We're only a couple weeks into the back to school madness and our hearts were all aflutter with all the social media pics of our little friends headed off with their new lunchpails and backpacks when they started a brand new year a couple weeks ago.
The Penguins were having a conversation about our own school days in one of our weekly production meetings, when we realized none of us have ever stopped learning. We may not have recess and final exams anymore (thank the gods!), but we've been learning about new industries, new techniques, and sometimes educating ourselves about things completely unrelated to our jobs!
Getting Schooled
Take Sid for example, after high school, he went to Memorial University for a year with big dreams of becoming a psychologist. It wasn’t long before he realized that path wasn’t the right one for him. A semester later at College of the North Atlantic studying multimedia is where Sid fell in love with design. He completed more courses and began working in his field immediately upon graduation.
Sure his education comes into play every single day in his job – creating stunning designs for ads and billboards, and so much more – but he says his real teachers were curiosity, hands-on experience, and great mentors.
To this day Sid is an active learner. As a business owner, he’s not just perfecting his skills as a designer. He’s taken on tasks like bookkeeping and business management – learning the whole way. He’s a voracious reader and has learned tons from video platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and SkillShare.
“Everything I do is creative problem solving, which requires continued learning. Be that about businesses I have little to no experience with, or learning how to do my job when ‘how the job is done’ changes every year,” Sid says. “To me, lifelong learning is a given. How could you not continue to learn, become more informed, acquire new skills, or improve the ones you have? Even beyond what you do for work, like hobbies or just random things that interest you. Learning is essential.”
Hitting the Books
Kris, our killer project manager followed a similar path as mine in that we both went to journalism school - her at Conestoga College and I at College of the North Atlantic. Kris realized quickly that she was way more interested in digital media, and after she graduated went on to University of Guelph-Humber for Media Studies and Digital Communications.
I went into my chosen field, working as a print reporter for nearly 15 years before going into communications and public relations - and eventually - marketing.
But sometimes the things you learn in school have nothing to do with your classwork. Kris says she learned plenty in school, but time management was her real lesson. Kris was a busy student with a full course load, a part-time job, and she volunteered throughout her education. In class she learned how to meet quick deadlines, resourcefulness, teamwork, and public speaking. All of these skills are key in her project management role every day, but she still continues to learn all the time and especially loves to discover our clients’ industries.
“Every experience is a learning opportunity, to grow personally or professionally. It can mean taking the initiative to seek out more education or thinking outside of the box by solving problems creatively,” Kris says.
Learned by Heart
Erin, our social media manager and backup writer of all things online, is absolutely learning, having just finished an Introduction to Adobe Essentials course from Emily Carr University and is also a driving school student (!).
Erin studied Communications, Media, and Film at the University of Windsor, which is where she gets her exceptional planning and communication skills, but she says her time at school was also about time management and critical thinking – all of which she uses on a daily basis. Lifelong learning is all about the rabbit holes, she says.
“Deep diving on “How-To” TikTok may lead you to a new hobby you end up being passionate about. Even on a daily basis, following my social media curiosities lead me to blogs, articles, and seminars which help me stay on top of trends in the industry,” she says.
Curiosity Kills the Copycat
Agreed! Curiosity is what brought me to this incredible place with this incredible team. I always asked a lot of questions and within a few years of graduating, I was asking questions of police chiefs, search and rescue personnel, Provincial Court judges, government ministers, and even the Prime Minister. Curiosity still works to my advantage every day – asking our clients questions like ‘Why would a customer get excited about your business?’ ‘If your business was a car, what would the make, model, and year be?,’ and ‘What’s the one thing you hear from every customer?’ The most fun part of the job is learning!
Here Comes the Bell
Happy back to school season to everyone. We hope you learn something new today. And if you’re ready to learn a little more about our always-evolving marketing expertise, get in touch. We’d love to tell you about the latest trends and timeless tactics!
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