Natalia Santilli

Year of Graduation: 2016

University: Glendon College, York University

Program: Specialized honours English BA + Technical and Professional Communication

Work Experience: Oh boy I’ve had a whole wack of odd jobs since entering University. York’s Top Scholars program got me a position as a professor’s research assistant in first year that had me crammed in a makeshift library cataloguing book after dusty book (and rewatching episode after mind-numbing episode of The Office). Other than that I was a lazy daisy first year working only the one job and enrolled in only 3 courses because I was scared pantsless of losing the scholarship that I’d slaved over. Second year I said to myself hey kid why don’t you make up for lost time and work ALL the jobs and take ALL the courses with absolutely zero days off in a week. And so I worked as a nanny to a rich family who often tried to skimp on pay and as a night porter at the residence that I technically lived at but was so grossed out by that I often stayed at home. My 20/20 hindsight tells me that my decisions in second year were a bit miscalculated. Here I am now having finished third year and I think I finally figured things out. I got a coordinator’s position at Lunik, the student-run cooperative on campus, and have never felt more at home in a setting or social circle. Our funky little hangout space in the basement of a crumbling old manor with its pay-what-you-can coffee, comfy couches, and community garden has been the center of my universe for the past year (and will be for coming years) – it’s where I’ve met the people who are most near and dear to my heart and where I go even to while my time away on my days off, it’s nearly become my apartment. As the General Environment Coordinator it’s my job to look after renovations, décor, and sustainability initiatives, and it would be no understatement to say that my work has become one big passion project (especially now that levy organizations are being doomed to the infernal regions, we’re really rolling up our sleeves over here). I guess I’ve blabbed on about that one enough. Oh yes and I’m also working as a freelance editor (or as I like to call myself, a copy-paste monkey) for Pearson Education. This is a sweet little job and potentially a good foot in the door for a job in my field, there’s just not as much to ooh and aah about as Lunik. That said it definitely keeps me busy even as I sit in my pjs listening to podcasts working in bed. Ta da!

Notable Experience: Well, I got a full scholarship that hangs over my head as an ever-present reminder to keep my s**t together. So that was one big experience. But this in turn has forced me to be pretty chummy with my profs (yes I’m using “but” at the beginning of a sentence), at first only because I was going on a hope and a prayer that if I dropped the ball they’d be kind enough to kick it back up, but now we’ve reached going-out-for-drinks-as-pals status and the relationship is no longer purely utilitarian. What can ya do. It’s all too easy to become very closely acquainted with people, students and profs alike, at a campus as teeny tiny as Glendon. I think what I’m getting at here is that the close relationships I’ve developed with my profs has been an indispensable part of my University experience, because while York sometimes makes me want to rip my hair out, the Glendon community reminds me that I would look terrible bald. And also of all the reasons I love the whole shebang regardless.

Words of Wisdom: Here it is folks, my apparently unpopular opinion, so be it: don’t like math and science? Don’t force yourself to. Like math and science but don’t wanna go into either field? Same answer. I hereby sanction your decision. I wish I could shout it from the rooftops because intelligence is so much more fluid than being enrolled in a STEM program just because it seems that’s the only way to get any credit for the grey matter between your ears. Don’t get me wrong, if it suits you, run with it, some of my closest friends study science in one shape or another and they’re loving every minute of it. To each their own. And yes, “admitting” to being an English major tends to get an unimpressed “and what do you hope to get with that?” – but I’m confident in my decision because, cheesy as it is, I couldn’t be happier with the material I get to fill my wee brain with. At the end of the day, that’s what it’s all about, whether you let yourself believe it or not. What I mean to say is that if the STEM path doesn’t sit right with you, trust your gut. It really is just as simple as that. I know for many people a decision like that would be met with a lot of uproar from well-meaning parents whose horizons haven’t yet opened up to include say, languages or humanities. To those of you in that situation, you might have to be a little defiant. In the long run though, your mental health and plain old happiness is more important than your salary, and you’ll thank yourself by respecting your individuality enough to choose what genuinely interests you.

Another word of advice: visit the damned residence before you move in.

Contact: natalia-santilli@hotmail.com