Caring for the natural environment has always been important to me and 25 years ago, I studied for a Bachelor’s degree in Plant Science and a Master’s degree in Soil Science in the UK. After a short international stint working on a plant fertilizer trial with the United Nations, however, I switched to working in the then-nascent information technology field, where I soon became a project manager responsible for a variety of projects to update computer systems.
Within a few years, I realized I needed to do something more in line with my commitment to making the world a better place, particularly the natural environment. However, my commitments also now included supporting a young family, and it was 20 years before I decided that it was now or never. I gave up my job at a large Montreal information technology company, and set out to find work in the environmental sector.
I couldn’t believe my luck – after 20 years of feeling lost and out of place, the stars had aligned and I finally arrived at the place I had been searching for!”
With such out-of-date knowledge and little working experience in the environmental sector, finding a new job was much more challenging than I had anticipated. It took me a year of networking and volunteering for everything I could find in the environmental field before I was invited by a professor in the School of Architecture to assist with a project on community gardens. This led to a visit to the Macdonald Campus to interview a professor in the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences’ Department of Natural Resource Sciences, who offered me a position as a doctoral candidate studying the effects of engineered nanoparticles on soils. I couldn’t believe my luck – after 20 years of feeling lost and out of place, the stars had aligned and I finally arrived at the place I had been searching for!
Transitioning from the fast-paced and solutions-oriented IT environment into academia was, however, an enormous challenge and it took me three years to really understand the difference between working in business and conducting research. I recall that at the start of my doctoral program, I sent my supervisors a timetable detailing my first year of research work – something that is standard and expected in project management. I was told that research doesn’t quite work like that because, unlike a business plan, it involves continually adjusting your plans to incorporate new information and insights. How right that was and, along with my deepening analytical skills, I learned how to reason and reflect.
The support I received from my cohort at Mac, my supervisors, and my family and friends was immensely important. No one asked why somebody in her mid-40s would go back and do a PhD; I was surrounded by positivity and in fact, far from questioning me, people would often tell me how brave they thought I was to go back to school. I never questioned or regretted the decision myself but I think this external support played a large role in my ability to persevere.
Towards the end of my PhD I made great use of both the Mac Campus Careers Advice Centre and the downtown CaPS centre. The staff in both units helped me focus on the steps I needed to take for my career. This was something I had been finding particularly challenging as I was well outside the normal age range for PhD students so in a somewhat different space than my peers – as well as being the parent of another McGill student! After reflection I realized that I wanted to give back to McGill by combining my newfound expertise in science and knowledge of the academic environment with my expertise in project management. I was fortunate that the end of my studies coincided with the launch of the McGill Sustainability Systems Initiative (MSSI) and, with my management background and knowledge of academia, I was appointed its first Program Director. The challenge of making our world more sustainable requires input from many different disciplines and the MSSI not only provides a focal point to connect McGill’s many strong researchers in sustainability-related areas but also provides funds to support bold and innovative sustainability-related research.
As a project manager, I developed my skills of flexibility, adaptability, creativity and communication. As well as developing my analytical and thinking skills, my doctoral experience taught me humility, self-reflection, and a deep respect for others who have honed their knowledge through many years of hard work and study. As MSSI Program Director I am constantly delving into areas of research that are new to me and am able to bring all these skills to bear. I hope that after a long journey to get here, my latest career will, at least in a small way, move the world further toward a more sustainable existence.
This story was adapted from an interview conducted by TRaCE McGill. Click here to read Heather’s full interview.