BEYOND the Ivy Walls
As they consider life after CHS , Grade 11 and 12 students can explore different career paths through CHS ’ s Work Experience Program . A supplement to the Career Education curriculum , the program offers a minimum of 20 hours of work experience with a program mentor — including CHS alumnae — who is working in a field of the student ’ s interest .
Grade 11 students McKenna and Amy experienced first-hand the benefit of working with CHS alumnae as they completed a work experience in the 2021 – 2022 school year .
MCKENNA AND JENNET : ARCHITECTURE
McKenna , Grade 11 , completed an architecture placement with Jennet Bowdridge ’ 92 . Jennet is an architect and the co-owner of Duffus Romans Kundzins Rounsefell Architects based in Halifax , Nova Scotia . McKenna and Sierra , Grade 12 , completed their placement with Jennet over 11 weeks .
As a Grade 7 student in the Junior School , McKenna ’ s curiosity about architecture was sparked through a Discovery project . The Work Experience placement with Jennet was the perfect opportunity to put that interest into practice .
Jennet structured the virtual placement through self-directed learning and weekly check-ins . With readings , hands-on projects and field trips to see examples of architecture in Vancouver , both students got to explore the history , design concepts and scientific functionalities of architecture , and they were able to build an appreciation for the spaces they live in every day .
For McKenna , the experience confirmed her initial understanding of the field . “ I ’ m a science person , but my co-curricular activities are very arts-based , so I ’ ve always thought architecture was interesting — it ’ s math , and it ’ s kind of artistic . It was cool to find out that it really is like that !”
She discovered that the job is more people-oriented than she initially thought . “ Architects do a lot more than design pretty buildings ; you have to consider the client ’ s needs versus what they think is nice but might not suit them .”
The enthusiasm that both students showed for the placement was a highlight for Jennet . Given the virtual-style placement , the creative assignment development gave her new ideas for future co-op placements in her office , including adding more historical architecture exploration in Halifax .
Working with Crofton House students was also a welcome opportunity to get involved with the CHS community , even from across the country , and to reminisce about where her career foundations were built . “ It was almost transcendent , in a way . It ’ s been 30 years since I graduated , so there were some differences in experience , but there ’ s also a comfort in being ‘ back ’ on campus .”
Jennet was introduced to architecture in a CHS Fine Arts class , thanks to a module on American architect Frank Lloyd Wright . In Grade 11 , she researched architecture for her career paper . Today , she ’ s happy to be able to share her work in the field with current students and to reconnect with the CHS community in a meaningful way . “ It was really great to feel like I could give back ,” she said .
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