Jill Slattery
Why did you choose your program at UBC and what did you enjoy most about it?
I’ve been a writer since I was a kid, and knew without a doubt I could do something meaningful with my life if I followed that passion. I was lucky to have the support of my family and friends who believed I had a chance at making a career out of it.
I knew UBC’s Creative Writing department was competitive, and becoming a professional writer even much more so, so I logically decided to “back up” my education with a major in English Literature. If my dream of being a writer didn’t come true, maybe I could teach high school English instead.
My academic focus was obviously heavy on the reading and writing side. I remember having anywhere from two to five books to read each week. Being an Arts student, I developed a thick skin for taking feedback on my work and thinking critically about the work of others.
In Creative Writing, I had the opportunity to study a wide array of genres, like screenwriting and writing for television, comedy writing, fiction and non-fiction. My favourite assignment was developing a drama TV series script with two other classmates and writing the first three episodes as a team. Because of this, I still think maybe one day I could pivot to television writing… but who knows!
What were some of your most meaningful experiences at UBC?
At first, I struggled to find my place at UBC. It wasn’t easy to make friends or connections in my classes and I was a commuter student spending about three hours a day on the bus. I wasn’t seeing much of the “fun” side of university life and I knew I needed to make a change. At the end of my first academic year, I decided to apply to be a student volunteer for UBC Recreation and work on their online magazine, The Point. It was the best decision I made during my entire education.
My time with UBC Rec illuminated my future journey and gave me the coveted “university experience” I craved. I met hundreds of other students, had a home base on campus to relax, play games, meet friends, and eat lunch, and I earned work experience that ultimately shaped my career path. I spent three of my four years at UBC in Rec and greatly mourned the loss of this community when I graduated. I still have my famous Rec rain coats!
What choices did you make at UBC that contributed to your career success / journey?
My experience with UBC Rec gave me a resume of projects and skills—published writing, social media marketing, event marketing, graphic design, coding, team management, and time management—that I couldn’t have received elsewhere at UBC. As I tackled every project thrown at me in my role, I learned a new skill each time. These skills were directly transferrable to the jobs I would apply for after graduation, and I would not be where I am in my career without them. Not only that, but I learned through experience what work I’m passionate about and I completely shifted my career path to align.
What was your first job after graduation and what other jobs did you have before your current position?
My first job was student communications coordinator for the UBC First Year Experience Team for the summer after graduation. I then made a pivot from communications into journalism that fall when I took a job as a staff writer at Vancity Buzz (now Daily Hive). I quickly learned how to cover local daily news and used my fast writing skills to publish anywhere from five to eight stories a day. After 14 months, I moved on to an online journalist position at Global BC News—the news station my parents and I watched every night at 6pm for most of my life. It was a little surreal! I wrote stories for Global BC’s website that reached millions of people and had the opportunity to interview many interesting people and tell stories that impacted the lives of British Columbians every day.
Unfortunately, as it happens in the news world, my position was affected by budget cuts and I left journalism in 2017—moving back into communications for the Children’s Wish Foundation (now Make-A-Wish Foundation).
I also now have two side hustles which use up a lot of my spare time: freelance graphic design and communications work, and pottery! I’ve developed my ceramics practice over the last three years and now I sell my works on Etsy under my (very) small business, Mosquito Creek Pottery.
Is your current career path as you originally intended? What challenges did you face in launching your career?
I didn’t start at UBC with a determined career path in mind, but I knew I needed whatever I chose to be creative and fulfilling—and to be able to pay those very expensive Vancouver bills. I can confidently say that all of my roles have come through stepping stones, and even the bad ones ended up leading to something awesome.
My biggest challenge in launching my career has been finding the thing I want to spend my 40+ hours doing, and how that fits into my other 128 hours a week. I had to make tough sacrifices for some of my jobs—like working only evenings and weekends at Global News (the opposite schedule of my friends and family), and choosing to take a pay cut and live at home to keep working a job I loved at Children’s Wish.
I’ve also struggled with and still struggle with the notion that our chance at success has an expiration date. We are surrounded by inspiring young people who achieve so much at a young age and it can be hard not to compare ourselves to them and wonder what we have to do to be on that 30 Under 30 list. These days I’m more inspired by the people who published their first novel at age 50 or started their own business at 40.
There will always be life circumstances that disrupt our “hopes and dreams” but trying to remember that no experience is ever wasted is something I keep in mind.
From your experience, what has been the value of having an Arts degree?
People may tell you that your Arts degree won’t lead you anywhere, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. You may not end up getting a job in the exact field that you studied (no, I don’t plan on ever teaching high school English), but there is no better degree for learning critical thinking, communication skills, and being a wise global citizen. I was able to take a rounded course load that covered everything from US politics to volcanoes (EOSC 114 is an Arts favourite). It was the best possible experience to have when I worked in journalism as I liked to say I knew a little about everything, but nothing about something.
What advice would you give to students and alumni interested in breaking into your industry?
Get involved while you’re on campus, even if it means extending your time at UBC! I did my degree in five years and I was able to do lots of extra-curricular work that really made my resume stand out when I was competing with other new grads. I focused on doing a really good job with my work at UBC Rec and less on my academics since I knew a really high GPA wasn’t going to get me a job. I set high expectations for myself but never made getting an A take over my life. I also prioritized a healthy school/life balance and consciously rarely did school work after 5 p.m.
