A Return to Calgary!

With the Alberta recruitment circuit returning to Calgary, I was pleased to find out I would be able to sleep in my own bed, see my roommate and have the opportunity to speak with Calgary students this week. The week began by attending some great post-secondary event s at several high schools throughout Calgary and Cochrane. Working with Allison at several of the events, we continued to stress the importance of applying early at sait.ca. The introduction of continuous selection for several of our competitive programs means applying early is now important for individuals interested in both our competitive and non-competitive programs.
The second half of the week was very different. The 31st Annual Alberta Liaison Association of Alberta Conference for Counsellors was held in Banff, so I headed to the mountains with the rest of the SAIT Polytechnic team. Michelle, Allison and myself had the opportunity speak with counsellors throughout the province, and I even met a couple from Yellowknife. The three days in Banff also allowed the opportunity to bond with my new co-workers and recruiters from other schools. Today it was back to Calgary to prepare for my week in Central Alberta.

Have a great week!

Jason

What do You Want to Be When You Grow Up?

Thursday afternoon, after presenting to some students at Crescent Heights High School, I loaded my rental car and started my journey to Edmonton for the Canada Career Week event at the Agricom. I was happy to see we didn’t have snow, but my happiness was soon replaced by anxiety when I passed Red Deer and had to white-knuckle the rest of the drive due to an angry wind. I’m pretty sure my car was lifted off the highway a few times!

I made it to Edmonton around the same time my hands got numb so it was perfect timing. Lucky for me, I got to stay at my favorite Edmonton hotel, The Varscona, and I ate at one of my favorite restaurants, Dadeo on Whyte Ave. The Po’Boys are to die for!

Friday morning brought me to the Agricom for the event. I arrived late on Thursday night and had to wait until Friday morning to set up. I had a super long walk with all my materials and after spilling the contents of my Rubbermaid bin at least twice, two exhibitors came to my rescue and helped me the rest of the way. Thank you to the recruiters from Jacob and Manpower,you deserve a Starbucks gift card!

The event itself started off pretty slowly but by 11 am the place was packed. I spoke to over 150 prospective students, many of whom came from the Edmonton area high schools.

While most people would not be happy about spending Friday night in a hotel room waiting to go to work on Saturday, I was happy about it as I was able to catch up with some friends over dinner. Due to being a recruiter, I always have some friends I can catch up with, almost everywhere I go.

Saturday was a little slower but still went well. I spoke with about 100 people, mainly those interested in our Distance Education classes.

After the event, I aimed the car South and took off for home. All in all, the two days went by quickly and we certainly did get some great publicity in Edmonton.

Next week Jason, Allison and I head for Banff for the 31st Annual Conference for Counsellors.

Allison's Siesta

I’m back!
I just returned from my Mexican vacation and within 14 hours of being home, I was back on the road recruiting! This week I was in western Alberta traveling to Grande Cache. I was not at all prepared for the weather, when we stopped at the Columbia Ice Fields I was still wearing my flip flops!
I was very happy to stay at one of my favourite hotels, Jasper’s Park Place Inn. I even got to stay in my favourite room there.
The roads through Jasper National Park were full of animals it was crazy, especially when we were leaving early in the morning.
Next week I will be in Saskatchewan, traveling to Weyburn and Estevan. To be honest, I didn’t know where those places were until I looked them up on a map. Thank goodness for Google maps!

Take care,

Allison