Ewa Szczepanski

Public Relations Management Certificate (2010)

Ewa Szczepanski knew what she wanted in a public relations program. She began by talking to people who worked in public affairs and looked at all of the post-secondary programs in the city. Her research led her to the Public Relations Management Certificate Program at University of Calgary Continuing Education.

"I wanted hands-on education, I wanted to learn from people who had experience and could offer real-life examples," she says. "And, because I travelled a lot, I needed versatility in a program."

The fact that Continuing Education offered courses in a variety of formats, including online, and that some courses were offered downtown close to her work, made U of C a leading contender, but when Ewa made her final decision, it was based on her first class experience.

"I decided I'd try one course to see if I liked it." Eva took that course in 2007—Human Behaviour in Organizations—loved it, then continued taking classes until she graduated in 2010.

Ewa already had a certificate in e-commerce from SAIT and had taken courses in business analysis. That had been the foundation on which she had built her consulting business—a company that has been evolving for more than a decade. "I started out analyzing small companies' business processes, looking for ways to help them improve and work better."

In her work, Ewa began to see the valuable role communications played in an organization and how it overlapped with IT. "I loved how IT and communications could work together. I could see how important a company's key messages were, and how communications and the Internet could work together to streamline a company."

Ewa changed her business focus to IT and public relations. Already dabbling in communications meant she was quickly learning on the job, but she wanted to learn more and wanted a strong credential to back her up. She immediately found the course content was applicable to her work and was thrilled to be getting the real-life learning she had set out to find.

"The people that are part of the courses—the instructors, the guest speakers—are so valuable," she says. "They had personal stories to tell and many examples to share. There were textbooks ... but they were more reference than bible."

The students also brought value to the classroom, says Ewa. "The community in the classroom is amazing. The people aren't just from the PR program, they're from other programs as well, and represent many industries and perspectives. I applaud U of C for that.

"U of C brings together people who genuinely want to learn. That they were from different generations made it all the more fascinating for me."

"I learned more from the classroom discussions than from anything else," she says. Ewa also values the networking aspect, not just the friends she made along the way, but also the students, instructors and speakers she has met. They have all contributed to her new level of confidence in PR.

Ewa continues to work as an IT PR consultant, specializing in the oil and gas industry. She also offers web and database development for small businesses. At the same time, she holds a full-time position with Imperial Oil.

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