Reflecting on her experience and the impact she saw at WE, Brittany said,

One of the best parts of my job was to write about the international and local beneficiaries of WE. The stories of a new mother in Kenya with access to a new local hospital, a student in Ecuador who always dreamt of learning and a social justice champion in Toronto with a passion to make a difference—those were the stories I loved to share. It’s hard to pick one story because there were so many. I think my most emotional experience was the first graduating class at Kisaruni, a high school for young Kenyan girls in the Maasai Mara, who had never before had the opportunity to study at the high school level. WE recognizes the importance of investing in young women in order to lift a community out of poverty, and witnessing this vision come to fruition was a beautiful manifestation of our work coming together. But it didn’t stop there. WE committed to building a college for these young women to continue their education. It was this aspect of the organization—WE’s ability to create real and lasting change—that motivated me to apply for a job in the first place.

My experience at WE Charity far exceeded my expectations when I first started the job as a new graduate. I knew that I was walking into an innovative and fast-paced environment, but I had no idea that I would learn as much as I did over two years. On a personal level, I had just completed a competitive hockey career and never thought I would get to work in a team environment with that same level of passionate and goal-driven individuals again. I was so wrong. Working with the executive team connected me with a team of remarkable people who wholeheartedly believed their work would change the world. And it did.

I was given the freedom to bring my own vision to projects while learning everything I needed to know about a growing business and non-profit. I am so thankful for that mentorship and learning experience—it without a doubt provided me with the tools to excel in my career much faster than would have been possible had I taken an entry-level job at a different organization. To any driven young professionals seeking a challenging career with growth opportunities and a rapid learning curve while working with a talented and engaged team, I highly recommended exploring a career at WE.

Thinking back on what she was most proud to work on at WE, Brittany said,

I had the opportunity to work on the vision for the WE Global Learning Center, in order to bring the idea into reality. This project is a great example of the WE executives bringing young staff to the table to share ideas and make contributions to major projects. I felt so privileged to work on this project from the start and learn all that I did along the way. Due to family circumstances I moved away from Toronto and had to leave my position with WE before the project was complete, but I would have loved to see youth coming together in the WE Global Learning Center.

Reflecting on what’s changed since her time at WE, Brittany noted,

WE is a workplace with constant change and it’s that singular trait that sets WE apart from other non-profits. They succeed on a project and then immediately find a way to make it better. Over the two years in my role, we grew our international projects to include multiple new communities overseas, we expanded our local impacts to include WE Days in even more cities across North America, we created the WE Global Learning Center in Toronto and that’s just to name a few. Nothing about WE is slow-paced or bureaucratic. It was refreshing to hear our executives share their vision and say that something would change and the next day it actually did. This mentality of adapting to constant change is something that I’ve carried through my career.

Remembering the impact of her work, Brittany said,

I know I’ve already mentioned this one, but my most memorable impact has to be the graduation ceremony for the first graduating class at Kisaruni. It was a deeply emotional experience to watch young girls excel in the classroom and have the opportunity to fulfill their goals in high school through to graduation. Their commitment to education and dedication to improving their own community continues to be a vibrant memory and reminder of the impact of WE.