Fleming College

A thick fog quickly rolls in while
Michael Tamosauskas collects glacial till samples atop a mountain in Nunavut.
With his nearest colleague at least 100 metres away, Michael’s radio alerts him
that an emergency helicopter pick-up is on its way before the pilot loses more
visibility.

When the roar of the helicopter
sounds close, all Michael can see is the thick, white fog enveloping him. “I
was kind of panicking because if they couldn’t pick me up for a certain period,
I would have to camp out on the tundra overnight,” said Michael.

The helicopter pilot, with
Michael’s crew on board, struggles to spot Michael and, when he does, there is
nowhere nearby to safely land. 

“I made the decision to sprint –
and fall – down the side of this mountain to flatland, where he was able to
pick me up… with him and my crew laughing at my tumble down the mountain,” said
Michael.

Fleming Career Fair leads to summer employment at GroundTruth Exploration

The opportunity for Michael to spend his summer working at GroundTruth Exploration, a mineral exploration company, came from attending the annual Career Fair at Fleming’s Frost Campus. At the time, Michael was an Earth Resources Technician Co-op student looking for work experience in his field.

Michael has spent the past couple
summers working for GroundTruth Exploration; first in Nunavut, later in
Labrador. The company, based in Dawson City, Yukon, is involved in gold
exploration projects across northern Canada and begins a new project in Alaska
soon.

As an Exploration Field
Technician, Michael marked soil sample site locations, collected soil samples
and described their physical attributes. He worked four weeks on, one week off,
and then another 4 weeks on, with workdays being seven to eight hours.

“Nunavut was a very unique place to work,” said Michael, adding that his camp was approximately 200km north of the nearest town, Rankin Inlet, and had about 200 people working there. He describes the camp as well-developed, including a wastewater treatment facility, clean washrooms, and professional chefs who cooked for everyone.

“While working in Nunavut in the
summer, I was subject to 24/7 daylight, which took a while to get used to;
although I was always so tired by the end of my workdays, I did not need
darkness to fall asleep,” he said. “Also, the lack of trees on the tundra made
it easy to spot all sorts of wildlife, such as caribou and wolves.”

He returned to GroundTruth
Exploration the following summer and was assigned a project in Labrador, where
he was one of a five-member crew.

“I found life in Labrador a
little more rough,” Michael said, explaining that his crew assembled their
kitchen/office tent, dry tent, and personal tents to sleep in. “The scenery of
Labrador is gorgeous, although the bugs I had to deal with daily were
horrendous. To make my workdays bearable, I needed to wear bug nets and apply
bug spray on my skin every 20 minutes or so.’

‘Although, the helicopter rides
and the interesting rocks I spotted up there made up for it!” he added.

This summer, Michael will be working in Dawson City, Yukon, as a
Geologist, sampling soil and rock using a GeoProbe. He will then utilize X-Ray
Fluorescence to determine whether the samples have high concentrations of
arsenic and/or iron, which can indicate gold.

Co-op placement and applied learning gives
Michael Tamosauskas a competitive advantage in geology field

Michael has always found Earth dynamics extremely interesting, so
when he began exploring post-secondary options, his heart was set on geology. But
with mainly college-level high school credits, Michael ran into issues trying
to get into a university geology program.

He met with his guidance counsellor to research college geology
programs and discovered that Fleming College’s Earth Resources Technician
program features a paid, six month co-op, which he believes is incredibly
valuable. Michael enrolled in the program and describes his two years at Frost
Campus as an excellent experience.

“For my ERT Co-op term, I was a Geotechnical Field Technician for
Golder Associates. This summer experience was an excellent foundation for my
career, as I had no prior relevant work experience,” he said. “That experience
on my resume has drawn interest from every job interviewer I have had so far.”

After graduating from Fleming in 2017, Michael used Fleming’s education pathway to Acadia University to earn his Bachelor of Science in Geology.

“Before I went to Fleming, I believed I was not fit to go to
university. But I realized my potential throughout my two years there,” said
Michael. “I give ERT faculty a lot of credit because they did a great job
teaching the complex subject of geology within a two-year span and prepared me
well for studying geology in university.”

Michael recommends the ERT program to others because of its
applied learning opportunities, including field trips, projects within the
Drilling and Blasting facility, and mandatory co-op placement.

“I found that this experience gave me quite the advantage compared
to my fellow university students, since the university approach is mainly
theoretical rather than practical,” he said.

Michael plans to gain more experience as a mineral exploration
geologist and is interested in focusing on the business side of mining in the
future. He is currently enrolled to complete his Honours project with an Acadia
University professor and, once he graduates from his degree program, Michael would
like to pursue graduate studies and conduct research with an economic geology
professor.

Sarah Mandarano never considered college. As an
academically strong student in high school with an interest in medicine, Sarah
only ever considered university.

“My parents told me ‘you’re going to university.’ That
was my path,” she explained. “I honestly never even looked at colleges because
it was always university. There was no point in looking.”

Sarah left her hometown of Peterborough, Ont., after high
school to study Bio-Medical Science at the University of Guelph. Sarah chose this
major because she wanted a career in the biomedical field and Biology was her
strongest high school subject.

Feeling homesick, Sarah decided to move back to Peterborough
after first year and transferred into Trent University’s Biology program. She
loved her experience at Trent, including the smaller class sizes and faculty.

“In high school I thought I’d be a doctor and then in
university I considered being a physiotherapist, but around my third year of
university I looked into the HIM program at Fleming and realized I would really
love that,” said Sarah.

HIM, or Health Information Management, is a two-year diploma program where students learn to use technology to capture and analyze data, and create health information for healthcare delivery use, and financial and management planning.

