I was responsible for break relief on various positions, fixing jam-ups on conveyor belts, the sorter, and other areas throughout the mill. Other tasks included refilling supplies at different work stations as needed, communication between the shift supervisor and hourly employees as necessary.

Position of "child and youth care worker" for children between ages 4 and 19. I was responsible for ensuring the holistic growth & healing of children under my care. I did this through a variety of means, one of which was music therapy with the use of effects pedals to create original music from thin air. I found this to be a good ice-breaker, as well.I used other art forms therapeutically such as: drawing, painting, sculpture, book-binding, jewelry-making, creative writing, & mixed-media arts. Some of the kids tended more toward things such as science or natural phenomena, for example. In this case we would do science experiments, watch short videos, or talk about latent human potentialities and will power, as a leeway to deeper conversation.We spent a lot of time talking about personal potential, self-actualization, goal-setting, finding balance, and living wisely. One method I taught consisted of taking a negative emotion such as anger and transforming it (through visualization) into an energy source that could be used to increase reasoning skills without detriment to the mind or body. My methods can be referred to as integrative or more specifically it falls under a "bio-psycho-social-spiritual" model of healthcare. A bit of a mouthful, so I prefer to just call it holistic healthcare.I saw clients in my office, in the community, or at school for weekly appointments. Clerical responsibilities included: record-keeping through the development of treatment plans and progress reports, monthly contract reports, referrals to other agencies, & critical incident reports. The nature of my work was sensitive and confidential with a high degree of attention paid to individual needs and personal preferences. My job was highly rewarding with many perks including training and travel opportunities, as well as the opportunity to be on the executive board for the Special Olympics, participate in group facilitation and provide legal advocacy for my clients.

I worked at the Canfor planer mill as mechanic helper and level 3 first aid attendant. One of my responsibilities was to ensure safe working conditions for crews of contractors & Canfor maintenance workers. I was responsible for making sure that workers knew the proper lock-outs and procedures for safely working at that site. I had the responsibility of using fork lifts, Bobcats, and other mobile machinery in the course of my duties. I was also trained on the safe operation of all machinery in the planer mill with the exception of 2 specialized areas (MSR grade-check, and the upgraded Comex system, installed 2013.) Additional assets: shop steward position (2013), Occupational First Aid Level 3, spark-watch experience, sprinkler system pressure control and trouble-shooting knowledge. I was responsible for training new employees on my shift. I tried to provide a global perspective to new employees by explaining about safe practices, proper conduct as well as the specifics of the job they were hired to do in relation to other jobs in the mill. For a short time I had been the Incumbent Planer Operator (position: early in 2012.) Working in the lumber industry taught me many valuable skills and helped to develop my mechanical reasoning abilities. I also had the opportunity to learn industrial first aid and was responsible for administering first aid on several occasions. In addition to these things I learned to keep a sense of global consciousness in order to be continually safe in a dangerous environment. I developed a strong sense of proprioception, balance, and peripheral awareness.

Contract position through Environmental Youth Alliance (EYA). I attended weekly meetings with volunteers and other facilitators to discuss the various ideas for transforming unused city space into public gardens. There were several areas of focus near the Purple Thistle Centre which included boulevards, abandoned lots, & awkward areas of land behind office buildings that were unused. For this position I was also involved with the Purple Thistle Centre as a facilitator for youth who use the centre for its drop-in services. I was available for conversations, questions, support, or in case of emergency I was one of the people responsible for overseeing the safety of those involved. Some of the responsibilities included: building garden boxes and structures, making garden art, getting used coffee grounds from coffee shops to use in our compost as well as collecting other components such as leaves. I was partially responsible for doing fund-raising to request money and/or supplies to aid in the creation of new gardens including: an irrigation system, soil sampling, government permits, and other costs such as ordering seeds. This proved to be a major expenditure because we used organic heirloom seeds and attempted to find native varieties. We also had our sights set on growing a food forest in a nearby lot (a project that materialized after my contract had ended.) My limited contribution to the food forest project was: helping with brainstorming the garden layout, cleaning up the old site and taking photos to document before and after we cleaned it up. These pictures were used in our proposal to the government to request that a water line be extended down to our new garden location.

I attended CDI college for the "Addictions and Community Services Worker" program (2010-2011). The program dealt with many issues pertaining to healthcare of individuals in need of support for rehabilitation from drugs, alcohol, process addiction, as well as other forms of harmful and self-defeating coping mechanisms. Areas of focus included: pharmacology, psychology, integrative approaches to counseling, motivational interviewing, non-violent crisis intervention, high-risk demographics, follow-up & after care.This course was taught by Chloe Sekouri, an outstanding instructor and amazing person overall. Her down-to-earth style of instructing made for an excellent learning environment. She helped to create a holistic learning environment by drawing everyone into class discussions, including helping students to work through personal differences in real-time. For the intense nature of the course (2 year course compressed into 10 months), it was taught with focus & intuition. I believe that a lot of what was taught will be retained by Chloe's students because of the inclusive nature of her teaching style coupled with her ability to connect to each student uniquely in a friendly way. I learned a lot of things from the course that helped me to develop as a human being. There was ample opportunity for asking questions and each one was seriously considered and talked about in a round-table discussion.

I had a weekly time-slot of 2 hours for my radio show "Cognitive Graffiti". The premiss of my show was to play a wide of a range of selections and to challenge the ears of my listeners by creating a cohesive flow of songs that transcended genres. For example I recall on one show playing "Moonlight Sonata" followed by "Ghost Riders in The Sky" (Fred Penner version), then "Oh Anna" by Microphones followed by "We Who Are Not Like Others" by Sepultura and "Crazy" by Patsy Cline. It was a a lot of fun and since the entire premiss of my show had freedom intrinsically included, I was pretty much free to play whatever I wanted as long as it didn`t get offensive or lose professionalism. It was an immense learning experience and helped me to get over some of my anxieties that related to public speaking. A great experience over all.