Lê Huỳnh Như (Hilary), a Community Development Work student from Centennial College, did her field placement work with marketcityTO from September to December 2025. In this blog post, she shares her experiences and reflects on her learning journey towards becoming an truly effective community development work practitioner.

From September to December 2025, I had the opportunity to complete my placement with marketcityTO as part of my Community Development Worker program. This was my first time working in an organization focused on public market development, and the experience helped me understand how community initiatives are organized and supported behind the scenes. Before joining marketcityTO, my interest in public markets was strongly shaped by my Vietnamese cultural background. In Vietnam, traditional markets are not just places to shop; they are social and cultural spaces where daily life happens. Markets are where people meet, talk, share food, and build relationships. Growing up with this experience made me naturally curious about how markets function and why they continue to play such an important role in community life. Before this placement, I was personally interested in learning more about how public markets operate from an organizational perspective, including how vendors rent stalls, how markets are managed, and what support systems exist behind the scenes. I had already begun thinking about the possibility of being involved in a market as a vendor or organizer in the future. 

What I Learned About the Public Market System

Before this placement, I only saw markets as lively and familiar spaces for shopping. But through my work with marketcityTO, I learned that each market relies on the effort, coordination, and problem-solving of dedicated market managers. They manage vendors, maintain safety, communicate with communities, and handle unexpected situations every week. This helped me appreciate the important role they play in building strong, inclusive community spaces.

My Tasks and Responsibilities

During my placement, I mainly supported the development of the Market Managers and Operators Training Program. My work included summarizing interview findings and research notes to help inform the structure and content of the training program, ensuring it reflected the real needs and challenges of public markets. I also supported the Public Markets Impact Survey by reviewing responses from market managers, categorizing information, and identifying recurring themes related to challenges, needs, and priorities across the city. The survey findings helped ground the training program in real operational experiences. In addition, I contributed to Module 10, the Participant Form, the Evaluation Tools, and content for the project page on the marketcityTO website. I regularly participated in team meetings to share progress, receive feedback, and strengthen my professional communication and collaboration skills.

What This Experience Gave Me

This placement helped me improve practical skills such as organizing information, analyzing responses, and communicating in a professional setting. It also helped me better understand what community development work looks like in real life, beyond what is learned in the classroom. After this experience, I now see public markets in a more realistic way. I learned that running a market involves much more than just vendors and customers. There is a lot of planning, coordination, and ongoing work happening behind the scenes. This placement helped me think more clearly about my interest in markets and what it would actually take to be involved in one in the future. It gave me a more practical and grounded understanding of how markets operate and the role they play in communities.

Closing Reflections

My time at marketcityTO helped me grow not only in skill but also in confidence and purpose. I hope that my small contributions supported the team’s ongoing work and the development of public markets in our city. This experience will always be an important milestone in my journey as a community development worker.