Sarah was introduced to the program by her boyfriend’s
stepsister and cousin, who both work at Peterborough Regional Health Centre
(PRHC) and are Fleming HIM graduates.

“I didn’t want to be hands-on, I didn’t want direct
patient contact, but I wanted to use my expertise,” Sarah explained. “In this,
you get to use a computer all day - and I’m from the generation who grew up on
computers, so I’m good with that - and you get to use medical information.”

She finished her Honours degree at Trent University and
then enrolled at Fleming College, using some of her university credits towards
her diploma.

“I think my university experience helps,” said Sarah. “I
was always studying at Trent and I had a high course-load, so I know how to
prioritize time, and I think it helps having a degree long-term for my career. But
I wasn’t getting a job I loved through my degree; and there’s lots of
university graduates, but not a lot of jobs. I wanted my resume to stand out
and I want a job I love. My program size at Fleming is small, it’s a
specialized skill, and I know I will get employed from it.”

Sarah said she loves the HIM program at Fleming,
especially the faculty.

“It is so interesting and the teachers explain things
really well. We have our own lab with the two big screens and it feels really
comfortable, and it feels like they’re preparing you for what your workday will
be like,” said Sarah.

“I want to work at PRHC and it’s nice that our teachers
also work there! One works in the Health Records Department, so we have
connections and it’s nice to know we’re meeting people who can help us in our
career,” she said.

Sarah is in her fourth semester at Fleming and has been recommending
the program to her university friends.

“They don’t know what to do, so I tell them about this
program and how it complements my university degree really well,” she said.

When Montana Fazi crossed the convocation stage to receive her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT), she felt grateful for Fleming College Police Foundations faculty for helping her reach this milestone.
“I am truly beyond thankful for all of the Police Foundations faculty,” said Montana. “They played a huge role in my education decisions and successes. It was because of their encouragement and guidance that I continued learning to pursue my education and career goals. When I struggled through university, I pushed through those struggles because I wanted to make them proud and succeed.”

Montana graduated from Fleming’s Police Foundations program in 2015, describing her two years at Sutherland Campus as her best years yet.

“Fleming College provided a lot of fun ways to get involved in the campus community. I took advantage of this and made the best of my college experience,” said Montana, who was involved in the Street Team, First Aid Support Team, International Student Club, and International Peer Mentoring. “These experiences allowed me to grow as an individual, meet new people, and gain transferable skills.”

Montana also credits the Police Foundations program with helping her gain transferable knowledge and skills, which she used for a Fleming education pathway to UOIT the following May (2016).

“There are a few differences between college and university that I have noticed,” said Montana, who graduated from UOIT with her Bachelor of Arts in Criminology and Justice this year.

She explained that Fleming has group work and scenario learning exercises to apply course material, and has small class sizes.

“I feel that Fleming did prepare me for university,” said Montana. “I was able to identify theories and concepts that I learned in college courses that came up again in university courses. Being prepared and already having knowledge of the material made transitioning into university courses smoother.”

Montana enjoyed her time at UOIT and credits the Student Learning Centre staff and professors with making access to disability services a great experience. She said they accommodated her needs, pushed her to succeed, and were there for her.

She recommends Fleming’s education pathways to other students who want to expand their skills and get both the college and university experience.

“I was able to gain the hands-on experience through college, while also gaining experience in independent learning through university. Both of which are valuable experiences that I can bring with me into my field of work,” she said.

Haily Whitelock’s high school co-op placement at a physiotherapy clinic is what inspired her to pursue a career helping people with their fitness goals. Unsure whether being a physiotherapist was the best fit, or if there was a better suited career opportunity in the health field, Haily decided to enrol in Fleming’s Fitness and Health Promotion program to explore her options.

“I would recommend this program to anyone interested in the health field. I believe it is a good starting program for those who are unsure of which direction to take,” said Haily, who graduated from the Fitness and Health Promotion program in 2017. “With the bridging opportunities available through this program, there are plenty of opportunities to continue onto other fields of study.”

Haily developed her interest in physiotherapy and rehab treatments throughout the program and decided to take advantage of Fleming’s education pathway agreement with the University of Guelph-Humber. She was able to enter third-year of the Bachelor of Applied Science in Kinesiology program and plans to graduate in 2019.

“With this opportunity, I had the option to take both fitness and health, and work towards my kinesiology bachelor’s degree,” she said. “I have talked to many employers and business owners and they are looking for graduates who have been to both college and university, as they believe college provides candidates with skills while universities give them an adequate background in the areas of study.”

Haily enjoyed her experience at Fleming College, describing her professors as helpful and enthusiastic to answer questions. “With small class sizes, it is a great learning environment where you can feel comfortable amongst peers and engage in class discussions freely,” she explained. “I feel in bigger schools they are limited to this kind of engagement, as the class sizes are huge and it can be intimidating speaking up to start a discussion in a big lecture room.”

She felt well-prepared for university after attending college, having developed her study techniques, ability to write helpful class notes, meet project deadlines, and prepare for exams. For that reason, Haily credits Fleming for being a great stepping stone to university.

“Fleming is a lot different from high school, there is still a lot of responsibility you have to take, but the professors are always there to help when needed and, being small class sizes, it is easy to connect with your professors,” she said. “In university, the class sizes are much bigger and in order to make an impression on your professor you need to put yourself out there and step out of your comfort zone.”

After she graduates from the University of Guelph-Humber, Haily plans to write the kinesiology exam to become a regulated kinesiologist. She hopes to continue her studies and earn her master’s degree in either occupational therapy or physiotherapy.