What Did 2012 Mean to You?

We asked five young professionals of varying backgrounds to reflect on 2012 with a simple question: What did 2012 mean to you? Their answers ranged from personal and career highlights to global issues and politics. Here is what they had to say. Stay tuned tomorrow, when they answer what they think 2013 will mean to them. 

“For me, 2012 was not about major changes or huge shifts, but was all about continuing to build something by adding new experiences and expertise to my personal repertoire. As a relatively young person, I feel like I am still in a period of ‘figuring things out’, as they say. Last year was significant for me because, in addition to taking on more responsibility with my work and travelling (alone!), I managed to figure a couple of things out, too. I learned a lot about what interests me, what some of the things I am good at are, and what I would like to stop, start, and continue in 2013 and beyond. This process of accumulated self-knowledge did not begin in 2012, nor will it end there. It was just a very good year for it. I’m pleased to step in to 2013 with a more refined sense of direction, some good projects on the horizon, and one or two more things figured out.”

– Daniel St. Germaine, Public Relations Account Executive, Arts & Communications (pictured above)

smch
2012 was definitely a memorable year for me as I was able to see the accumulative results of years of hard work. My biggest success of the year was when Marketing Magazine notified me that I had been nominated for their Top 30 Under 30 feature recognizing Canada’s top young marketing professionals. After years of hard work trying to disrupt and make an impact in a (fairly) new industry, I was absolutely floored to find out their panel of judges had awarded me the honour of being included on the list. This makes me look forward to the years ahead and reminds me that taking the road less travelled, doing things differently and never shying away from a challenge can really help a YP create a career without boundaries. Working at a global agency, Tribal DDB, I was involved in some of the biggest campaigns in Canada and our work was well recognized by the advertising industry. In fact, a few campaigns I was lucky enough to work on won multiple awards and contributed to the agency’s double gold win of Strategy Magazine’s Agency of the Year and Digital Agency of the Year. On a personal level, I became engaged to the love of my life a couple of days before the New Year, and spent the majority of my free time in 2012 planning our wedding.”

– Melissa Smich, Senior Cultivator at Tribal DDB Worldwide

SLR
“Launching a new business, 2012 was all about research and feedback in figuring out what users are looking for online with respect to sports, health and fitness. We completely changed the concept of SocialLockerrom.com and built a new platform that allows users to bundle several different classes, from different businesses, into one fitness package. The transition meant some downtime, which was not ideal; however, in the long run, we believe we now have a concept that people will gravitate towards. We spent most of the year developing the new site and forging relationships with businesses across the GTA. Our concept would not be possible without the buy-in from some of Toronto’s most popular gyms, studios and facilities.”

– Greg Peacock, Founder, The Social Lockerroom

mckee
2012 marked the beginning of a new and exciting chapter for me, which included moving to a new city and starting a new job. I can say that I learned A LOT. From franticly running around downtown Toronto in heels feeling like a character right out of “A Devil Wears Prada,” to rubbing elbows with the ultra-cool at the city’s classiest charity galas, to admiring the cherry blossoms in full bloom at High Park, I took in all I could. These new experiences have shaped me into a different person, and helped me learn a lot about myself.” 

– Brittney McKee, Event Administrator, Women of Influence

silver
“The year 2012 was notable by many accounts. It deserves to be remembered as a year of several “firsts,” as well as some interesting turn of events. It was the year that saw the first black President of the United States re-elected for a second term, the first female Premier of Quebec elected, the first Anglophone Jewish Mayor of Montreal to be elected in 100 years, a record snowstorm which rivaled that of 1971, the very successful Summer Olympics in London, and the Mayan Calendar “Doomsday” come and gone with no damage done, apart from the reputations of some. Climate change, the economy, and social justice were on most of our agendas in 2012, planting seeds poised to take root in an exciting 2013 and blossom in the years to come: safer gun control laws in the U.S., changing relations in the Middle East, the exposure and dismantling of corruption in Quebec and across Canada. I feel optimistic that we are entering a more enlightened period of our existence.”

– Josh Silver, Public Relations & Communications, Les Aliments Unique Food (pictured left)