Hi, I’m Denia!
I am excited to join the Collective Results team. Previously, I have worked in Health Promotion in higher education and not-for-profit settings. As a child of immigrant parents, I have seen how many different factors such as education level and physical environment can influence how people access health resources. Through experiences within my community, I have developed a passion for youth mental health, health literacy, and health equity. These personal experiences sparked my interest in learning more about the health system, which inspired me to start my Master’s of Public Health in 2021.
I am a second-year Master’s of Public Health student at The University of Waterloo. Through past job opportunities and courses, I developed an interest in program evaluation. When I was searching for practicum opportunities, I looked for organizations that would allow me to work in a new environment and provide me with the opportunity to learn more about project evaluation. I found Collective Results to be a perfect fit and was very excited when they offered me a practicum position with their team!
I recently completed my four-month full-time practicum with Collective Results in April 2023 and I have transitioned to a Consultant position within Collective Results. As I transition from practicum student to consultant, I have taken some time to reflect on some of the lessons that I have learned during my practicum.
Understanding workplace culture – This was my first time working with a consulting firm so I was excited to learn more about this field. Consulting is a unique line of work as consultants get the opportunity to work with clients in various fields. Organizations look to consultants to improve their performance and achieve their goals. Consultants at Collective Results are passionate about providing services to meet their clients’ needs. It was interesting to observe this client-consultant relationship and have the opportunity myself to work alongside clients from different sectors.
Importance of goal setting – The combination of team and individual tasks allowed me to work collaboratively with experienced team members, while still completing personal tasks. My supervisors always provided opportunities for check-ins to provide feedback, ensure that I felt confident in my work, and have the opportunity to achieve my learning goals. I had the opportunity to develop many skills that I look forward to using in my future career such as building data collecting tools, developing knowledge mobilization products, and improving my presentation and critical thinking skills.
Network!- My practicum placement gave me the opportunity to work closely on two projects. As a result, I reported to two main project leads. Since the Collective Results team is tight-knit and friendly, I was able to make connections with members who were working on other projects. Whether I needed support with data visualization and survey building or whether I was looking to chat in general, members of the team were always eager to set up a quick chat, share their knowledge, and connect.
I have enjoyed my time working with Collective Results so far. As I start my consultant role, I most look forward to growing my skill set. I am interested in continuing to learn more knowledge translation techniques and methods to translate research findings into meaning. Relating this back to my healthcare passions of health literacy and health equity, I think it is very important to be able to present information to different audiences in a way that is equitable and understandable. I look forward to working on projects that allow me to continue to learn with Collective Results!