I’ve been here at DeGroote for probably about six, working on seven years now. Over the course of the years I have been very fortunate to have some support from scholarships and bursaries. It’s definitely touched my life in a way that has granted me a lot of opportunities that otherwise I may never have had. I was very fortunate in the sense that I can speak on behalf of, and to my fellow peers at commencement. It’s not all about academics all the time, obviously there is a lot more that comes to a program. [...] I think that having the luxury of being valedictorian is something I will definitely remember and it’s something that’s ultimately changed who I am today.
There are two big things that scholarships and bursaries have allowed me to do over the past six years. One was transition from my undergrad to my MBA right out of school. I had the opportunity with little debt coming from my undergrad to carry right on to grad school and not having to worry about having to wait to pay for some of that. It opened some doors and I can look outside the box for certain careers and not feel the kind of pressure to find a high paying business job to pay for my debt. I know I can explore different opportunities.
I’ve been fortunate, like I’ve said, to receive rewards all the way up from undergrad, the Price Waterhouse Scholarship was one, various alumni awards, both at the undergraduate level, and the MBA level. All ranging from things such as volunteer experience, extracurricular experience, and I've been very fortunate to be touched by each one of those donors, and there’ve been families along the way that give back to Mac, and obviously that has helped me.
I have to say thank you for giving me those opportunities to open those new doors. There are different ways you can give back, but definitely, I’d like to give back in some shape or form once I get established out there in the business working world. If you are receiving that benefit for so many years now, it’s almost like you would like to touch someone else in a similar fashion.