Ophilia Davis: My LIfe

OPHILIA DAVIS:My Life

Introduction	Marketing Diploma	After Graduation
Kid’s Motion International	On to YTV	Working at SkyDome
Special Project	Muriel Collins Co-op	These Days

Introduction
My father got my name, Ophilia, from “Hamlet”, the famous tragic play by William Shakespeare. . I am the youngest from a family of eight children, and the only one born in Canada. My mother raised four of the eight children in a three story low-income high-rise in an area called Regent Park. Regent Park is known for its problems in panhandling, prostitution, robbery and gun violence. We lived in Regent Park for fifteen years. I never got involved in the violence of Regent Park. I attended Regent Park public school for six years. In the beginning I found school to be very difficult and meaningless, but when I started grade four my teacher Miss Shaw introduced me to the stage of acting for the first time. I was the main character of the play called, “Ladies First”. I enjoyed the attention I received from the audience. From that moment on I knew my calling had something to do with performing, but I wasn’t sure if it was acting.

At the age of fifteen I attended a six-week program called Margo Lane Acting School. I had Saturday morning class for four hours. Once the program was complete I found it very difficult to find acting jobs in Toronto. While I was in High School I still tried to audition for roles, but couldn’t find any work at school. I started to concentrate on plan “B”. Whatever my career choice is it had to be in Entertainment. I started to take business classes and found an interest in Marketing. I felt that Marketing would allow me to continue my creative skills.

In 1993 I applied to Seneca College, I was accepted in the Marketing Administration program for 3 years. That year I did not attend the program, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to take the course. My heart was still fixed on acting. The next following year I applied to the course again, but I was still in limbo, and for the second time I did not accept enrollment. At this point, I was working for The Body Shop. I still felt that something was missing from my life and in that year, I decided to enroll into Seneca’s Marketing program for the third and final time. In the summer of ’95, I accepted enrollment. I left the Body Shop at the end of the summer.

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Marketing Diploma 1998, Seneca College
In the fall of 1995, I was enrolled in the Marketing Program at Seneca College for three years. The course was very intense but and I learned a great deal about computers, business economics and advertising. The course enables students to apply business and marketing related concepts to computer models using freelance graphics, PowerPoint and HTML. In the beginning I was afraid of the computer, I had no idea how to turn on the modem or hard-drive nor did I understand the component tools used for each program (word and excel). My previous employer (The Body Shop) did not allow me the opportunity to use the computer and throughout my time of study I worked part-time for a retail sports company called Sportcheck. It was difficult to have school full-time and work part-time but in the end it was worth it, and in the summer of 1998 I graduated with Honours.

After Graduation
When I graduated from college I decided to take a two-week vacation to Antigua. I had an opportunity to enjoy the carnival celebration, which took place in early August. When I came back to Toronto I began cold calling contacts I developed from my past. Some of my contacts were people I met while working for The Body Shop and Sportcheck. I learned about cold calling in the Co-op program I took in the spring of ’97. Unfortunately, I was not successful in finding a co-op placement. However, I collected a variety of business cards from various companies such as Barney’s Home Video, CIBC and Cadbury’s Chocolate.

Kid’s Motion International
The contact I developed from Barney’s Home Video led me to a company called Kid’s Motion International (same company but now under a different name). Kid’s Motion is the children’s video distribution, licensing and merchandising division of The Coscient Group. Some of the properties that were represented by Kid’s Motion are Barney, VeggieTales, Wishbone, Skinnamarink TV and The Big Comfy Cough. I contacted the company on a Tuesday, and had an interview on the Thursday and was offered a position on the spot. The panel consisted of the General Manager, three Account Executives and one Marketing person. My computer experience helped me to get the job, especially my experience with PowerPoint. I was the Sales and Marketing Support Assistant.

I had the opportunity to design presentation templates and publishing demos. Later that year I did less work with PowerPoint and more work with Access. This program would assist the company with video orders, inventory management and store locations. I had to take two Access classes - beginners and intermediate. I left this position in April 2000 to pursue an opportunity with YTV.

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On to YTV (Cable Television)
I was offered a position with YTV as an Executive Assistant in the finance department. However, my skills in PowerPoint were not used. I acted more as an administrative assistant and learned the use of Excel. My main responsibilities were filing and booking appointments. To maintain my creative abilities I did some volunteer work for two committees - the social and newsletter committee. Each committee I worked for was in a team setting environment, but in April 2001, I was laid-off from YTV…I needed to take a break. I decided to visit a family friend in Bridgeport, Connecticut for two months.

Working At SkyDome
During my high school years I did some part-time work at SkyDome. I saw an ad in the Toronto Sun and decided to apply for a position in ushering. Over 1,000 people applied for a position, but sixteen people were chosen, I was on of the sixteen. I worked as an usher for 5 years. Then I was promoted to Guest Services; I stayed in this position for 3 years. I established a good relationship with the contacts and Managers I met, and I was granted the opportunity to comeback if ever I needed a job. I left The SkyDome in December 1999.

While I was visiting Connecticut in the summer of 2001, I felt I needed to find a job before coming back to Toronto (in August). I contacted my old supervisor in Guest Services from The SkyDome. She told me about a 1-year contract position with the Event Sales department, the department needed an Event Sales Assistant. I sent my résumé by via e-mailed. She then passed it on to the Human Resources Manager. The HR Manager felt that my background experience was a great fit. I was given a phone interview with both the HR Manager and the Director of Event Sales, and upon my arrival to Toronto I had another interview, I was hired on the spot. The Event Sales Director told me she was impressed by my professionalism and portfolio (I was the only person who brought in a portfolio).

Later that year, the President of SkyDome had a meeting with the Directors and Managers of each department. He wanted them to prepare a presentation outlining passed improvements and future department goals. My Director asked me to design a PowerPoint presentation. This gave me the opportunity to re-invent my creative skills. The presentation I designed had a variety of flow charts, graphs and some great pictures of upcoming events (i.e. pictures of Wrestlemania, the Circus and music concerts).

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Special Project: Hoops Unlimited
Once my contract was complete in September of 2002, I was able to do some contract work for a close friend of mine, Shawn Gray. He needed me to design a PowerPoint presentation for his new company, Hoops Unlimited. Hoops Unlimited is a non-profit Christian based organization formed to provide youths in the Etobicoke community with organized team recreations, exposure to positive Christian life values and the opportunity to become good citizens. This was a short-term project.

Muriel Collins Co-op Housing
In April of 2003 I was offered a 1 year contract position as an Administration Assistant with a housing company called Muriel Collins Co-op. This position requires me to do business letters, filing, faxing and courier distributions, PowerPoint is not required. This position will end in April 2004.

These Days
In the spring of 2004, I considered leaving Toronto to pursue a new career in acting. I recently auditioned for the Vancouver Film School, where I will one day study. I currently take acting classes with Equity Showcase Theatre as well as a number of other classes. I've taken script writing at Ryerson University and Portuguese at George Brown College. When I’m not in class or working I take time out for my friends and family. I especially enjoy working out at the gym or watching a great movie at the cinema. I work at Bally Fitness part time. I'm always busy with a variety of exciting projects. More about that soon.

In conclusion, I feel I’ve been able to accomplish quite a bit of work based on my past experience, but I feel that I need to take it to another level, and I know I will. Time is everything and so is patients, I will continue to explore my purpose which will help me to define my future.

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