Hi folks,

This is Noel Macdonald from NSCC’s Student Pathways. Over the next two months I’ll be travelling across Nova Scotia, visiting high schools to talk to students about their career options. There are so many exciting programs to choose from, it can be overwhelming, but we’re here to help.

We want you to find the career that you are going to fall in love with and we’ll do whatever we can to point you in the right direction. When I was in high school trying to figure out what to do next, my dad would say to me, “think of a job that you’d be happy doing for thirty years.” It’s hard to imagine doing one thing for that long. Most people don’t.

What I think my dad really meant was that it’s important to be passionate about what you do everyday. You’re job should excite you and mean something to you. That’s when a job isn’t just a job— it’s a career.

Spend some time over at www.nscc.ca/real and look for things that inspire you. We’ve got stories, pictures and videos from graduates who are finding themselves in careers they really care about. There is nothing more satisfying than making the right choice.

If you have any questions, send them along to pathways@nscc.ca or leave a comment on this blog. We’re happy to help!

Last week was Metro Week on the AARAO tour, and for the third week in a row, we were absolutely swamped at the booth! I spoke to guidance counsellors at a few schools who said that NSCC is more popular than ever, and they can't keep our books on the shelves!

Here's my co-worker Jenn, at the NSCC booth at Citadel HS in Halifax (which incidentally is on the exact same site where the old NSCC Halifax Campus used to be - where I was a Screen Arts student for 2 years!)

We have both been working the road like crazy for the past few weeks, and I have a big old stack of Inquiry cards to respond to. If you haven't received an email from me yet, I haven't forgotten you - I'm back in the office for a few days, and will be sending you guys messages like there's no tomorrow. If you didn't fill out a card and you have some questions, send me a note at thomas.ryan@nscc.ca -

In the meantime, being home again means healthy eating for a while, I sadly will be cheeseburger free until the last week of November. Booooooo!

I'm back in the office to take a much needed breath! Things have been really busy on the road so far with the AARAO tour, and we've been around the entire Annapolis Valley, as well as a few schools in the Halifax Regional School Board. It seems to me that students are more prepared than ever, and I'm getting lots of great questions about our programs and campuses. It's always interesting to me that every school has a few programs that are really popular - at Sir John A. MacDonald I answered about a dozen questions about our Recording Arts program, and at Horton High there were a bunch of students interested in our Sign Language and Deaf Studies programs.

One of the coolest things I've noticed so far is that students are understanding how important it is to apply early to NSCC. If you know what program you want to take, don't hesitate! You can apply in grade 11 and the earlier you get that application in, the better the chance you'll get that seat! Remember that you can apply in grade 11, and that gives you a good head start over grade 12 applications.

Song of the week - Genesis - Justice

Fast food count - 2 cheeseburgers, 1 poutine, Greek pizza (zero salads, boo)

I can hardly believe it’s almost time for the AARAO tour to begin again for another year! I will be heading out on the road next week, visiting schools around the Annapolis valley, and doing my best to answer questions about NSCC and our programs and campuses. We’re really excited about our updated website (where you can find regularly updated AARAO visit dates) , and I don’t hate my picture in the viewbook, so things are looking so far so good.

The blog should be busier this year, with regular updates from the road – we’re visiting Newfoundland, New Brunswick and PEI this year, so it’s going to be a super busy few months, and I’m sure I’ll have lots of great feedback and questions from the schools I visit!

Now to load up my iPod and prepare for the fall of a thousand cheeseburgers...

Wish me luck – hope to see some of you guys out there!
Tom