Jill Slattery
Why did you choose your program at UBC and what did you enjoy most about it?
I’ve been a writer since I was a kid, and knew without a doubt I could do something meaningful with my life if I followed that passion. I was lucky to have the support of my family and friends who believed I had a chance at making a career out of it.
I knew UBC’s Creative Writing department was competitive, and becoming a professional writer even much more so, so I logically decided to “back up” my education with a major in English Literature. If my dream of being a writer didn’t come true, maybe I could teach high school English instead.
My academic focus was obviously heavy on the reading and writing side. I remember having anywhere from two to five books to read each week. Being an Arts student, I developed a thick skin for taking feedback on my work and thinking critically about the work of others.
In Creative Writing, I had the opportunity to study a wide array of genres, like screenwriting and writing for television, comedy writing, fiction and non-fiction. My favourite assignment was developing a drama TV series script with two other classmates and writing the first three episodes as a team. Because of this, I still think maybe one day I could pivot to television writing… but who knows!
What were some of your most meaningful experiences at UBC?
At first, I struggled to find my place at UBC. It wasn’t easy to make friends or connections in my classes and I was a commuter student spending about three hours a day on the bus. I wasn’t seeing much of the “fun” side of university life and I knew I needed to make a change. At the end of my first academic year, I decided to apply to be a student volunteer for UBC Recreation and work on their online magazine, The Point. It was the best decision I made during my entire education.
My time with UBC Rec illuminated my future journey and gave me the coveted “university experience” I craved. I met hundreds of other students, had a home base on campus to relax, play games, meet friends, and eat lunch, and I earned work experience that ultimately shaped my career path. I spent three of my four years at UBC in Rec and greatly mourned the loss of this community when I graduated. I still have my famous Rec rain coats!
What choices did you make at UBC that contributed to your career success / journey?
My experience with UBC Rec gave me a resume of projects and skills—published writing, social media marketing, event marketing, graphic design, coding, team management, and time management—that I couldn’t have received elsewhere at UBC. As I tackled every project thrown at me in my role, I learned a new skill each time. These skills were directly transferrable to the jobs I would apply for after graduation, and I would not be where I am in my career without them. Not only that, but I learned through experience what work I’m passionate about and I completely shifted my career path to align.
What was your first job after graduation and what other jobs did you have before your current position?
My first job was student communications coordinator for the UBC First Year Experience Team for the summer after graduation. I then made a pivot from communications into journalism that fall when I took a job as a staff writer at Vancity Buzz (now Daily Hive). I quickly learned how to cover local daily news and used my fast writing skills to publish anywhere from five to eight stories a day. After 14 months, I moved on to an online journalist position at Global BC News—the news station my parents and I watched every night at 6pm for most of my life. It was a little surreal! I wrote stories for Global BC’s website that reached millions of people and had the opportunity to interview many interesting people and tell stories that impacted the lives of British Columbians every day.
Unfortunately, as it happens in the news world, my position was affected by budget cuts and I left journalism in 2017—moving back into communications for the Children’s Wish Foundation (now Make-A-Wish Foundation).
I also now have two side hustles which use up a lot of my spare time: freelance graphic design and communications work, and pottery! I’ve developed my ceramics practice over the last three years and now I sell my works on Etsy under my (very) small business, Mosquito Creek Pottery.
Is your current career path as you originally intended? What challenges did you face in launching your career?
I didn’t start at UBC with a determined career path in mind, but I knew I needed whatever I chose to be creative and fulfilling—and to be able to pay those very expensive Vancouver bills. I can confidently say that all of my roles have come through stepping stones, and even the bad ones ended up leading to something awesome.
My biggest challenge in launching my career has been finding the thing I want to spend my 40+ hours doing, and how that fits into my other 128 hours a week. I had to make tough sacrifices for some of my jobs—like working only evenings and weekends at Global News (the opposite schedule of my friends and family), and choosing to take a pay cut and live at home to keep working a job I loved at Children’s Wish.
I’ve also struggled with and still struggle with the notion that our chance at success has an expiration date. We are surrounded by inspiring young people who achieve so much at a young age and it can be hard not to compare ourselves to them and wonder what we have to do to be on that 30 Under 30 list. These days I’m more inspired by the people who published their first novel at age 50 or started their own business at 40.
There will always be life circumstances that disrupt our “hopes and dreams” but trying to remember that no experience is ever wasted is something I keep in mind.
From your experience, what has been the value of having an Arts degree?
People may tell you that your Arts degree won’t lead you anywhere, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. You may not end up getting a job in the exact field that you studied (no, I don’t plan on ever teaching high school English), but there is no better degree for learning critical thinking, communication skills, and being a wise global citizen. I was able to take a rounded course load that covered everything from US politics to volcanoes (EOSC 114 is an Arts favourite). It was the best possible experience to have when I worked in journalism as I liked to say I knew a little about everything, but nothing about something.
What advice would you give to students and alumni interested in breaking into your industry?
Get involved while you’re on campus, even if it means extending your time at UBC! I did my degree in five years and I was able to do lots of extra-curricular work that really made my resume stand out when I was competing with other new grads. I focused on doing a really good job with my work at UBC Rec and less on my academics since I knew a really high GPA wasn’t going to get me a job. I set high expectations for myself but never made getting an A take over my life. I also prioritized a healthy school/life balance and consciously rarely did school work after 5 p.m.
