The road from university to the perfect career is not without bumps and a couple of sharp turns. Gabriella Scali knows this well.
Gabriella graduated from UBC in 2006 with a B.A. in English Literature and Sociology. During her undergrad, she was an active member of the sorority system, and has nothing but fond things to say about her time here: “I really loved being at UBC, I loved doing my undergrad here; it was such a wonderful experience.”
Throughout all of her endeavours, Gabriella is confident that UBC set her off on the right path:
“I learned many transferable skills at UBC including critical thinking and writing–they provided a really strong foundation for the career I have gone on to pursue.”
She highlights that the journey through education and career “isn’t always a straight path." After graduating from UBC, she applied for a Journalism program at Langara College but ended up on the waitlist.
“Not knowing what I was going to do with my degree,” she says, “I think that was, at first, a little bit of a scary thing.”
Rolling with the uncertainty, Gabriella enrolled in the Marketing Communications Diploma program at BCIT and now feels grateful she did.
She explains, “Not getting into that program and leading me to another one was actually something that has led me to a career that I really enjoy!”
“Sometimes,” she says, “those little happy accidents end up being the things that propel you into another career and other career paths.”
After Gabriella completed her Diploma of Technology, she worked for several years as a recruiter with Kaplan Education. She speaks of the experience with a smile: “I ended up getting the opportunity to travel all around the world, places I wouldn't have been able to otherwise: Kazakhstan, Russia, China.”
Recently, she completed a Masters of Publishing at SFU and returned to campus with a position at UBC Campus and Community Planning before moving into her current role as a Content and Engagement Strategist for UBC Wellbeing.
According to Gabriella, “UBC Wellbeing is a collaborative effort to make the University a better place to live, work and learn through a system-wide approach to wellbeing across our campuses."
There are currently six priority areas for university-wide action: mental health and resilience, food and nutrition, collaborative leadership, built and natural environments, social connection, and physical activity.
She says that one of the greatest benefits of studying at UBC is all the doors it can open. She encourages everyone to start “looking at opportunities when you're a student to just try new things, not just academics, but looking at opportunities to get involved.”