This week’s Hive update is extra special — it’s a collaboration with someone I hold dear, someone who helped build something incredible alongside me, and someone I admire deeply: Stephanie Harper.
Stephanie and I started our careers around the same time at our former organization. She had just finished being a student, and I was just starting at the organization. The same week I started, I discovered I was pregnant with my daughter Ava. From day one, Steph stood out: sharp, thoughtful, and polished. I was a few years older, but we were rookies together. Soon after we both started, we were sharing a tiny office and trading laughs over our cubicle wall. We were hidden away from the rest of our team, so we created a bond over the next nine months that has lasted almost two decades.
That office became a front-row seat to my less-than-glamorous pregnancy journey — think yoga poses on industrial carpet, swollen feet, and complaints about a baby testing the structural integrity of my ribs. We joked that if there was a fire, I’d never make it out the cubicle door – which was definitely not to code! Through it all, Steph was witty, generous, and the best cubicle mate a soon-to-be mom could ask for.
When I returned from mat leave, we’d graduated to “real” offices — with doors and windows (I got the window, sorry Steph — but I think you eventually got mine!). Having offices across from each other, we left the doors open so we could engage in hallway banter – the awkward student that asked her out for Halloween and the bewilderment at the resumes that read more like journals than job apps (“Sometimes I sit on my bed and ponder the opportunities ahead…”). Our friendship deepened through laughter, leadership, and life.
Our lives kept moving forward— in parallel and in contrast. She got married. I got divorced. Thanks to her advocacy of my work, I ended up working for her husband, who also worked for the same organization. Then fast forward a few years, we competed for the same job, and when I got it, she didn’t flinch. She later moved into an Associate Director role, and we were back on the same team, building something meaningful together.
But life wasn’t always smooth. When the organization decided to let her husband go, I was the one who had to deliver the news. She was pregnant. It’s a moment that still sits heavy with me — one I wish I could have navigated with more courage and alignment to my values. Not long after, Steph went into early labour (unrelated, but what timing). Her eldest daughter was born prematurely on the morning of our annual employer breakfast — a day we’ll never forget.
Yet even in the toughest seasons, Steph showed up with grit and grace. She returned from maternity leave ready to maximize everything — one of her Gallup strengths is Maximizer, after all — and she helped take our work from good to great. As much as she would roll her eyes jokingly when I walked in with an “I have an idea,” “What if,” or “Steph, we need you on this project,” she was always up for the fun, the challenge, and the achievement.
Over the years, we raised babies, built careers, and weathered COVID. She juggled work, toddlers, and leadership like it was second nature—even though it was a tremendously brutal storm.
We, including a dream team of other amazing women—cue International Women’s Day photo circa 2016—IYKYK—built something meaningful together—something rooted in purpose, people, and possibility.
Somewhere along the way, she started a beautiful tradition: a weekly update to her team. Thoughtful, reflective, and often hilarious, it was classic Steph—a little career education, a little therapy, and a lot of heart. When she eventually moved on (we always knew it would happen — she deserved more, and we couldn’t give it to her), the weekly update went with her. Her hashtags always so #bangon—#lifelessons #careergrowth from #theshoequeen.
(Side note—if you know Steph and me, you know one thing: we love our heels. We’ve always believed in the power of high-heel workwear—a little elevation, confidence, and click-clack of purpose. So, it felt strangely poetic that on Steph’s last day, as I walked to her goodbye party, my black stiletto heel snapped—for absolutely no reason. Just cracked in half.)
When her heels took her down the QEW, her legacy lived on. That simple tradition of her weekly update has continued to follow her and become so powerful. She still writes it today—to her current team, in her current space—and she shared one with me last week.
Her weekly update, which is shared below, reminded me of this truth: legacy isn’t found in job titles, corner offices, or carefully painted walls. It’s not in the bricks or the branding. It’s in the people—in the relationships— in the way we show up for each other.
Even when the letters come down, the walls we blew open start to close again, or the trailblazed paths we built start to look a little overgrown — it doesn’t mean the impact didn’t happen. It doesn’t erase the magic we made. We know that it’s all going in another direction—and that’s life.
We have found that magic again—in new places, in unexpected ways. And the legacy? That’s permanent. It lives in how we treat people. How we cared. How we led. How we stayed true to ourselves, especially when it wasn’t easy.
So here it is—Steph’s update to her team from last week. A reminder that when we lead with heart and courage, we don’t just leave footprints behind—we build paths for others to follow.
Thanks for sharing it with me, Steph. I remain forever in awe of your capacity to lead, grow, and navigate this journey with grace and grit.
