Aric Hayes

Aric's Experience at Humber

Please tell us about your time at Humber College. What was the best part of it?

My time at Humber was one of the best experiences I had in any educational setting. There were so many elements to the program that made my time there memorable. The classes were practical, and it was knowledge you would experience in the field experiences we participated in. I liked how hands on it was, and as much as I don’t like to admit it, working in groups helps prepare you for the work environment or further education. I also met some of my best friends here and had wonderful classmates in all of my classes that I still keep in touch with to this day.

The teachers were also so amazing. They genuinely cared for you as a person and wanted everyone to be successful. They taught the content in a way that could be understood with videos and examples, and it wasn’t just reading information off slides. It was much more personable, and I really enjoyed coming to school every day. The services available around campus also made life easy while at school and I felt that I was helped in all that I needed.

Please tell us about your experience since graduating.

Since graduating, and within 3 months of graduation, I have been working full time in the field. I was hired by one of my field experiences and have been with them since 2019. I have also been working for the Halton District School Board for a couple of years now and I volunteered with the Kids Help Phone Crisis Line. I feel that I was able to do well in my workplaces due to my field experience. I did different kinds of placements so I could get an idea of what area in the field I would like to pursue and by doing this, one of my placements hired me on.

I am back in school, and I am attending Waterloo University for my Social Work Degree and I also plan to apply for my Master’s afterwards. I feel that my education at Humber has put me in a position where I can be successful and can go after what I want in the field. If you give your effort to the program, it will reward you tremendously.

What do you find most satisfying about your career choice?

It took me a long time to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. Going into Humber, it was my third time going to post-secondary and trying to see what I wanted to do with my life. Since completing my schooling, I know this is exactly what I want to do with my life. I love how I can see growth with the youth who I work with and can see genuine change in them. Some will not be as successful as others, but that is all a part of growing up sometimes. I work with youth and sometimes they need to land hard on their feet to learn from the mistakes they have made. There is nothing better than seeing youth want to better themselves and taking the steps to put their life on the right path. I have seen many kids go from being high school dropouts to becoming high school graduates. What I do makes me feel happy to be a part of the field, and I am so proud of what I have accomplished so far.