Mia Dojcinovski’s parents both work from home, so she was not excited about the prospect of Take Our Kids to Work Day — until she was invited to accompany her classmate Katie Durfy to the University of Windsor.

The two are both Grade 9 students at St. Thomas of Villanova Catholic Secondary School. Durfy’s father Bruce is a technologist in the UWindsor mechanical engineering department.

“I came here and had a much better experience,” Dojcinovski said Wednesday, after a day of activities on campus. “Most likely I will come here for University, because they showed us lots of career possibilities.”

Katie Durfy said she was impressed by the breadth of activities planned for more than 60 young visitors.

“I knew that going to the University would mean lots of different things to see,” she said. “My favourite was the medical labs in the nursing faculty.”

Besides the nursing skills session, the day’s activities included sessions exploring careers in science, marketing a product launch, engineering model wind turbines, trying out a film set, and learning about wrongful convictions. In addition, participants have an opportunity to shadow their host on the job.

Aidan Stupac said he enjoyed watching the creative work of his mother, graphic designer Ida Hary.

“I learned that working is kind of fun,” he said as he prepared to head home. “And the best part was, I got to spend time with my mom.”

Take Our Kids to Work Day is an annual program of the “Learning Partnership” in which Grade 9 students are hosted by parents, friends, or relatives at workplaces across the country. At the University, the program is co-ordinated by Human Resources and made possible by the contributions of many campus partners and sponsors.