Part 2: Cool TMU student jobs
In his role with Billboard Canada, Media Production student Yasseen Ashri was thrilled to recently interview Selena Gomez, Elizabeth Olsen and other A-list celebrities at TIFF. (Photo: Courtesy of Yasseen Ashri)
From working at Billboard Canada, to a farm on Salt Spring Island, to gaining leadership skills on TMU’s orientation team – this past summer, three TMU students gained real world experience in unique ways.
In Part 2 of our cool summer job series (see Part 1 here), meet Yasseen Ashri, Mac Clarke and Johannah Alilio, and hear all about the jobs that are helping them learn, grow and advance toward their future careers.
Get the inside scoop on their experiences by clicking on their profiles below:
Yasseen Ashri: Video Editor for Billboard Canada
Mac Clarke: Farmer’s apprentice on Salt Spring Island
Johannah Alilio: Senior Orientation and Special Projects Lead, TMU
Yasseen Ashri
Position: Video Editor
Company: Billboard Canada
Program: Media Production, 2nd Year
Yasseen Ashri says his experience with Billboard Canada (during which he had the chance to attend TIFF) is “a dream come true”. He says he’s not only improving his video editing skills, but also learning about the business aspect of the industry. (Photo: Courtesy of Yasseen Ashri)
Describe this job for us…
In my role, I primarily edit videos, but I also have opportunities to film and produce content, especially for artist interviews. For instance, I edited a video for Nelly Furtado’s interview at the Juno Awards. I also filmed Mitski's concert in Toronto and put together a video of her performance. I'm excited to share that I’ll be attending TIFF this year as a producer, which is an amazing opportunity. My role is a mix of video editing, filming, and producing, making this internship an incredible learning experience.
What makes this job “cool”?
The coolest part of this job is getting access to exclusive places, meeting new people, and sometimes attending concerts for free. But beyond that, it’s about being there, filming, creating and being part of something bigger and meaningful.
What skills or experience are you gaining that could help in your future career?
Media Production at TMU is closely aligned with what I do at Billboard Canada. This video editor role is opening doors to numerous opportunities, and maintaining this connection is invaluable for my future career.
Did your studies or experience at TMU help you land this position?
Yes, during my first year in residence, I met a fellow student who had connections with Billboard Canada. They were looking for someone to join the video editing team, so I jumped at the chance. Staying with Billboard for nearly a year now has been the best part, fostering a continuous and valuable relationship.
What’s the most valuable aspect of this job/experience for you?
The most valuable aspect is learning as I go. I’m not just gaining knowledge in video editing, but I’m also eager to learn about the business side of the industry. As my marketing manager at Billboard wisely advised, understanding both the business and creative aspects will take you far in the creative industry.
What has been the best day or moment in this job for you so far, and why?
Attending the Mitski concert has been the highlight so far! Getting the media pass, holding the camera, and having the freedom to shoot was an exhilarating experience.
What do you love most about it overall?
What I love most is being part of Billboard, one of the oldest and most renowned magazines in the world. Being involved in the Canadian landscape of such an iconic brand, especially in just my first year and going into my second, feels like a dream come true.
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Mac Clarke
Position: Farmer’s Apprentice
Company: The Quarry Farm (Salt Spring Island, BC)
Program: Media Production, 4th year
Mac Clarke, right, takes a selfie on a Salt Spring Island farm, where she says baby fawns and young bucks “love to eat our compost”. (Photo: Mac Clarke)
Describe this job for us…
Throughout my four months working at the Quarry Farm, my primary responsibility was to assist two farmers, Daria and Wiet, with growing produce from the ground up for their vegetable box program.
Every day on the farm was different, but some of my more frequent jobs included planting hundreds of seeds in potting trays for germination in our oven, transferring those seeds into the earth, feeding plants extra nutrients to increase fruit production. I also set up the automatic irrigation watering system in all of our beds, and later in the season, harvested a lot of produce for the weekly veggie box and the farm's wholesale customers (which primarily included a few local restaurants on the island).
What makes this job “cool” ?
The Quarry Farm followed a method of growing called ‘Biodynamic Farming’, which, boiled down, is an alternative approach to growing organically by following the moon patterns and zodiac cycles to determine the best days for working with the soil and specific types of plants.
We did this by following a Biodynamic Calendar that separates days into Root Days, Fruit Days, Leaf Days, Flower Days and Black Days. For example, Root Days occurred when the moon was transiting an earth sign in the zodiac cycle. Root Days were presumptuously good days according to the calendar for working with root crops (i.e. root vegetables such as carrots, potatoes, beets, etc).
Each type of day in the Biodynamic Calendar is associated with an element from the zodiac constellations. For instance, Root is associated with Earth, Fruit with Fire, Leaf with Water, Flower with Air. Black days are days where it's supposedly not good to be working with the soil, and we would complete other tasks on the farm. It made for an extra interesting introduction, and a pretty cool approach to my task of growing.
Additionally, the people that I worked with on the farm were the highlight of my position. The farm is a super international place with helping hands from all over the world. Hearing Spanish, Dutch, Italian, Portuguese andFrench on a daily basis made for a pretty cool experience.
The front field in the spring on the Quarry Farm, Salt Spring Island, BC. (Photo: Mac Clarke)
What skills or experience are you gaining that could help in your future career?
