Lilian Chau
Why did you choose your program at UBC and what did you enjoy most about it?
I choose anthropology because I had wanted to become an archaeologist. Through that experience I learnt I didn’t want to be an archaeologist, which is probably for the better as I was quite useless and prone to hurting myself at field-school. I loved my arts undergraduate degree because through cultural anthropology, I developed great analytical and observation skills to really understand the people around me and the systems that drive our world. They made me think hard and challenged my own beliefs and perceptions.
What were some of your most meaningful experiences at UBC?
Living in residence during my first year. I lived at Mawdsley house at Vanier Place in an all-girls dorm. I remember the very first day I met a girl just slightly older than me that lived on the same floor. She was in Pharmacy and I was in Arts. We hung out, navigated the cafeteria together, we shared instant noodles and buckets of Oreo ice-cream together and became lifelong friends. I also met other lifelong friends during those early years of exploration when I joined International House, and met students from all over the world. To this day we still keep in touch, visit each other when we can, and reminisce about all the great times we had being free and curious about the possibilities before us, twenty years later!
What choices did you make in your undergrad that contributed to your career success / journey?
Towards the end of my undergrad I choose to focus on International Development. This led to taking a women’s studies class with Dr. Leonora Angeles who recruited me to graduate school at the School of Community and Regional Planning. Through this path, I have been able to start a professional career in urban planning (although not exactly what I had in mind after doing a thesis on International Development), and been able to use the professional skills and experiences I’ve gained and apply to all sorts of different positions and sectors.
I also took many different courses during my undergrad, and this helped me to realize what I was interested in and not so interested in (i.e. archeaology). While it was somewhat dream crushing, in hindsight it was best to know upfront what might not be the best path going forward.
What was your first job after graduation and what other jobs did you have before landing your current position?
My first job was a Planning Technician with the City of Surrey in their planning department. After months of applying to non-profit organizations and receiving no reply, the City called me for an interview. This was the only planning job I applied for, as I didn’t have an interest in urban planning. However, as I was getting desperate to find employment, I thought at least on paper I have a Urban Planning degree, so it should have some value, right? And so it did.
Since then, I’ve worked mainly in the public sector in a regulatory development planner role with various governments, First Nations and others; this included the the Government of Nunavut, Tsleil-Waututh Nation, City of Surrey, and the Port of Vancouver. All of them held a common thread of planning and regulation, but also some aspect of community development and engagement.
Is your current career path as you originally intended? What challenges did you face in launching your career?
Not at all! As I mentioned, I had wanted to work in the non-profit sector but could not find a job. I applied everywhere for almost everything and heard nothing. At that time, I think I wrote way too much on my cover letter and did know how to cater my resume to the job. I think I might have been seen to be overqualified as I was finishing a Masters degree.
What do you like about your current job and what do you find challenging? How does it relate to your degree?
Now I get to go back to my community development roots in my position in Community Investment with Vancity, working to support the affordable housing non-profits and organizations. I have never worked in the affordable housing sector before, so this is all new to me. However, I saw that my 14 years of experience as a development planner, project manager, strategist and communicator could be applied to this role even though I was not a subject matter expert in affordable housing or finance. Information and process can be learned but experience has to be gained.
I tend to go for jobs that scare me a little (and in this case, a lot!) so that I can always find a way to learn and grow in that position. It challenges and excites me and makes me a better colleague, leader and mentor.
From your experience, what has been the value of having an Arts degree?
It gave me a great lens to analyze and understand the world. Especially understanding cultural differences and commonalities. It instilled a strong belief in creating a just and equitable world, with a consciousness of our ecosystem and how our actions impact that system. I’m thankful to be doing a job now that lets me take all the skills and experiences I’ve learned starting from sitting in my first Anthropology 101 class to my fieldwork in rural Botswana for my Master’s thesis and apply them to the real world. The teachings I’ve been given almost 20 years ago are still relevant to this day. I’m now in a position to make significant change in my community and I still draw from my experiences with great professors to solve problems and to ask questions.
Are there any other achievements or activities you would like to highlight?
I really enjoyed being part of the Arts Tri-mentoring program and able to help other Arts students to set-out on their own journey. If I had the same mentorship and co-op opportunities that students had now, I think I would have been able to sort out my path a little bit faster, and with less regrets.
What advice would you give to students and alumni interested in breaking into your industry?
Your first job is unlikely to be your last job, so take each opportunity as a learning experience and a stepping stone on your journey. Even though it might not be your dream job, see what is there that may help you grow into your next job. Always find an opportunity that scares you a little, this means you will likely learn something and actually be engaged. Don’t be entitled, hard work gets you places, not just because you have a sheet of paper and some letters behind your name. In today’s world, a degree is mandatory, so think of what other experiences (i.e. volunteering, traveling, internships, entrepreneurship etc.) that could make you stand out and show initiative and adaptability.
Planning is pretty clear-cut – although a planner in a financial institution is not! I came to my new career sector rather circuitously, but I don’t think I would have the confidence and skills to learn and do this job without having experience in other seemingly unrelated positions. Figure out what you value and your purpose along your journey, and you’ll figure out the type of job and work life balance that works for you.
What advice would you give your graduating self?
Be patient, be confident. You are so much better than you think you are. Give yourself credit for all the great things you are good at. You don’t have to be perfect, you just have to be ok with being enough.
