A LONG AND WINDING ROAD
Finding the right focus
October 9, 2008
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MIKE FUNSTON
STAFF REPORTER
Erin Mazzara had a vague notion that she wanted to be involved in showbiz after leaving high school. But she wasn't sure which profession to pursue within the entertainment industry.
So, she took theatre arts at Brock University for a year, decided that wasn't for her and switched to a media program in second year that would have groomed her for a journalism career.
Not knowing what to do in third year, she looked at other options, and considered a TV and film program at Humber College. She applied, but it was too late to be accepted.
"I then had to decide whether to stay at university, but it would have meant spending a lot of time, money and hard work to earn a degree I wasn't sure I'd use," says Mazzara, 22. "I considered going out and working for a while, but thought it would be very hard to go back to school. "
Then she discovered a general program called Media Foundation at Humber, which offers students a taste of many different subjects – film, photography, website design, journalism, radio, public relations and others – with the option to enter a full-time program in one of those specialties after two semesters.
"I liked the fact that it offered film but I could choose something else if that didn't pan out," says Mazzara, who is from Essex, near Windsor.
She loved the media program and, after completion, entered the school's three-year diploma program in film. When she graduates, she would like to work as a film editor and director.
Colleges and universities are becoming more flexible toward students such as Mazzara, who change programs, majors and sometimes even schools as they figure out what they want to do with their lives.
A recent study that tracked a group of students over five years after entering post-secondary schools discovered that large numbers of them followed indirect, "non-traditional pathways," through the system.
According to the study by University of Ottawa professor Ross Finnie and Theresa Qiu of Statistics Canada, 25.8 per cent of college students and 18 per cent of university students leave their first post-secondary program after one year.
But it also found that 73.1 per cent of college and 69.4 per cent of university students eventually graduate, including those who've switched programs and/or schools.
That's why general programs such as Media Foundation are becoming more popular with students, and are being offered at colleges, explains Basil Guinane, associate dean of media studies at Humber.
"They provide additional pathways for students into post-secondary education and allow them time to learn more about themselves and their strengths and interests," he says.
"We're dealing with students as young as 17 coming out of high school. It can be a bit overwhelming for them in choosing a career path and the right post-secondary education."
Tricia Morgan, associate dean of general arts and science programs, says many students come to Humber after a "false start" at university.
"Students frequently go to university because it's the obvious or expected choice. But when they get there, they discover it really isn't the hands-on education they want.
"At the colleges, because we are more hands-on, offering smaller classes and more contact with the professors, students come here looking for things that university is not set up to deliver."
Other students don't feel ready for university right out of high school, so they take a college foundation program such as general arts and science as a possible bridge to university, while retaining the option of staying in college to study for a diploma or applied degree.
"The great thing now is, we have easy ways for students to change direction when they find out that something is not right for them," Morgan says.
Vito Galloro, 20, of Vaughan, took a year off after high school to work, before hearing good things about Humber's general arts and science program through a friend.
"I did some research, called Humber for more information, then decided to apply."
That opened the door to the school's paramedic program, a career he had been considering for a long time.
Valentino Pileggi, 26, of Malton, worked for six years in construction and warehouse jobs after high school before deciding to take general arts and science at Humber as a springboard to university.
"I wasn't sure if I could do university-level work – so I went through this to see where I stood," he says.
He passed the one-year program and just needs a math credit to apply to university, where he wants to get a science degree.
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