News & Events

2020 Alumni Insights – Panel & Discussion

January 27, 2020
UBC MEL MHLP Alumni Insights 2020

On Saturday, January 18, five UBC MEL & MHLP alumni returned to campus to discuss their education and career journey with current students of the professional graduate degree. The alumni represented numerous programs and brought diverse experiences to students striving to plan their professional journey as MEL & MHLP graduates.

The alumni were Arlene Singh (Clinical Education), MK Anand (Clean Energy Engineering), Balpreet Kukreja (Clean Energy Engineering), Stephani Dalo (Urban Systems) and Daniel Eden (High Performance Buildings). Many of the remarkable graduates of the MEL & MHLP program move on to positions of leadership in their respective fields. For instance, Arlene is now a Clinical Instructor in Emergency Specialty Nursing at BCIT, and MK is now Engineering Services Manager at Community Power (a division of Kambo Energy Group).

Every alumnus brought a wealth of knowledge to share with current students, and, having been in the same shoes as the current cohort, were able to give truly meaningful advice and testimonies on the advantages of the program.

When describing his experience in the program, Balpreet, who is now a Fleet Engineer for the City of Vancouver, said: “The MEL program develops technical excellence and hones a sharp business acumen like no other graduate degree.” MK highlighted how the MEL program helped him to solidify his vision and gave him the tools and confidence to achieve it. Repeating a similar sentiment, Arlene shared how the MHLP program developed her confidence as a leader and realize her potential for creating change within healthcare.

The event provided an opportunity for students to network with alumni, faculty and classmates. This was an excellent chance for students to begin expanding their professional network at the very beginning of their journey in the program so that they might grow these relationships over the next eleven months. Stephanie emphasized the opportunity that events like these provided her as a student “to connect with people from a diverse professional and cultural background.”

During the discussion panel, alumni focused on some key messages for new students:

  • Get engaged on campus by joining clubs like e@UBC, Sustainability Scholars, and others.
  • Ensure you get the most value out of your degree by attending all of the professional development sessions, workshops, and guest speaker events hosted by the program.
  • Focus on the learning, not on the grade. As long as you are learning as much as you can, you should feel proud of yourself and your accomplishments.
  • Keep your mind open to a myriad of career options. The MEL & MHLP degrees can open many doors to opportunities you may have never considered.

Daniel summarized his experience as a High Performance Buildings student: “The program allowed me to get a strategic view of the green building industry, understand the different career paths available, and develop the basic business skills needed to level-up.”

The alumni panel and discussion was a great way to launch the journey of the 2020 cohort in the MEL & MHLP program. The advice shared by the alumni encouraged students to make the most of their short time in the program and gave them the tools to reach their highest potential as MEL & MHLP students.