Jillian Harvey, MA (Leadership) 2019 | Gordon S. Lang School of Business and Economics

Jillian Harvey, MA (Leadership) 2019

Jill Harvey

 

Jillian Harvey, MA (Leadership) 2019

Current role: Facilities Coordinator, Office of Research (Agri-Food Partnership) University of Guelph
Work/life balance: Mentor, traveller, facility management expert.

"I am a graduate of Conestoga College’s Architecture-Project and Facility Management degree program with a passion for creating innovative work environments that empower occupants to excel in their own work. I have worked in a range of sectors within project and facility management including the energy sector, industrial construction, health-care and now research facilities. I have achieved my Facility Management Professional (FMP) designation through IFMA and my Project Management (PMP) designation through PMI. I was interested in pursuing my masters and felt that the University of Guelph’s MA (Leadership) program complemented my technical-based undergraduate degree well to achieve my future career aspirations. "

 

Describe your experience during the on-site residential periods.

The residential weeks are intense, with lots of information to absorb, people to meet, assignments to complete, and group presentations to coordinate. Having said that, the first residential week really set the tone for the caring and collaborative culture of our cohort. The connections and friendships created in that first week were the foundation of our success in the online courses afterwards. I felt that with each new course and group project, I was reuniting with classmates and friends-not strangers. The second residential week felt like a reunion with people that I have a unique shared experience with over the past year. This sense of closeness allowed for our cohort to really be vulnerable with each other as we explored the results from our personal assessments and created our development plans for the next year. I do not believe that this culture could have been achieved through a purely online learning environment in such a short amount of time. 

 

How did you find the online learning component of the program? Was it beneficial to be able to continue working at your job during your studies?

The online component allows working professionals to balance work, and home life while pursuing a masters. It is great to continue working while attending school but it is challenging to balance it all and excel. It requires dedicated energy management to know where to invest your resources optimally, but it is achievable.