Sept. 21, 2018

Jump on opportunity to take Certificate in Sustainability Studies, recent grad advises

Aviva Fialkow’s sustainability certificate was a great addition to her degree, creating an outlet to explore her passion for the field
Aviva Fialkow is one of the first graduates from the University of Calgary's Certificate in Sustainability Studies.

Aviva Fialkow is one of the first graduates from the Certificate in Sustainability Studies.

Riley Brandt, University of Calgary

This past spring, the University of Calgary saw its very first graduates of the Certificate in Sustainability Studies walk the stage. Among the seven graduates who have gone on to put their sustainability certificate toward their next career and academic goals was Aviva Fialkow. As a major in Communication and Media Studies, Fialkow decided to enrich her degree with UCalgary’s Certificate in Sustainability Studies to pursue her dream of a sustainability career. Moving ahead to summer 2018, Fialkow has landed a job with an institutional sustainability team as a program assistant, applying the knowledge and skills she developed through the sustainability certificate.

"I always knew that I wanted to pursue a career in sustainability, but was worried that I wouldn’t be able to get into the field with just my communications degree,” says Fialkow. “After taking the Certificate in Sustainability Studies, I now feel confident going into job interviews that I have acquired the right skill set to equip me for success in the field.”

The Certificate in Sustainability Studies also helped Fialkow find a position in the solar energy industry as a marketing and communications co-ordinator earlier this year while she finished school.

“[SkyFire’s] team is extremely knowledgeable and experienced, and I am honoured to have had the opportunity to have worked with such amazing people,” says Fialkow. “Despite how wonderful the company was, I felt that a career in marketing was not the right fit for me. Given my interest in pursuing a master's one day, I wanted to try and find a position that would allow me to further develop my research skills, which led me to my current role with an institutional sustainability team.” 

In the future, she plans on applying for her master's and hopes the time she spent in the Certificate in Sustainability Studies will provide her with a competitive advantage to get into her program of choice.

“While it is still too early to say, I hope that my experiences in the certificate will assist me in gaining admission to Environmental Design. I feel that the values instilled throughout the sustainability program closely align with the goals of environmental design, so hopefully that will work to my advantage when I am applying,” says Fialkow.

To any undergraduate students considering a career in sustainability, Fialkow recommends jumping on the opportunity to take the Certificate in Sustainability Studies.

“I feel like it was a great addition to my degree because it created an outlet for me to explore my passion for sustainability by learning about some of the cultural, economic, environmental and social issues currently impacting both local and global communities. I would definitely recommend it to any students looking to gain more relevant and meaningful research experience during their undergraduate degrees.”

As for what’s next, if Fialkow gets into her master’s program, she hopes to study potential solutions for reducing food insecurity in remote northern communities through the adoption of sustainable food, water and energy systems. In the future, she’s not sure where she’ll land, but she’s sure that it will be sustainability-related and that the Certificate in Sustainability Studies will help her get there.     

“My one certainty is that I want to find a fulfilling career that will enable me to help both people and the planet. Only time will tell where that takes me!”  

Find out more about the Certificate in Sustainability Studies.