Meet Our Recruiters: Heather Fawcett

Heather Fawcett is a Student Recruitment and Engagement Coordinator who covers Halton Region, Brantford and Kitchener/Waterloo/Cambridge. She began working at Sheridan in 2006 as a student success officer before transitioning to student recruitment. Heather holds a degree in Recreation and Leisure Studies with a minor in Marketing.

What do you do in your role?

When you are advising prospective students, you're really trying to help a student find the best fit and ensure people know about us. Even though we're right in the back yard of people who live in Halton, there's still advocacy work that needs to be done to make sure our community knows what we have to offer and that we shouldn’t just be on their radar for postsecondary, we should be at the top.

Education is one of the biggest decisions in someone's life and it can have a huge impact. I never take that for granted. If you advise well, you can really change the course of somebody's future.

I encourage students to do their research: visit us but also go visit the other schools. If they wonder what's best about our program, I encourage them to speak to our coordinators, check out our spaces and see where they feel comfortable.

“Education is one of the biggest decisions in someone's life and it can have a huge impact. I never take that for granted. If you advise well, you can really change the course of somebody's future.”

What was your path into a career in higher education?

I worked in retail, tourism and government before I started at Sheridan. The common thread is wanting to help people find the thing that fits them perfectly. Before coming to Sheridan, I'd never stayed anywhere for more than a year or two. It's now been decades and I haven't left.

Sheridan and my personal values are strongly aligned. The focus on creativity is such a big one. And we're such a friendly place. I always tell prospective students to just come to Open House because there's a vibe here. You'll feel that sense of connection and sense of care. That has always been true and I think will always be true.

Why should people choose Sheridan?

One thing that makes us special is our professors. Every year, we meet with our faculty before we go out on the road, and I am energized by how excited they are about their programs. Their care and passion are not motivated by a paycheck, but because they really believe in what they're doing.

I also think the variety of programs we offer here is incredible, from musical theatre to electrical engineering to nursing to craft and design. We now offer a master's degree. I think the new programs we've launched recently are incredible. We almost have something for everyone.

Do you have any favourite success stories from over the years?

I recently advised a teenaged high school student from Kuwait who is in the Canadian Reserves and lives here on his own. He's interested in pursuing education in engineering or computer science.

He and I talked a bit through what pathways might look like, and then I thought I'd see if our Computer Systems Technology – Software Development and Network Engineering coordinator was available to talk. Even though it was the first week of classes, the coordinator replied and chatted with the student on Teams. While they were talking, I could see the student begin to relax, the tension coming down, because he'd been so afraid of the unknown.

The coordinator talked about his program but also explained how his class is a family and that if you need help, come and see him. That student applied to the program later that day, is currently completing a pre-requisite course and plans to start at Sheridan next term!