My name is Kirsten Shelly Lynn Swatuk and before my attendance at Ivey, I studied psychology at Western University (and Drama through a regional program in high school!). I have a passion for reading, finding new “nooks” to hangout in and finding ways to make people smile. I worked at a summer camp for the past six years, most recently in a position that let me develop it’s capability and pass on it’s legacy to others. I’m a firm believer in the importance for all generations to be able to look towards the future with the feeling of hope.

What is your personal definition of sustainability?

My personal definition of sustainability is ability to create balance for the sake of a long-lasting future. Sustainability is most traditionally applied to environmental practices- sustainability in this circumstance to me most prominently involves the conservation and conscientiousness of the resources given by the earth. Sustainability to me also includes social sustainability. All in all, it represents the preservation of looking to the future with hope.

What role do you see sustainability playing in your professional career? 

While I’m not sure where exactly I want to end up one day, the one thing I am sure of is that I want to be in a position to make positive change. In my professional career, I want to be reminded and remind others that we serve a role beyond solely maintaining the financial health of a company. No matter what leadership position I’m in, I’d like to be able to empower others to continue to look to the future.

Through my years of studying Psychology prior to Ivey, my experience working management at Camp and now my time at Ivey, I have learned the importance of advocacy. While in the past I largely learned about advocating from individuals, at Ivey I learned the skills to advocate for larger interests and stakeholders through a variety of situations. I hope to work for an organization that shares my values and while many companies are beginning to recognize the importance of a sustainable practice through their policies and processes, I want to reach a point in my career where I can influence the amount of investment in education and development of staff for developmental and sustainable purposes.

What sustainability projects have you been engaged in?

In my Summer camp job as camp director and outdoor education, I worked at one of the only outdoor facilities that my city had to offer and had the unique opportunity to integrate topics related to the environment into the programming. For me, it was incredibly rewarding working with the younger generation and giving them a greater appreciation for the environment around us. Furthermore, I took on the role of Camp Director at a pivotal time- after the COVID-19 pandemic. When interests in summer camp were harder to gauge and there was an extremely large staff turnover due to the burnout of staff, the City was determining which locations to continue running. I was in the decision-making position and decided to highly invest in staff and leadership development throughout the course of my summer to ensure the staff would be able to work for longer terms then the current standard that even when I was no longer present, there would be capable leaders to run a sustainable program!