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Inner-city high school students stand out as FCC summer interns

The opportunities after high school are endless but it isn’t always easy to see beyond your own circumstances. For four students from Regina’s Scott Collegiate, an inner-city school in one of the province’s most challenging neighbourhoods, the summer of 2020 has been a chance for a unique work experience at FCC.

A believer in giving back and supporting the community, Fred Wall, Vice-President, Marketing at FCC, approached Scott Collegiate earlier this year for help in finding a student for a summer internship. Interested students had to put together a resume and a cover letter. When the applications came in, Fred and Shaina Wallace, Executive Coordinator, knew instead of hiring just one student, they needed to find spots for four stand-out students.

Smart, ambitious and eager, Kahaila Morris, Javen McConnell, Shanaiah Creedance and Minh Cao were all hired.

Fred’s goal went beyond giving the students a great corporate experience. “My dream is to change the workforce of the future, not just for FCC but for all of ag and food. Where is the ag labour force of the future coming from? I don’t want to just talk about it anymore, let’s do something about it. I see this as a talent pipeline for FCC and all of ag.”

The summer internship program has been an immeasurable success not only for the students, but for FCC, too.

“The students are incredible,” says Shaina. “If I would have had this opportunity being their age, that would have set me up for the future. They’re all so intelligent and such forward thinkers. They’re awesome and have exceeded everyone’s expectations.”

Before they wrapped up their summer experience, we asked each student to share a bit about themselves with us.

Kahaila Morris

Kahaila worked with Roddy MacLeod, Customer Digital Experience Manager, and the Customer Digital Experience team.

Tell me about yourself.

Hi, I’m Kahaila Morris, I’ll graduate from high school in 2021. I like spending time with my family, developing my piano skills and jogging. At school, I enjoy psychology, photography and graphic arts. I want to go to university and take psychology. I would like to be able to teach or be a guidance counsellor. I may also want to learn coding and website building. I’m Aboriginal from Cote’s First Nations.

Why did you apply to be a part of the student program at FCC?

In my graphic arts class, I had a 99% average. I was the top student and didn’t really have much to do so my teacher, Mr. Iooysen, asked if I wanted to help develop the relationship between FCC and Scott Collegiate by taking photos for about 20 different people. Roddy, Shaina and Shaun {Soonias} were a few I remember. When the summer student program was announced, I had the opportunity to be on Roddy’s team. I was intimidated by the requirements his team listed but I was really interested. Mr. Iooysen made me realize that this was “right up my alley” and would be a really good opportunity for me (he was right). I applied for Roddy’s team hoping for the best. I had also heard great things about the company that made me excited to hear that I had a chance to work for FCC.

Did anything surprise you when you started?

How everyone was so kind and welcoming. I was a little bit skeptical at first, like “okay what’s going on here”, because some of my family hasn’t had the best experiences at their first jobs. That wasn’t the case; I’m still surprised at how truly amazing FCC is and all the people here are.

What kind of work have you been doing?

I work with the Customer Digital Experience (CDX) team, learning about HTML, CSS and JavaScript from scratch using My Code Academy and knowledge from some of my coworkers. I’m also creating a logo for the Food Tourism and Hospitality Pathway at my school (Scott Collegiate) and I’m building a website for the Mamawi Café at Scott Collegiate.

What does it feel like to be a part of FCC?

At first, I was intimidated working for such a big company, going down to the FCC building and talking to Roddy but when I got to virtually meet my coworkers, I could picture what it could have been like in the office and how everyone had a role and I did too. 

This is one of my biggest achievements in life so far, working for FCC at the age of 16. I’m happy to wake up every morning and do my job. I’m a teenager and do have off days but I don’t let them interfere with my work because once I sit down and open my work laptop, it makes me feel better knowing I’m doing amazing things at my age and I couldn’t have done it without my teachers at Scott and meeting Roddy and Shaina back in February.

I feel like I fit in and that this is something that I needed in my life to show me how working with a professional company could help me gain more skills for my future. 

Would you ever come work with us again?

Yes, absolutely! FCC is an amazing company. I heard some people are working their dream jobs here and never get bored of the work they do. After being here for almost two months, it makes me want to develop my skills more then come back to FCC down the road to help make it a better company, not that it isn’t already a great one. I am grateful for the job I have now and the people I work with on the CDX team. I hope to do another summer internship with FCC next year before I go to university.

What’s the biggest thing you’ve learned so far?

Learning HTML and CSS has been the biggest thing. I’m not perfect and I’m still learning a lot every day but ever since I started coding, I’m really thinking about going down this path in the future.

What do you like the most and the least about the work you’ve been doing?

I have no complaints. I love the work I do and find it really fascinating. I’m doing a lot of coding so sometimes it does get stressful. That’s when I’ll take a brain break and stretch, put on some relaxing music or go sit outside in my backyard. If I need help or can’t figure something out on my own, I have a great coworker who has 23 years of experience in coding who helps me.

Roddy says working with Kahaila has been a great experience. “Kahaila is wise beyond her years. I’ve been beyond impressed by how switched on she is. She’s a great kid and a pleasure to chat with. Furthermore, having a chance to help influence someone with their career choices at such a critical time of their life has been very meaningful. Kahaila is a very quick learner so she’s been doing some code academy and web design along with helping us with content migration. We took the approach of learning and doing. She brings a different perspective and a good sense of humour to the team.”

Javen McConnell

Javen was a summer student on the Indigenous Relations Team, with Director, Shaun Soonias.

Tell me about yourself.