Leaving a Legacy—Stephanie Harper—May 2, 2025
I learned recently that May is “Leave a Legacy Month” in Canada, and this got me thinking about what it means to “leave a legacy.” Co-pilot describes legacy as “something handed down or left behind by someone…[that] can take many forms.” Of the forms it can take, the following resonates with me most:
1. Personal Legacy – The impact someone has on others through their values, actions, and memories they create.
2. Cultural or Historical Legacy – Traditions, ideas, and accomplishments that shape society long after their creators are gone.
This week I’ve been thinking about legacies in the context of work and careers as I reflected on my own professional journey and the teams I’ve had the opportunity to join, create, lead, support and grow. As I look back on the experiences I’ve had, the teams I’ve been a part of, and the contributions I’ve been able to make, I credit the supportive, collaborative, and innovative environments within which I’ve worked for giving me a platform to take risks, have impact, and shape culture.
As humans, each of us creates legacy in our own ways; we become known/remembered for the impact we have and the way we help shape the environment around us. This is true of who we are at work and in life. Perhaps one of the most remarkable things about legacies is the imprint they can leave on people we know, people we don’t know, and people we meet along the way.
Consider this in the context of our work and how we’ve pushed some (perhaps several) boundaries to both elevate the way we support students in navigating the complex journey they are on and evolve the philosophy of our role as career practitioners, talent partners and student engagement professionals. Sometimes the evolution of something happens naturally and without intervention, and sometimes, evolution is influenced by the desire for change in our environment. As a team, we’ve confronted the unknown, challenged the status quo, evolved our practice, and transformed our brand. And we are seen as leaders in the way we are preparing students for their futures. This evolution didn’t just happen…it was influenced. We influenced it, together. And the impact each of us is having on students, employers, campus partners, and colleagues across the sector is noticed, felt, and experienced in many different and important ways.
This is our legacy. And the cool thing about legacies is that they are timeless. They hold their value eternally.
#haveimpact #creatememories #shapeculture #leavealegacy
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If you are considering your next step in your journey and the legacy you will live, check out the weekly coast-to-coast Hive wrap-up!
🐝 British Columbia
Director, Career Services
UBC
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Closes: May 8, 2025
Manager, Student Services
UBC
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Closes: May 8, 2025
Co-op Coordinator (Term)
University of Victoria (UVIC)
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Closes: May 16, 2025
Coordinator, Partnership Development and Practicum (Temp)
University of the Fraser Valley (UFV)
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Closes: May 8, 2025
🐝 Alberta
Partnership and Inclusion Lead
NorQuest College
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Closes: May 22, 2025
Program Manager, Lab2Market
University of Alberta
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Closes: May 14, 2025
Neurodiversity & Work-Integrated Learning Specialist (2 FT, Term)
University of Calgary – Taylor Institute
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Closes: May 19, 2025
Career Development & Engagement Specialist (Temp)
University of Calgary
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Closes: May 7, 2025
🐝 Saskatchewan
Indigenous Student Success Coordinator
University of Saskatchewan
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Closes: May 20, 2025
🐝 Ontario
Manager, Professional Services & Innovation
St. Lawrence College
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Closes: May 12, 2025
Manager, Indigenous Student Services
Mohawk College
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Closes: Until filled
Manager, Community & Partnership Development (Contract)
Humber College
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Closes: May 15, 2025
Placement Advisor (Temp)
Humber College
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Closes: May 11, 2025
Assistant Manager, Business Development
Durham College
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Closes: May 7, 2025
Social Work Field Education and Admissions Coordinator
Algoma University
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Closes: May 13, 2025
Nursing Clinical Coordinator
Brock University
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Closes: May 11, 2025
Director, Partnerships
Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU)
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Closes: May 21, 2025
Senior Specialist, Field Placement and Education (Criminology, 1-Yr Term)
University of Ottawa
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Closes: May 12, 2025
Coordinator, Student Experience & Engagement
Western University
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Closes: May 12, 2025
Associate Director, Student Success & Advising (Term)
York University
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Closes: Not listed
Events and Employer Development Coordinator
Queen’s University
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Closes: May 11, 2025
Internship Program Assistant
University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC)
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Closes: May 21, 2025
Events Coordinator, Industry Engagement
University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC)
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Closes: May 18, 2025
Co-op Coordinator, Student Development
University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC)
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Closes: May 22, 2025
Administrative and Events Coordinator, The BRIDGE
University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC)
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Closes: May 22, 2025
Community Experience Programmer
University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM)
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Closes: May 8, 2025
🐝 New Brunswick
Director of Student Life
Kingswood University
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Closes: Not listed
🐝 Nova Scotia
Executive Director, National Lab2Market Network
Dalhousie University
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Closes: May 7, 2025