On January 29 and February 5, 2025, the CrimSL Mentorship Circle hosted its second annual two-part event bringing together current MA students (mentees) and former students who are now established professionals (mentors).
The event was organized and led by Jihyun Kwon, CrimSL Postdoctoral Fellow in Oversight and Governance, with assistance from Rachel Foy, Alexa Ross and Kendal Kandasamy.
In Part 1, mentees and mentors met virtually for "Stories of our Alumni: Mentor Intro" where mentors each described their personal journeys from CrimSL MA student to professionals in their fields and shared insights on the current job market. Mentors included:
- Marika Rea, Senior Policy Analyst, Public Safety Canada - Drug Policy Division
- Kaitlin Saney, Intelligence Analyst, York Regional Police
- Nikita Chirila, Senior Immigration Officer, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
- David Delle Fave, Defense Lawyer (Associate), Smith Litkowski Criminal Trial & Appeal Lawyers
- Nik Khakhar, Crown Attorney, Public Prosecution Service of Canada
- Andrew Egalon, Senior Manager, Fraud Management at Meridian Credit Union & Motusbank
- Nicole Lafaive, Associate Consultant, DPRA Canada Inc.
- Giancarlo Fiorella, Director of Research, Bellingcat
Following Part 1, optional peer-to-peer mentorship sessions took place virtually on January 31, February 1, and February 2, facilitated by Rachel Foy, Alexa Ross and Kendal Kandasamy. These meetings provided a mentee forum for feedback and tips on crafting resumes, short bios, and elevator pitches, as well as advice on networking strategies.
The Part 2 session, entitled "Mentor-Mentee Match & Personalized Networking," saw mentors and mentees meet in-person at CrimSL for a full afternoon. Mentees introduced themselves in "Three Minutes to Shine" and then broke off into small group discussions with mentors who shared similar interests/goals. Mentees shared their insights with the larger group before everyone headed out to the pub for refreshments and an informal networking social.