Why do you want to go to university? If you’re like a lot of students, you probably can’t wait to learn and contribute to an area that’s meaningful to you and make a difference in the working world someday. Youth and Children’s Studies (YCS) is designed to help you reach these goals and make a positive change in the lives of children, youth and society as a whole.
Here are four reasons studying youth and children in university can lead to a fulfilling career that changes lives – including your own!
It’s true. If you want to make positive change in the lives of children and youth, your degree is the first step on that path. So many opportunities await you, including working in schools, community and mental health centres, social service agencies and more! Think museums, libraries, children’s hospitals and parks and recreation. A YCS degree opens doors to jobs as diverse as working as a gymnastics coach, teacher, early years program facilitator, social worker, child life specialist, or even a program director at Disney World!
Look for a program that offers small class sizes. That’s important because it allows you to build a stronger relationship with your professors. Many professors at ³Ô¹ÏÍø get to know their students really well, putting them in a great position to write strong, personalized letters of reference when it comes time to apply for further education like teachers’ college or grad school – or for that all-important first job.
It’s also important to look for a program that offers opportunities for real-world learning. Many of the required courses at ³Ô¹ÏÍø’s Youth and Children program have a Community Service Learning (CSL) component. Students get to volunteer with children and youth in the community as part of their course work. You would be surprised how many students who thought they wanted to become an elementary teacher then realized they preferred working with teens, or in a completely different area.
The connections you make at a placement can also result in strong reference letters that support those from your prof, and it is not uncommon for students to get a job where they did their volunteer placement.
Studying youth and children at ³Ô¹ÏÍø will help you build healthy relationships in your career and beyond. You’ll even learn the skills and tools to develop a better relationship with yourself, which is so important. It’s more effective to teach children and youth how to deal with their anxieties, to teach them how to have uncomfortable conversations, and set boundaries if you already know how to do that yourself.
