 Persevering for a passion
After a few false starts, George Brown student discovers a career she loves
After graduating with a business degree from a prestigious university, Olivia Glauberzon’s first job was as a sales rep selling facility services. But, as soon as she started, she knew that she wanted to do something else.
While attending university, Olivia had run her own fitness business part-time and loved it. So, after just six weeks of selling toilet paper dispensers, Olivia made the decision to leave the business world and teach group fitness full-time.
But, after two months of step class after step class, she was still unsatisfied. Her body ached, and she felt bored most of the time. That’s when Olivia decided to go back to school.
“Because I would be paying for school myself, I did a lot of research,” Olivia says. “A friend had enjoyed Steve Veale’s Writing for Magazines class through Continuing Education at George Brown – and, when I coupled that with the economical fees involved, I was sold.”
In September 2006, the then 23-year-old arrived in Steve’s class not knowing what to expect.
“My primary concern was the course’s real-world applicability,” Olivia says. “I wanted to make sure I could make money selling articles after learning how to pitch them and write them in class.”
But Olivia’s apprehension was quickly put to rest. Steve began the course by saying that he would teach students not how to write but how to sell – and he delivered.
“Time in the classroom was dedicated to analyzing publication after publication and thinking of ways to sell them,” Olivia recalls. “He taught us how to think like the editors we wanted to have publish our work and made us realize that getting published is about persistence and hard work, not just about how well you write.”
As the course was drawing to a close, Olivia accepted a dream job teaching fitness on a cruise ship. She was able to finish the course via e-mail and thought she would never pick up a pen again. However, that thought didn’t last once Olivia set sail. Once onboard, she found herself writing about cruise life for hours every day using the article style she had learned at George Brown.
In February 2007, Olivia was back in Toronto for a two-month break from the cruise ship – and found herself using Steve’s lesson of persistence as she ventured to get published. Eventually, she won over the editor-in-chief of Town Crier newspaper. Olivia was hired that September, just two weeks after leaving the cruise ship.
“If it wasn’t for that class, I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing,” says Olivia, whose Ms. Behavin’ column was a regular feature in the paper. “That’s why I recommend it to everyone. The course is very practical and gets you to work – which is really the ultimate goal, isn’t it?”
Olivia took her experience (and George Brown training) to Investment Executive, where she was responsible for researching and writing various features for financial advisors as a research editor. In addition, her employer, Transcontinental Media, supported her pursuit of the Journalism Certificate through Continuing Education at George Brown – something she has now completed. This certificate helped Olivia land her currrent position as the paper's insurance reporter.
“It’s mind-boggling how relaxed it is at George Brown,” she says. “Everybody is there to learn. The fact that it’s not a forced learning environment makes it a great place to actually learn – and much more fun, too!”
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