When Dana Noseworthy, Paul Clancy and Megan Tucker posed for a few promotional photos during their graduation ceremony in 2006, they never thought they would be so heavily featured in CNA’s marketing materials – their faces even showed up on the side of a Metrobus in St. John’s.
CNA’s department of Alumni and Advancement recently caught up with the graduates to find out what they’ve been up to since leaving the college.
Dana Noseworthy
“I can say without a doubt, a key part of my success can be attributed to the teachers I had,” says Dana Noseworthy of her time at CNA.
“Students may read textbooks, study lesson notes and apply theory but nothing compares to the guidance and insight of a teacher. To this day I can admit with all honesty, that sometimes I hear Barry Mills, my marketing CNA teacher, putting me in the right frame of mind to ask the right questions. Teachers like that are what CNA is made of.”
Dana was heavily involved in Enactus (formerly known as ACE/ SIFE) during her time at CNA and helped win a number of regional and national awards. Once Dana graduated in 2006, she decided to attend Memorial University (MUN) to pursue a bachelor of commerce. She immediately joined the Enactus Memorial team, committing three years as the team leader of marketing for a business called Moulder of Dreams.
Along with two fellow classmates, she identified an outreach opportunity and created the business to employ individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities. They secured provincial and federal funding, lobbied legislation in favour of additional wages, helped employ eight individuals, and provided all marketing and operations training.
“It is one of my most rewarding accomplishments. It was also a key project that won Enactus Memorial the 2008 Enactus World Cup in Singapore – which I proudly attended,” Dana recalls, crediting her time at the college. “I started with Enactus there and the journey took me all the way to Singapore.”
Working at the provincial office of the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Community Business Development Corporations as a community liaison coordinator was a natural transition for Dana, as Enactus spawned her love for helping rural communities thrive through entrepreneurship.
“It all goes back to CNA – my love for marketing, encouragement to take on new challenges and a shared value of Newfoundland and Labrador education,” she says.
After Dana completed the one-year contract, she decided to see where her career could take her outside of the province so she moved to Toronto.
“I often think about my last week on the job when I drove from St. John’s all the way up the southeast coast of Labrador to visit our offices. It truly left me thinking about the world unknown in Toronto and what my future would hold. While looking out my car window all I could think was, ‘I’m so proud of where I’m from and all the possibilities that are awaiting me’.”
Once in Toronto she moved into a position with KPMG, an audit, tax and advisory firm.
“Guess how I got the job at KPMG? As a main international donor company of Enactus, I got my foot in the firm’s door by reaching out to the Enactus head office and letting them know I applied for perhaps the only non-accounting role they had posted,” she recalls. “Lesson learned: build your professional network and don’t be afraid to use it to help you get the job of your dreams.”
Dana continued to build her career as an employer brand coordinator within the KPMG LLP team, which required her to support all marketing, communications and branding activities for the firm’s entire national recruitment team.
“An incredible career development opportunity presented itself in June 2011 when KPMG LLP launched its social me
dia platform. I was responsible for daily managing a number of accounts, training national recruitment teams on best practices, and assisting integration of social media into all 2012 talent attraction programs,” she says.
“I also presented the national recruitment team with in-depth reports of our social media channels concerning follower growth and external program feedback – enabling the firm to identify future opportunities.”
After completing this contract, Dana was pleased to accept an additional contract to fully continue the role specifically for the campus recruitment team at KPMG. “It all goes back to CNA – human resources, market research and communications classes really taught me how to communicate professionally to both colleagues and national clients.”
Now, as a national talent acquisition specialist at BDO Canada, Dana helps create a national campus recruitment strategy and provide offices across Canada with the tools necessary to find talented new graduates.
“Whether supporting the delivery of campaigns, designing the campus website or reporting program achievements, building lasting relationships and communicating a clear brand is essential to everything I do,” she says. “I feel successful in my career because CNA is about providing students with practical education to excel in the real world.”
Paul Clancy
Upon completion of a Business Management (Marketing) diploma in 2006, Paul Clancy was recruited to work for a Fortune 500 company as an Account Executive for Ikon Office Solutions.
“I was responsible for the management and acquisition of business accounts in the Avalon region,” Paul recalls. “After three successful years, I then took a position with Toyota as a Sales Associate where I worked until February of 2012.”
Since that time, he has moved with his wife and child to the community of Grand Falls-Windsor where he currently works as the pre-owned sales manager for Grand Toyota and Central Kia.
“CNA’s Business Management program was pivotal in the success I have achieved in my career thus far, and I have no doubt it will continue to serve me well into the future.”
Megan Tucker
Megan Tucker started at CNA in January 2003 as a general studies student. She was accepted into the Business Administration (Human Resources Management) program for September 2003 and graduated in 2006.
During her time at CNA, she held the position of president of ACE Cabot for two years which she says gave her an abundance of experience in leadership and team work.
“Another perk – we got to travel! If there was one thing I could recommend to CNA students – it would be to become involved on campus. There are a lot of groups on campus that seek student involvement, so whether it’s with the Student Representative Council, the Enactus CNA St. John’s team (formerly ACE Cabot), or any other group. This is where you form relationships that will last a lifetime!”
After graduating, her first human resources job was at Mr. Rooter Plumbing. “It was a good place to get experience, as it was a small business,” Megan recalls. “Working with a small business, I had the opportunity to deal with a lot – from staffing and scheduling, to recruitment, to processing the payroll.”
She moved into a human resources advisor position at Fortis Properties where she was mainly responsible for compensation and recruitment.
“This is where I realized that my true passion in human resources is recruitment. I love finding the right person for the right job, and making that match is really satisfying.”
In April 2008, Megan started with Eastern Health and returned to school to continue her education.
“I’ve been with Eastern Health for almost five years and I love it. I’ve worked in both recruitment and compensation and benefits, and now only have two courses left to my bachelors of business administration.”
In December 2012, Megan became the human resources consultant with Eastern Health’s human resources client services team.
“So here I am… it’s a job I’ve worked towards for quite some time. It’s great working with such a large and diverse organization. There are challenges, big and small, that I get to work on daily!”
