Life after GNS: Finding Your Path, Your People and Your Gryphon Grit

Here in the University Guidance Centre, we talk a lot about the power of your story. Everyone has one, complete with unique strengths, pivotal moments and unexpected plot twists. When you head off to post-secondary, knowing your story, and being adaptable as it changes, is everything.

Sitting in the audience as a high school student, listening to a panel of GNS alumni with impressive job titles and awesome academic achievements, it’s easy to think their journeys have been effortless, and that they have it all figured out. But on Wednesday, February 18, five GNS grads returned to campus to bust those misconceptions and share the honest, unfiltered stories of their lives after graduation.

Lewis, Kris, Gabby, Chloe and Piper shared it all. Their personal stories reminded us of two essential truths: your path will almost certainly not follow a straight line, and Gryphon Grit will see you through.

One of the biggest anxieties we hear from students is the fear of choosing the “wrong” program or making a mistake in Grade 11 course selection. Our alumni made it loud and clear: you can always pivot.

• Chloe Loomer-Scott ’15: After graduating from Acadia University with a degree in Psychology & Neuroscience, Chloe worked as an assistant to a psychiatrist and handled health records with Island Health. She quickly realized the daily work wasn’t satisfying her drive to make a larger impact. Having the courage to change her path, she pursued a Master’s of Health Administration at UBC. Today, she is an Evaluation Lead for the Provincial Health Services Authority, driving the change she wanted to see.
• Kris Neilson ’18: Kris started his undergrad at UBC with sights set firmly on law school. But exposure to new subjects led him to discover a deep passion for policy and government. He pivoted, became a policy analyst for the federal government specializing in Indigenous reconciliation, and is now finishing his Master’s of Public Policy.

Our Takeaway? It’s perfectly okay not to know exactly where you will end up. Stay open-minded, learn what you like, and have the courage to change your path if it isn’t the right fit.

Moving away from home can be lonely at first. Social media often makes it look like everyone else is making best friends on day one, but building a true community takes time.

• Gabby MacPherson ’21: Gabby moved from the tight-knit community of GNS to the massive University of Toronto. She candidly shared the isolation of her first year, including a moment of being at someone else’s birthday celebration while no one knew it was also her birthday. She even debated moving closer to home! But she reminded us that building community takes time. She found her people in her second year through co-curriculars she loved at GNS, like Model UN and Ultimate Frisbee. Today she is thriving in London, England, completing her Master’s in Intelligence & International Security at King’s College.
• Lewis Hinton ’17: Before Lewis left to study Commerce at Queen’s, he had only heard about the best parts of university from his older brother. It wasn’t until Lewis was in the thick of a challenging first year navigating a sports injury, heavy snowfall, and brutal midterms, that his brother admitted, “Oh yeah, the transition is super hard for everyone.” Lewis reminds us that building community takes work, noting that in the professional world, “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know.”
• Chloe Loomer-Scott ’15: Chloe promised herself that even when she didn’t feel like it, she would put herself out there. At Acadia, she became a Resident Assistant—a peer role model responsible for developing a community within a residence, and she joined the Psychology Club to “nerd out” with like-minded peers. Her advice? Don’t sit at home—force yourself to go to the event. In fact, that’s how she met her future husband!

This year at GNS, we’re focusing on resilience. Our alumni panel proved that Gryphon Grit isn’t just about pushing through academics, it’s about knowing your worth and advocating for yourself.

Kris opened up about the pressure of navigating a first professional job that just didn’t feel right. The noise on social media—where every peer seems to be on an effortless upward trajectory—only made his own misalignment feel more isolated.

Drawing on his Gryphon Grit, Kris made the big decision to resign from his first post-graduation role without another offer in hand. He recognized that staying in a position that stifled his potential was a greater risk than the uncertainty of the unknown.

For Kris, grit wasn’t just about “powering through” a bad situation, it was about the strength to listen to his intuition and the bravery to start over on his own terms.

When Gabby felt overwhelmed at U of T, she remembered a lesson she learned: life begins outside your comfort zone. She knew that if she could push through the discomfort, she would grow immensely.

Piper Warhurst ’20 faced a unique set of challenges as she started work on her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree at Queen’s. She was able to make friends and create strong bonds over time, but pandemic restrictions added an entirely different level of stressors to the university experience. She persevered, passed her national licensing exam, and is now working as a registered nurse at Royal Jubilee Hospital. She relies on her training and isn’t afraid to ask for support from older, more experienced nurses.

Listening to these five inspiring GNS alumni, we were struck by how they have grown into professionals with the wisdom and grace that comes with lived experience. They still lead with the kind of genuine curiosity we all know so well at GNS. 

In the University Guidance Centre we spend our days helping you plan for the future, but the reality is that the best parts of your journey will probably be the ones you never saw coming. Whether you end up changing your major or changing your career, you can always get by on the Grit you’re building right now.

Your people are out there, and your future is bright. Our doors are always open to help you write the next chapter of your story!