During my time at Thompson Rivers University, I had the opportunity to be a Tourism Research Assistant during an 8-month co-op. I did not initially see myself as a researcher when I was first offered the position, but I wanted to try something new and push myself. Through my co-op with the Career and Experiential Learning Department at TRU under my supervisor Jamie Noakes, I discovered how research can directly improve student experiences, employer engagement, and program development.
My primary research focused on exploring the relationship between tourism employers and post-secondary institutions through a proposed Tourism Mentorship Program. I conducted employer engagement interviews and distributed student surveys to better understand how to strengthen industry-academic collaboration in co-operative education. This research allowed me to examine real challenges and help identify practical strategies to improve student career development. In addition, my findings were presented internationally by Jamie Noakes at the WACE International Research Symposium in Sweden.
My research experience extends to my Graduation Seminar coursework, where I am developing a qualitative research design utilizing the Consumer Decision-Making framework. My research question focuses on how planned tourism-related consumer behaviour among study abroad students changes before, during, and after study abroad. As a former study abroad student who has lived the experience, I was curious to learn about other students’ decision-making processes while abroad.
Alongside this work, I am currently conducting applied research for Tourism Kamloops, where I am exploring film tourism. I am developing themed itineraries focused on landscape, storytelling, and visitor experience.
Through these experiences, I have learned to think more critically, ask better questions, and apply research in both academic and real-world settings. Through these opportunities, I have developed a broad range of skills as a tourism student and a new interest in tourism research.
