Co-op term leads to gallery manager position

Heather MacKay isn’t one to shy away from opportunity. Originally from Halifax, she decided to kick-start her university career by moving from one coast to the other.

As she graduates this fall, she has already embraced her next adventure—a full-time job in Whistler, BC.

MacKay pursued a degree in history in art because of its multi-disciplinary focus. Her degree gave her the broad academic experience she was looking for and taught her history, philosophy and even math.

MacKay’s hard work was rewarded—during her time at UVic she received both the President’s Entrance Scholarship and the President’s Scholarship, along with the QEH Academic Achievement Award and the Mathias Michalon-Fliklid Memorial Scholarship.

In an effort to bring her courses to life, MacKay enrolled in the UVic Co-op Program and completed work terms with the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies, the Autism Society of Nova Scotia, Mountain Galleries at the Fairmont in Banff, and the Whistler Museum. “I am grateful to have worked with so many different organizations,” she says. “Each work term taught me new skills.”

Along with support from her co-op program staff, she is thankful to her professors for being passionate and dedicated and for challenging and inspiring her.

When MacKay wasn’t busy studying or working she was involved with several intramural leagues at UVic. “The racquetball and squash ladders were a fun way to meet people, and playing soccer outdoors all year long was amazing,” she says. These experiences helped solidify her love of the West Coast.

Since completing her studies, MacKay has moved back to Whistler where she accepted a full-time position with Mountain Galleries, her previous co-op employer. As the gallery’s assistant manager, she is having a real impact on operations. “I am excited that within six months of graduating, I am managing a gallery,” she says. “It’s been amazing.”

MacKay is also taking an events management course with Late and Unique Nighttime Alternatives (LUNA) in Whistler, which produces cool, alcohol-free, late night events as an alternative to the bar scene. “My time at UVic has given me the tools I need to take advantage of these opportunities. I look forward to the journey ahead.”