“Originally, I was considering leaving Halifax to study. Then I discovered a bigger world to explore right here.”
The Mount's Co-operative Education is more than a means to earning money
Allison Sparling found her way to the Mount through her grandmother, Mary Sparling, former MSVU Art Gallery curator, honorary alumnae, and Honorary Doctorate recipient. Allison found inspiration in her grandmother’s passionate personality. It helped kick-start her own activism in local and global issues and it fostered her appreciation for the finer things in life.
| | Now in her fourth year in the Public Relations Program, Allison has worked at three co-op terms, one government and two of them not-for-profit. She credits this experience with giving her a comfort in the workplace culture many people her age don’t have. It also gave her the confidence to attend the Women’s Campaign School and to successfully compete for a place in the Girls 2012 Conference which will be hosted by the Mount in March. The transformative conference will welcome young girls, educators, organizations and advocates to celebrate girls and discuss issues and topics relating to young women. Allison is confident she can find a career that complements her personal beliefs. |
"You don’t have to abandon your ideals for a career.”
Like many others in the PR program here at the Mount, Sparling has established her own personal brand through social media. “I was always the girl getting way off topic and ruining the mood at casual dinners with rants about how the restaurant’s advertisement was sexist or bring up political apathy. Social media allows me to start conversations and let people choose to be part of them. I may still inflict a rant at another dinner party in my lifetime."
“I love languages. I love to talk. Social media is a new language that just makes sense for me.”
You can learn more about Allison and her opinions, and let her know your own, by following her blog and on Twitter.