Lilian Chau
Why did you choose your program at UBC and what did you enjoy most about it?
I choose anthropology because I had wanted to become an archaeologist. Through that experience I learnt I didn’t want to be an archaeologist, which is probably for the better as I was quite useless and prone to hurting myself at field-school. I loved my arts undergraduate degree because through cultural anthropology, I developed great analytical and observation skills to really understand the people around me and the systems that drive our world. They made me think hard and challenged my own beliefs and perceptions.
What were some of your most meaningful experiences at UBC?
Living in residence during my first year. I lived at Mawdsley house at Vanier Place in an all-girls dorm. I remember the very first day I met a girl just slightly older than me that lived on the same floor. She was in Pharmacy and I was in Arts. We hung out, navigated the cafeteria together, we shared instant noodles and buckets of Oreo ice-cream together and became lifelong friends. I also met other lifelong friends during those early years of exploration when I joined International House, and met students from all over the world. To this day we still keep in touch, visit each other when we can, and reminisce about all the great times we had being free and curious about the possibilities before us, twenty years later!
What choices did you make in your undergrad that contributed to your career success / journey?
Towards the end of my undergrad I choose to focus on International Development. This led to taking a women’s studies class with Dr. Leonora Angeles who recruited me to graduate school at the School of Community and Regional Planning. Through this path, I have been able to start a professional career in urban planning (although not exactly what I had in mind after doing a thesis on International Development), and been able to use the professional skills and experiences I’ve gained and apply to all sorts of different positions and sectors.
I also took many different courses during my undergrad, and this helped me to realize what I was interested in and not so interested in (i.e. archeaology). While it was somewhat dream crushing, in hindsight it was best to know upfront what might not be the best path going forward.
What was your first job after graduation and what other jobs did you have before landing your current position?
My first job was a Planning Technician with the City of Surrey in their planning department. After months of applying to non-profit organizations and receiving no reply, the City called me for an interview. This was the only planning job I applied for, as I didn’t have an interest in urban planning. However, as I was getting desperate to find employment, I thought at least on paper I have a Urban Planning degree, so it should have some value, right? And so it did.
Since then, I’ve worked mainly in the public sector in a regulatory development planner role with various governments, First Nations and others; this included the the Government of Nunavut, Tsleil-Waututh Nation, City of Surrey, and the Port of Vancouver. All of them held a common thread of planning and regulation, but also some aspect of community development and engagement.
Is your current career path as you originally intended? What challenges did you face in launching your career?
Not at all! As I mentioned, I had wanted to work in the non-profit sector but could not find a job. I applied everywhere for almost everything and heard nothing. At that time, I think I wrote way too much on my cover letter and did know how to cater my resume to the job. I think I might have been seen to be overqualified as I was finishing a Masters degree.
What do you like about your current job and what do you find challenging? How does it relate to your degree?
Now I get to go back to my community development roots in my position in Community Investment with Vancity, working to support the affordable housing non-profits and organizations. I have never worked in the affordable housing sector before, so this is all new to me. However, I saw that my 14 years of experience as a development planner, project manager, strategist and communicator could be applied to this role even though I was not a subject matter expert in affordable housing or finance. Information and process can be learned but experience has to be gained.
I tend to go for jobs that scare me a little (and in this case, a lot!) so that I can always find a way to learn and grow in that position. It challenges and excites me and makes me a better colleague, leader and mentor.
From your experience, what has been the value of having an Arts degree?
It gave me a great lens to analyze and understand the world. Especially understanding cultural differences and commonalities. It instilled a strong belief in creating a just and equitable world, with a consciousness of our ecosystem and how our actions impact that system. I’m thankful to be doing a job now that lets me take all the skills and experiences I’ve learned starting from sitting in my first Anthropology 101 class to my fieldwork in rural Botswana for my Master’s thesis and apply them to the real world. The teachings I’ve been given almost 20 years ago are still relevant to this day. I’m now in a position to make significant change in my community and I still draw from my experiences with great professors to solve problems and to ask questions.
Are there any other achievements or activities you would like to highlight?
I really enjoyed being part of the Arts Tri-mentoring program and able to help other Arts students to set-out on their own journey. If I had the same mentorship and co-op opportunities that students had now, I think I would have been able to sort out my path a little bit faster, and with less regrets.
What advice would you give to students and alumni interested in breaking into your industry?
Your first job is unlikely to be your last job, so take each opportunity as a learning experience and a stepping stone on your journey. Even though it might not be your dream job, see what is there that may help you grow into your next job. Always find an opportunity that scares you a little, this means you will likely learn something and actually be engaged. Don’t be entitled, hard work gets you places, not just because you have a sheet of paper and some letters behind your name. In today’s world, a degree is mandatory, so think of what other experiences (i.e. volunteering, traveling, internships, entrepreneurship etc.) that could make you stand out and show initiative and adaptability.
Planning is pretty clear-cut – although a planner in a financial institution is not! I came to my new career sector rather circuitously, but I don’t think I would have the confidence and skills to learn and do this job without having experience in other seemingly unrelated positions. Figure out what you value and your purpose along your journey, and you’ll figure out the type of job and work life balance that works for you.
What advice would you give your graduating self?
Be patient, be confident. You are so much better than you think you are. Give yourself credit for all the great things you are good at. You don’t have to be perfect, you just have to be ok with being enough.
