Ana Andrijevic ‘17 found herself unsure of where to continue her studies after graduating with a Bachelor of Science Degree from McMaster University. Upon reflecting on her skills and what she enjoyed most, Ana discovered Mohawk College’s Human Resources Management program. The program not only offered what Ana was looking for, a Post Graduate Certificate, but also offered a meaningful experience in HR throughout the 7-week placement experiential learning opportunity. 

To complete her program, Ana was placed at the Brant Community Healthcare System (BCHS). Ana quickly realized there was a lot of opportunity in the field that entailed a variety of tasks. The placement helped Ana make connections and get her foot in the door for securing a position after graduation. “When you’re learning about all the other aspects of HR, it’s much different in the classroom compared to seeing it within an organization,” she says. “Through my placement I was able to see what an HR department looked like in a public sector organization which was pretty valuable”. 

Before moving to a role as the Town of Oakville’s HR data analyst, Ana spent a few years with Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) where she explored her interest in healthcare and HR reporting and analytics. Ana turned her passion for numbers and problem-solving into a career.  Ana started at HHS with a payroll position and later moved into more of a generalist role, before she continued to climb the ladder of success into a more analytical role within HR reporting and analytics. 

A few short months after graduating from Mohawk College, Ana secured her role at HHS by using networking skills she learned through her program. The program emphasized being mindful of building connections while job searching and ultimately helped jumpstart her career. After working for HHS for a couple years, Ana made the difficult decision to move on, whilst in the middle of a pandemic, in 2021. 

“I would say the transition was challenging, first and foremost it was really hard for me to make the decision to leave my previous role because I genuinely loved my team and job,” she says. “It’s always kind of scary heading into the unknown, and on top of that just onboarding in a virtual environment”. 

Ana began her job as the Town of Oakville’s HR data analyst fully remote with little to no in-person interaction, but the opportunity was too good to pass up. Starting a new position was a large hurdle for the HR Analyst to overcome, but Ana persevered doing everything remotely and continuing to collaborate with team members and receiving help from her peers. Since then, Ana has moved to a new opportunity as an HR Analyst at Innomar Strategies doing similar kinds of HR reporting and analytics-based work for a private sector organization.

Looking back, Mohawk helped Ana gain a solid foundation for the HR profession and showed her the areas she was interested in pursuing. “The HR Management Program really showed me how broad the HR field is and how many opportunities exist within it”.

By Mackenzie Yorke – Journalism Student.