My name is Javen McConnell and I was born in Regina, Saskatchewan. Outside of work, I enjoy playing video games and basketball, watching sports (NBA, CFL, MLB) and studying history. I was part of the basketball team at school and loved the Native studies and Cree language classes. I plan to take a year off school to earn money and save, then I’ll be going to university to become a social worker. I have three sisters, a niece and a nephew.

Why did you apply to be a part of the student program at FCC?

The pandemic had left me with no responsibility for months. I was feeling very unproductive, so once I saw the opportunity to work at FCC, I jumped on it.

Did anything surprise you when you started?

The biggest thing that surprised me after joining FCC was how welcoming everyone was here. It made me feel very comfortable.

What kind of work have you been doing?

My work includes contacting different academic institutions around Canada to request any research papers they may have pertaining to Indigenous agriculture and economic development.

What does it feel like to be a part of FCC?

Originally it felt very intimidating to join FCC, but now I have a sense of pride at being a part of this huge organization.

Would you ever come work with us again?

I would love to work with FCC in the future. My experience so far has been nothing but positive.

What’s the biggest thing you’ve learned so far?

In our unique situation working from home, I’ve learned how to work independently and handle distractions.

What do you like the most and the least about the work you’ve been doing?

What I’ve liked most about my job so far is the knowledge I’ve been able to gain from the numerous well written papers I’ve received from universities. The only thing that comes to mind that’s been negative about my work is when I don’t get the responses or research that I’ve requested from universities.

Shaun has appreciated the chance to work with Javen this summer.

“While Javen came to FCC with limited experience working in an office or exposure to Indigenous economic development and agriculture, he has showcased his skills and developed others in the short time he has been on the Indigenous Relations Team at FCC.

Javen is helping FCC get academic papers, research and journal articles, and further develop our contacts and relationships with post-secondary institutions on Indigenous economic development and agriculture. Javen dived into our Indigenous strategy and FCC learning and has built on his natural confidence in his interactions with stakeholders. He has shown up in internal and external meetings prepared with some great ideas that add value to the work we’re undertaking.”

Shanaiah Creedance

Shanaiah is a summer student on Fred Wall’s marketing team.

Tell me about yourself.

My name is Shanaiah Creedance. I was born and adopted in Regina, Saskatchewan. I’m 17 years old and I graduated from Scott Collegiate last June. I enjoy doing sketches and acrylic painting and love playing and learning guitar. (Shanaiah is also an accomplished martial artist. She loves sports and finished 4th in the city-wide competition. She’s made a film with SaskFilm and has held four jobs including being a mentor in the Growing Young Movers program.) I also like hanging out with my friends. At Scott, I enjoyed the food! I loved meeting new people and building new friendships, learning was fun too. I plan on going to school and joining the military before I become a police officer.

Why did you apply to be a part of the student program at FCC?

When the program was introduced at Scott, I thought it would be a great job to learn from while earning money at the same time.

Did anything surprise you when you started?

How nice and supportive everyone is. I thought it would be way different. I was really intimidated since it was a big company. I never knew it would be like this.

What kind of work have you been doing?

I’ve been taking a course on agriculture called Ag 101. I take notes along the way about how to improve the course for those who take it in the future, especially for people my age.

What does it feel like to be a part of FCC?

It feels good to know you have support and kindness along the way and that’s something I never expected from a big company.

Would you ever come work with us again?

Without a doubt. I’m already learning so much and creating new connections with people. I would work here again and try different things.

What’s the biggest thing you’ve learned so far?

To never be intimidated because you’ll never know until you try.

What do you like the most and the least about the work you’ve been doing?

I really liked taking the Ag 101 course and I would recommend it to others. I do get distracted when I work at home. I try not too but it happens, and it bugs me.

Fred is immensely proud of the program and the students like Shanaiah who have brought it to life this summer.

“I’m so impressed by all these students, including Shanaiah. They work hard, they have great imaginations and they’re soaking up learning and experience better than I did at their age.”

Minh Cao

Minh is a marketing summer student with Special Projects Manager Diana Laturnus.

Tell me about yourself.

I’m from Vietnam. I moved to Canada with my mom, dad and sister. In my free time, I usually watch movies or YouTube, play games or just relax. I enjoy the food at my school, we have great students working alongside a great chef making fantastic meals. After graduation, I’m thinking of attending Saskatchewan Polytechnic.

Why did you apply to be a part of the student program at FCC?

A few months ago, I heard FCC had a spot open for a Scott student and I thought I would give it a shot. I thought it was a great opportunity and I could gain a lot of experience. 

Did anything surprise you when you started?

The thing that surprised me the most is how everyone was so willing to help me when I needed it. I believe it’s FCC’s culture.

What kind of work have you been doing?

I’ve worked on a few projects. My first project was researching and looking for information on community centres across Canada that FCC could potentially partner with for its inner-city initiative.

What does it feel like to be a part of FCC?

I feel very honoured to be a part of this amazing company and amazing team.

Would you ever come work with us again?

I would definitely love to work with FCC again.

What’s the biggest thing you’ve learned so far?

The biggest thing I’ve learned so far would be about agriculture. How big it is and how many different types of jobs there are, especially for me as I’m still deciding which career path I want to take.

What do you like the most and the least about the work you’ve been doing?

The best part of my job is working with my team.

Diana says Minh has been a rock star all summer long.

“Minh has been a great addition to our team, he’s organized, asks good questions and is analytical. He works on projects where you need to take in a lot of information and synthesize it into targeted segments. He’s very good at that! Minh has also participated fully in the culture article discussions and has great perspective on how to work with others. It’s been such a joy to work with Minh. We’re learning from Minh, too! This has been such a positive experience that I would love to hire another student again next year.”