“If you don’t know what to do, start with what you are already doing! And everything will start to fall into place.” - Morenike Ajidagba
As a student, I know sometimes that thought can seem daunting. When we’ve invested so much time, effort, money, brain power and energy into a particular field and it doesn’t work out, we try our best to figure out the issue.
I’d like to let you know that, first of all, it’s not a reflection on you and your abilities. It just means that once you’ve done your due diligence, searched and looked into the matter and ascertained that there’s nothing you can do to change a situation – then, it might be time to pivot.
I’ve always been an avid fan of volunteering and contributing to my community. I remember the summer I turned 18 in the UK and how vigorously I went searching for employment. It was very hard to find something. I had wanted to spend that summer saving as much as I could before starting university in Edmonton. Instead, I was fortunate to get a volunteer position at a store run by the British Heart Foundation and thus began my venture into the world of volunteering. Throughout my undergraduate and graduate degrees, I looked for opportunities to give back to my community by sharing my skills, expertise or time.
That singular decision and life value was very impactful when it came time to pivot from my thesis-based course in rehabilitation science, which wasn’t going as I would like, into a program in the School of Public Health.
I was quite blessed and fortunate that the Master of Arts in Community Engagement was made available, and I was able to seamlessly apply to that program. I really appreciate the great efforts of the Faculty of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies as well as the support from the School of Public Health.
All the years spent in rehabilitation science weren’t wasted as I learned useful skills that helped me organize my life, time and energy as a graduate student. At the same time, my own personal interests were intersecting with what my career would shape out to be.
I think it’s important as students that we take a look at our history, and our tendencies and not be afraid to pivot when needed. A pure research background ended up not being the route for me, but I’ve immersed myself in community engagement practices and will continue to hopefully scale up in that area.
Ask yourself where you need to pivot – your current area of research, your professional aspirations or just general life decisions? Don’tt fear; take the leap today and trust that the years of experience you have gathered over time will pay off!
If you’d like to follow my journey in career development feel free to subscribe to my newsletter at Substack. And since nothing is wasted, if you'd like to read about my work in the field of rehabilitation science you can check out my newsletter or this stand alone article.
All the best!
Check out Morenike's appearance on Episode 10. Should I Stay or Should I Go? of the Grad School Confidential podcast.
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