Maddie Gulenchyn has a passion for guiding other students on their educational journeys.
As a Client Support and Engagement Representative on DC’s Transfer Services team, she helps students choose their next steps. When DC students are planning their futures and considering a transfer to university, it’s Gulenchyn who gives them all the information they need.
By helping today’s students make the most of DC’s many pathway options, Gulenchyn realized she had the same opportunity. She enrolled at Ontario Tech University in Educational Studies – Digital Technologies and, thanks to the credits she earned as a 2019 Journalism – Mass Media graduate, she started in the third year of that four-year program last fall.
“I didn’t really know about pathways when I graduated. If I had, I definitely would have gone straight to a university program,” she said.
Students in all programs can get a head-start on their university studies thanks to DC’s numerous partnerships and articulation agreements with institutions across Ontario and Canada, as well as internationally. These agreements allow DC graduates to leverage the credits they’ve earned towards programs at other schools. From credit transfer to the intricacies of prior learning assessment and recognition (PLAR), she walks them through the process and provides recommendations based on their goals.
By meeting with Maddie and the Transfer Services team, it’s easy for students to learn how many of their college credits will be transferrable to their university program.
And it’s never too early to consider your options.
“It should be on a student’s mind from the moment they accept their offer to DC,” she said. “We always say that you should work backwards from your furthest goal, and find out what education you need to achieve it. It’s just knowing what you want to do in the future and knowing how you’re going to get there.”
For students who want to get the most out of their post-secondary program, there are plenty of advantages to combining a college and university education, including cost-effectiveness.
“If you want a university degree, a pathway is going to save you money and give you the knowledge and hands-on learning that you need,” she said. “College prepared me for work, but it also gave me the communication, the organization, and the collaboration skills to succeed in my university program.”
Having benefitted from her own experience, Gulenchyn is even more motivated to help current DC students find their own pathway.
“I love my job. It’s so rewarding to work with students and see them flourish as they go on their educational journeys and decide what they want to do after college.”
Are you planning your own educational future? DC’s 2025 Pathways Fair can give you a head start on your next credential. Join us on Tuesday, February 4 at the Oshawa campus and Wednesday, February 5 at the Whitby campus to connect with post-secondary institutions from across Ontario, Canada and beyond.