Born and raised in Kamloops, B.C., Kaitlin Boyd (BA ‘11) chose Thompson Rivers University (TRU) in part because it was close to home and financially accessible. Once on campus, she immersed herself in university life, joining clubs and connecting with professors who left a lasting impact.
“I was a very shy, quiet student, and I think choosing TRU for my undergraduate degree was one of the best decisions I could have made,” she said, attributing much of her success to small class sizes, which allowed her to build genuine relationships with her professors.
“I really want to give credit to and emphasize the professors and staff at TRU that helped me, supported me, and gave me confidence to keep trying new things,” she said, specifically recognizing Peter Tsigaris, Dorys Crespin-Mueller, Larry Iles, Tom Owen, Bruce Baugh and Peter Dalley, among many others.
Kaitlin Boyd as a student in 2009 supporting the TRU ECO club in Old Main.
In the beginning, she thought she wanted to be a lawyer but held off choosing a major until she’d sampled a variety of classes, eventually settling on a double major in economics and political science with the idea of law school at the back of her mind.
Today, Boyd is based in Calgary, AB, and works for the British Consulate General, helping connect Canada’s Prairie provinces with clean energy opportunities in the United Kingdom. Her role brings together researchers, innovators and governments to collaborate on projects in areas ranging from energy and climate technologies to scientific research and innovation.
“My job is to meet ambitious, smart, passionate people who are trying to make something happen and help them move their ideas forward. That’s incredibly fulfilling,” she said.
“TRU gave me a strong foundation. Without that foundation, I don’t think I would have felt nearly as confident stepping into larger national and international environments later in my career.”
Evolving career path
Long before building international partnerships, Boyd was a young, ambitious TRU student trying to decide what to do with her life. One choice, in particular, proved instrumental in forging her path.
“In my second year, I joined the co-op education program, which ended up being one of the most important decisions I made,” she said.
“It prepared me for interviews, taught me how to build a résumé and portfolio, and helped me build confidence. Honestly, I credit a lot of my ability to get jobs to the co-op program and the one-on-one guidance I received.”
Her final co-op placement in TRU’s Sustainability Office proved especially significant, leading directly to a full-time position after graduation and indirectly veering her career away from law toward sustainability.
“There wasn’t one big ‘aha’ moment,” she said. “It was kind of a series of pivots and decisions and meeting different people that led me to where I am.”
Around the same time that she was completing a master’s degree related to energy policy at Simon Fraser University, Boyd’s involvement with Rotary introduced her to international travel opportunities in Turkey and Mexico, which sparked her interest in pursuing employment abroad through the United Nations (UN).
Rotary involvement leads to United Nations
That spark eventually led to Geneva, Switzerland, where Boyd worked with UNICEF and later the International Labour Organization, both UN agencies. Her projects focused on issues ranging from children’s rights to labour conditions around the world.
“Growing up in Kamloops, I never imagined I’d end up working in Geneva for the United Nations,” she said, adding that she recommends anyone interested in global issues spend time abroad.
“I’d encourage people not just to visit another place but to actually live there, get a job there and experience daily life. Get out into the world. Every city has its own bubble and its own way of thinking. Living somewhere else broadens your perspective in ways that travel alone can’t.”
In addition to increasing her cultural awareness and opening her eyes to different ways of doing things, working alongside international organizations also gave Boyd a firsthand look at diplomacy, global policy and the complexities of international collaboration. It reinforced an important lesson that continues to guide her work today.
“In diplomacy especially, so much depends on relationships and trust,” she says. “Investing in relationships is often the most effective thing you can do.”
