Bridging Academics and Work Experience

A Faculty of Arts of degree equips students with valuable abilities such as critical thinking, effective written and verbal communication and strong interpersonal skills. From October 2024 to April 2025, I worked as a Student Communications Assistant with the Faculty of Arts Communications team, where I had the chance to build these skills in a hands-on, creative environment.

During my time in this position, I contributed articles to UM Today about Faculty of Arts events, including coverage of the Arts Career Roundtable, reviews of both mainstage theatre productions and profiles on the 2024 Faculty of Arts Undergraduate Research Showcase winners. These projects helped me grow as a storyteller and apply what I have learned throughout my Arts degree. I also developed the ability to tailor my writing style to suit different audiences—adapting tone, voice and content depending on whether I was writing for prospective students, current students or the broader university community.

Beyond writing, I collaborated with both professors and students, created social media content with a focus on audience engagement and learned how to produce and edit short-form video content such as Instagram reels. One of my favourite projects was the “Days series,” which highlighted international holidays with a connection to the Faculty of Arts, such as International Chinese Language Day. This series gave me the chance to work with and spotlight a wide range of departments and programs within the Faculty of Arts.

This role broadened my understanding of how a degree in Arts can translate into diverse career opportunities. Communications is a dynamic field that blends creativity, strategy and writing. My experience has sparked an interest in pursuing a communications-related career after graduation. The great thing about working in communications is that it offers a wide array of projects to work on. The job is not monotonous, while there are administrative tasks that you must do, as with any job, communications offers the opportunity to collaborate with people in many fields. I was able to collaborate with professors and students that I would have otherwise never met in areas such as Asian studies, religion, labour studies and more.

I was hired in this position through the Work-Study program run by Career Services, which offers students part-time, on-campus employment during the academic year. Through this program, students can apply to a wide array of positions posted by different departments at UM. I would encourage all students to take advantage of the resources offered by Career Services including career planning, mentorship and job search support.

I would like to thank the Faculty of Arts Communications team for their support and mentorship. Under their guidance, I learned valuable marketing strategies, honed my interviewing and writing skills and gained a deeper understanding of what it takes to create engaging and effective content. I’m truly grateful for everything that I have learned and am excited to carry these experiences forward into the next chapter of my career.

Simran Bala