS interviews; creating evaluators' interview binders;
4. Scheduling meetings, booking boardrooms, polycoms and projectors for different levels of management;
5. Onboarding new hires, processing HR paperwork and facilitating a welcoming orientation for new co-op students.

The kind of work that I do requires a lot of multi-tasking and strong communication and organizational skills. The work requires professional conduct and maintaining confidentiality, but at the end of the day I do enjoy my job and can say that I have positive working relationships with my co-workers. One thing in government, and I'm sure in a lot of other jobs as well, is that you learn on the go. So, If I were to give one key advice to prospective students, it would be never to be afraid to ask questions!

Tell prospective students a bit about how your studies at York helped you to get where you are today.

I graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Public Administration and minored in International Development Studies. I would consider myself a well-versed individual with background knowledge in both the public and not-for-profit sector and this is all thanks to my studies. My major in Public Administration exposed me to a number of different subjects that have helped me gain the experience and transferable skills needed for my current position. I have become almost like a "Jill of all trades" since taking courses in business, economics, HR, policy and public administration to name a few. In my final year of my undergrad I took the Practicum placement which led me to working for the Ministry of Government and Consumer Services in the Customer Care Division of Service Ontario. So all things considered, my studies at York have challenged me, encouraged me to critically think, but most importantly, have paved the path for me to new and greater opportunities.