Who are Hamiltons
Young Professionals?
They are More Diverse than You Think.
By Toni Shelton and Simone Mekli, Hamilton HIVE Public Relations Subcommittee
:KDt GHQHs D youQJ SrofHssioQDO" The
term itself is intimidating for many.
Hamilton HIVE, the citys umbrella
organization for young leaders,
professionals, and their groups, views
being a young professional as much
more than a desk or job title. Young
professionals are students, recent
graduates, emerging leaders, working
professionals, entrepreneurs, volunteers
and young parents. They are making
Hamilton a better place for their peers to
live, work and play.
Four local, young professionals at
different stages in their lives share their
thoughts on what this broad term means
to them.
Jenna Van Klaveren, 23, is a student
in the Mohawk College Public Relations
program. She manages the digital
communications for The Paper Street
Journal, an arts collective in Hamilton,
and volunteers her time at CLiC young
professional group at the Art Gallery
of Hamilton. For Van Klaveren, being
a young professional is about being
passionate, but focused; hardworking,
but human; headstrong, but adaptable,
she explains.
Id describe young professionals as
authentic, committed to driving change,
and largely well-rounded individuals.
Van Klaverens involvement in the
Hamilton community stems from her
desire to bloom where youre planted.
Hamilton provides a wonderful
foundation to do so.
Van Klaveren says the job market is
a scary place, but she has discovered
organizations and networks in Hamilton
that are geared toward helping young
professionals. All in all, I truly believe
that Hamilton has a lot of potential
from a labour-market perspective,
and most people want to see young
professionals succeed.
Tammy Hwang, 34, graduated from
McMaster University with a Commerce
Marketing degree in 2004 and left
Canada to work at a consulting rm in
6 The Hamilton Professional Ambition - Summer 2016
China. When she returned to Hamilton in
2010, she noticed a renewed community
perspective of her hometown.
To her, a young professional takes
on different meanings in different
situations.
A young professional means youre
in the starting up stage and youre
getting to a point where youre trying
to understand yourself, trying to build
a family, build wealth, but a lot of it is
guring out what it is you really want
to do, says Hwang, who now works for
the City of Hamiltons Global Hamilton
ofce in business development. She
also co-founded CoMotion on King, the
largest co-working space in Hamilton.
But Hamiltons tight-knit community
can provide you with something that
bigger cities cannot, she says.
As a young professional in Hamilton,
even though youre trying to build your
own career and family, youre actually
building little bits of resources that
can contribute in a really viable and
meaningful way. So you can actually
feel like a big sh in a little pond here,
and your contribution is valued and its
watched, and people appreciate it.
Harin Dalal, 30, a Mohawk College
alumni and current employee, works
for the New Canadian and International
Student Services. A former international
student himself, he pays it forward
by providing help and guidance to
newcomers settling in Hamilton.
He denes a young professional as
someone who is ready to work and
make a difference, who has the drive
to be a young professional. Dalal is a
founding member of Global Hamilton
Connect, a young professional group
geared towards supporting international
students and young newcomers.
It doesnt mean you have to have a
job, as long as youre doing something
that makes you happy in the rst place.
Dalals background in physiotherapy
might not be directly related to his new
role at Mohawk, but he doesnt see this
as a problem.
People have goals and want to
reach a certain place, for me its to do
work and help people, and I have an
opportunity to help students. For Dalal,
it means putting values of empathy, care
and compassion rst, which allows for
success and opportunities to follow. He
doesnt know where his career path will
take him, but he does know it will mean
giving back and helping people.
From the City of Hamiltons
perspective, this means working together
with different groups, says Andy
Zimmerman, 34, who works in corporate
communications in digital media at the
City. Zimmerman also chairs City HYP,
representing approximately 2,800 young
professionals under 40 working for
the City.
How the City can get involved
is important to me and our board to
ensure that we are part of the young
professional scene and not isolated from
it. We want to be involved in it as much
as we can, we all want to be connected
and stay connected to make this city the
best it can be.
Community involvement and
networking are important opportunities
for young professionals. The idea of
connection is really important. We
mentor new Hamilton employees and
residents, help build networks, and
create connections with long-time city
professionals. Young professionals
have a close bond and connection
with the community and each other,
and were thrilled to be part of it says
Zimmerman, a father of two children.
Each young professional has diverse
needs, values, and priorities, but they
each seek opportunities that will propel
them forward in life. As a whole, being
a young professional in Hamilton means
having the desire to be an active part
of an evolving city: growing with it,
changing with it, and nding your place
within it. HPA
 CoMotion on King is home to
Hamilton HIVE, the citys largest
co-working space owned and
operated by young professionals
as part of CoMotion Group Inc.
Together with CoMotion 302,
CoMotion Group Inc. serves
more than 90 companies in both
locations combined.

Tammy
Andy

Harin

Jenna

Photo Credit: Nick Tolentino of Piranha Studios

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