JIERE DILLON

Graduated from Wilfrid Laurier University’s Honors BA Environmental Studies program. Both during and outside my studies, I have gained invaluable experiences in a wide array of environments.

EXPERIENCES

EQWIP HUBs

While in my fourth year, I worked closely with Laurier International to organize my summer internship placement in Surabaya, Indonesia. The placement was with the Canada World Youth program, EQWIP HUBs. My official role was as part of the Youth Leadership Team (YLT). The goal of this program was to administer social entrepreneurship and employability training to underserved youth in neighbourhoods surrounding UNTAG, one of EQWIP HUBs university partners.

While on placement, I completed multiple semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions with university-age students. After these discussions, I was required to clean and code interview & survey data. During my placement, I also took on event organization and facilitation as an additional responsibility. One of these events included a beach clean-up in partnership with UNTAG Eco-Club students and the #SEASOLDIER Foundation. Another included a microplastics movie night/lecture series. During this event community members enjoyed the Sky Special Report: A Plastic Tide, followed by a lecture by a local hydrology student studying the effects of microplastics on the Surabaya River. Both events required me to stay organized and keep detailed records of human and material resources.

67786679_884933055209993_1547825438028464128_n.jpg

GG465: Capstone Urban Sustainability Project

74231770_428005254811351_5688646297645481984_n.png

During my final year of university, I enrolled in my programs year-long capstone course, GESC 465. In GG465: Capstone Urban Sustainability Project (CUSP), I worked in a consultation team developing a proposal for our community partner, the City of Cambridge, Ontario. Specifically, the city wanted to revamp their sign bylaws that had last been updated back in 2003. The area of the city my team was required to analyze was the Hespeler Road Corridor.

Through my experience in this course, I enhanced my resume with skills including project management, written communication, graphic design, mapping, public speaking, research analysis and community engagement.

At the end of the course, my team competed against 4 other teams in front of a panel of planning practitioners to assess the quality of our work.

My role specifically was as the Community Engagement Specialist.

My contributions to the team and the final deliverable were as follows:

  • Creation of Executive Summary (p.1);

  • Creation of Cover Letter (after title page);

  • Creation of “Visual Clutter” section (p. 8-9);

  • General research for sources used throughout the document;

  • Community data collection through door to door survey canvassing;

  • Assisted in the creation of slideshows used to present our ideas to community partners/practitioners;

  • Teamwork periods included graphic design sessions where all team members provided input on how Axial Consulting Ltd. wanted to be presented;

  • Team meetings also included collecting everyone’s input on how our work should progress and the goals of the consulting team in general

Team Members

Jack Campanile - Project Manager

Jacob Wright - Communication Expert & Graphic Designer

Laura Duncan - Research & Policy Analyst

Instructor

Laine Young

For more information about the course click here.

Final Deliverable can be found below.

Operation Wallacea

Similar to my internship, I was a biodiversity research assistant for Operation Wallacea in Tanzania (summer of 2018). There I collected quantitative data on land as well as while scuba diving. My intercultural communication skills matured greatly as a result of the time I spent in East Africa and South-east Asia.

49783388_2334694416759885_6501195887472017408_n.jpg

Communications Operator

My experience as a Communications Operator with the Laurier Special Constables gave me a newfound appreciation for the work of law enforcement and the personnel essential to supporting them. This experience required me to keep highly detailed records on calls ranging from 911 emergencies to general inquiries about university affairs. These notes were transcribed in a personal logbook and inputted into the computer-aided dispatch system for later evaluation. An extremely high degree of confidentiality had to be maintained for this position.

VOLUNTEERING

Global Engagement Student Ambassador - GESA (Laurier International Office)

Laurier International’s responsibility in Global Engagement is to plan, develop, implement and evaluate intercultural programming to meet Laurier’s goal of “graduating students who are engaged and aware of their role in an increasingly globalized society”.

During my time as a GESA I was responsible for:

  • Organizing, promoting and implementing Global Engagement related events and programs;

  • Representing Laurier International at various information fairs;

  • Delivering classroom presentations to promote Study Abroad opportunities;

  • Assisting outbound exchange students with application, pre-departure, and re-entry activities; and

  • Participate in new exchange student orientation, and provide ongoing encouragement and support to incoming exchange students as they adapted to live in Canada

Through these various experiences, I was able to improve my presentation skills, increase my personal understanding of social justice issues, reinforce my own knowledge by teaching and mentoring others, and participate in sustaining positive change on

More about the program here

EcoHawks

EcoHawks is an enthusiastic team whose purpose is to advocate proper sustainability practices for the student body at Laurier.

My responsibilities included:

  • Setup, operate, and taking down booths for various fundraising and awareness events ex. E-waste awareness booth;

  • Brainstorming different fundraising ideas with other committee members;

  • Promoting fundraising initiatives;

  • The promotion of committee and overall environmental awareness; and

  • Participating in community/campus clean-ups after events such as Homecoming and St. Patrick's Day

Modo Yoga International (Ambassador Program)

Modo Yoga is an international community of hot yoga studios, united in their dedication to creating a more just and sustainable world. They welcome beginners in yoga and experienced students.

My responsibilities as an Ambassador included:

  • Embodying and displaying the six pillars of Modo Yoga in the studio and everyday life: (1)Be Healthy (2)Be Accessible (3)Be Green (4)Be Community (5)Live to Learn (6)Be Peace';

  • Cleaning change rooms, hot yoga room, main lobby areas, other ‘general cleaning’ duties;

  • Supporting desk staff during sign-in before classes; and

  • Building rapport and contribute to a welcoming atmosphere for community members