Jessica Cappuccitti, (She/Her/Hers)

Work-Integrated Learning Coordinator

Western University

Roles/Involvement with EWO: Member

1. Tell us a little bit about your career and why you do what you do.

I’ve ended up far from where I started -- my undergrad, masters, and PhD are all in art history, and after studying at Western and OCAD I came back to Western for my PhD. I loved it, but I also learned about all the careers that weren’t out there, which was a bit sobering. I was nearly finished with my PhD when an opportunity came up called the Graduate Student Internship Program, which still exists today. I was hired to help create Western’s Arts and Humanities Internship Program and was able to finish my PhD while I worked.

When I graduated, I thought, “maybe I can get back into careers and experience, I really liked it there.” I came back into the department and worked in a few different admin roles, and when the WIL Coordinator role came up, I applied because I was so passionate about the work I had done for Arts and Humanities. And here I am, trying to find work experiences for students! I never would’ve thought, “that’s the job for me,” or that I could feel this passionately about it -- and I do, which is really nice.

2. Co-op, WIL and EL are delivered very differently across the country, yet we all do very similar work. Tell us about your institution/team/department/program.

There are two WIL Coordinators here [at Western] located centrally in Careers and Experience, and we support a decentralized campus. There are 40 WIL programs and courses across campus and 32 of them are managed centrally in Western Connect, our version of Orbis Outcome. The teams across campus vary in size -- sometimes it’s just one person who runs a whole program -- and we support their processes through Western Connect: job offers, postings, closures, etc. [My colleague] Eileen and I also chair the WIL working group, and we like to provide PD opportunities for members so we can come together around certain topics.

3. What’s the best part of working at your institution?

I did my undergrad and my PhD at Western and I’m a proud alum -- I’m excited that I get to work for my university, that was always a dream -- then it’s my team and my direct leaders that make working for this institution positive and exciting. I’m surrounded by these super talented colleagues who come from different backgrounds, we’re led by passionate leaders who care a lot about this work, and they’ve laid a strong foundation for the work that I get to do. And EL being part of our strategic plan gives me confidence in my work, and it makes me feel validated that the work’s important.

4. Tell us about the themes or topics in co-op/WIL/EL that you’re passionate about. 

While I was on leave, Western revamped our gender-based sexual violence (GBSV) and wellness resources and training. Our EL team was encouraged to engage with the resources developed by the Courage to Act project from Possibility Seeds, and with the support of our leader, we wanted to bring these resources to WIL at Western. We made it a goal to embed those learnings into all the different aspects of our programming. We invited Possibility Seeds to come talk to our WIL working group and we collaborated with our GBSV education team on campus to come up with training for our students (Bringing Our Values to Work) that we’ve now launched for all our WIL students on campus, both in person and virtual.

And as an Arts and Humanities grad, I have such a soft spot for WIL opportunities in Arts and Humanities, and embedding career foundations into programs that don’t have them.

5. What would you recommend to a new professional getting involved in WIL/EL in Ontario?

Get involved! Meet people, go to conferences if it’s in the budget, including virtual conferences. There are so many amazing and talented folks in the space, and once I started meeting people I realized that we’re all on the same page. We’re all doing this work together: our struggles are similar, our wins are similar, our passions are similar. That’s my main recommendation, getting to know your colleagues across Ontario and across Canada, because it’s so important to have that network.

6. Who are you outside of work? Where would we find you on a weekend or holiday?

Having a kid -- that’s become my hobby! Getting him outside and playing and really being in those moments with him, that’s what I really value right now. I’m a runner (I ran the New York City Marathon last year) and now I’m finally getting back to enjoying running again. And this is so dorky, but I love going to farmers’ markets and Christmas or holiday markets -- with my girlfriends, not with my toddler!