I am a fourth-year student from Toronto studying media production. While working in the British Columbian agriculture industry this summer wasn't directly related to my field of study, my interests in the media realm lie within the creation of documentaries, and telling informative, non-fiction stories in an entertaining manner. In short, I can never turn down an opportunity that allows me to learn more about people and the world, and working on the farm was exactly that.
My experience working on the farm was extremely eye opening. I gained so many new skills, and connected with some pretty amazing people that I learned so much from. I know I’ll take everything I learned from the farm and use it in my everyday life, whether that's continuing to have the ability to closely connect with people from all over the world, or growing my own little vegetable patch in my dorm room.
What’s the most valuable aspect of this job/experience for you?
Gosh, a million things come to mind when I think about what made this opportunity such a valuable experience. To preface, I’d like to mention that I am a huge advocate for all of us learning how to become more self-sufficient… That can look like many things, but for me personally, I really wanted to learn more about the land and how to work alongside it in order to grow edible produce.
If there's one thing about the world that won’t change, it's the fact that humans need to eat. Period. Learning the specifics about farming and living off of the land from Daria and Wiet, specifically in an ethical, organic fashion, was one of the most eye-opening experiences that I have had the privilege of being involved in.
Mac Clarke takes down the vines of sugar snap peas as the end of summer nears and preparation begins for the winter season. (Photo: Mac Clarke)
What has been the best day or moment in this job for you so far, and why?
The best moment for me from this job was finally seeing the plants pop out of the ground and turn into the familiar vegetables that I've been eating my entire life. I started working on the farm in April, and for the first couple of months most of the work that we were doing was preparing the beds and supporting plant growth. It was so satisfying to finally see the first signs of veggies and fruits being ready for harvest.
When thinking about the best moments from the farm, I can’t leave out the family that I have found in everybody there. They are some of the most down to earth, kind, giving and soulful people that I have ever met and made every day better than the last. I’m so grateful that they took a chance on me as an apprentice with zero farming experience and taught me a thing or two about the world.
Also, I had the chance to see the northern lights and bioluminescent algae which was so cool!
The northern lights on May 10, 2024, from the farm on Salt Spring Island. (Photo: Mac Clarke)
What do you love most about it overall?
In a general sense, there truly is nothing like getting down in the dirt and becoming familiar with the earth again. As expected, the job market for working with plants and in nature is super slim in downtown Toronto. Not to sound like a stereotypical hippy, but this job, in combination with living on SaltSpring, really grounded me mentally and made me feel connected to the natural world again. Irreplaceable experience.
Anything to add?
Thank you so much for considering my story! I really hope it reaches the right people and can inspire other TMU students to pursue passions related to things outside of their field of study.
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Johannah Alilio
Position: Senior Orientation and Special Projects Lead
Organization: Orientation Team with Student Life and Learning Support, TMU
Program: English ‘24
Johannah Alilio, second from right, with fellow members of the TMU orientation team, along with Frankie the Falcon, and beside her, at centre, Roberta Iannacito-Provenzano, the university’s provost and vice-president, academic.
Describe this job for us…
The senior orientation and special projects lead is a five-month junior management role where I’m responsible for providing strategic direction and leadership to the Orientation Team and setting project goals and timelines alongside the orientation and campus events facilitator.
Along with that, I help receive, organize, and manage space requests and bookings, as well as facility management needs for all campus partners and faculties. Overall, I offer a helping hand to the O-Team and ensure everything is running smoothly alongside the Student Life and Learning Support staff.
What makes this job “cool” ?
No day is the same! One day we are deep in event planning mode, another day we are holding a karaoke event and then suddenly we are getting trained on how to work our snow cone machine. I love that every day I come into the office, there’s a new adventure or achievement to unlock.
What skills or experience are you gaining that could help in your future career?
This job has deepened my love for student affairs and campus engagement. I’ve always known that I wanted to help students. Originally, I wanted to be a teacher, hence why I entered TMU’s English Program. However, by the end of my undergrad and because of this job, I know that my passion lies in supporting students outside the classroom. I want to help students navigate their university experience and succeed in their own unique ways, rather than teaching them about Romeo & Juliet.
Did your studies or experience at TMU help you land this position? If so, please describe.
My student leadership experiences, especially my time at the Society of Arts, Social Science, and Humanities (SASSH) (external link) helped me land this position! I learned a lot of transferable skills in my role as president, like organizing large-scale events, leading a team of 20 student leaders, working with campus partners and quick problem-solving when things don’t go as planned.
What’s the most valuable aspect of this job/experience for you?
The most valuable aspect of this job is seeing the direct impact we have on students. Whether it’s helping a first-year feel welcomed during orientation or creating a memorable event that brings the community together, knowing that my work positively affects others is incredibly rewarding! I know how anxious I felt coming into TMU and I really looked up to all the leaders and staff members who made it possible, so it feels very full circle to do the same for the incoming folks.
What has been the best day or moment in this job for you so far, and why?
O-Week is always an amazing experience! Some unforgettable highlights include co-hosting Invocation, TMU’s annual orientation kickoff event, and organizing the Street Festival. This year, we expanded beyond Gould Street, taking over Nelson Mandela Walk and Victoria Street, with over 65 Campus Services and Student Groups participating.
What do you love most about it overall?
What I love most is the sense of community and connection. Orientation is all about collaborating with different people and entities on campus that you would have never talked to before. Bridging that gap and finding ways to support one another and our students makes a huge difference.
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