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Becoming Comfortable with Uncertainty

As a student in the Fellowship Program, my future is so clear that I can see it from 100 miles away. Did I get you? Did you believe that?

Okay I didn’t think so. The future is always filled with uncertainty and unanswered questions, but that’s the exciting part of the journey! I don’t have a clear outline for my future career, but this unknown gives me the freedom to seize any opportunities that come my way.

Hello, I’m Nicholas B. I’m in my 1A term of the Accounting and Financial Management (AFM) program at Waterloo. Accounting and finance found its way into my life in high school, where I was fortunate enough to have an accounting course offered to me. Accounting doesn’t run in my family, so it was an all-new and exciting adventure into the unknown.

In my past 4 years in AFM, terms such as environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) have increased exponentially in importance and frequency when discussing any business. Given my past co-op work terms in finance, accounting, and most recently a not-for-profit organization (NPO), I was interested in how this renewed focus on sustainability would play out as we as a society continue to challenge the responsibilities and duties that a corporation should undertake.

In the first week of January 2021, we, Michael K., Roberto B., and Isaac D. competed at the 14^th annual Battle on Bay (BoB) case competition organized by the Ryerson University Finance Society (RUFS). The BoB is a three-day event where students from more than 10 schools across Canada work in teams of three to four members and compete by developing a stock pitch and completing a crisis case.

Reposted from LinkedIn with permission.

This fall, I entered my second year of university in the Accounting and Financial Management program and began to search for my first co-op job. Given the backdrop of the global pandemic, I knew that the process would be more challenging than usual.

A conference is only as successful as the team who plans it, and while hosting STRIVE virtually for the first time was indeed a challenging decision, it turned out to be very successful! During the summer while I was applying for the STRIVE case competition, I thought to myself, “why not take it one step further and apply for a CBA position rather than being just a delegate?” I thought it would be interesting to take on a role I had never tried in the past.

Now, first things first, as a student in the Accounting and Financial Management (AFM) program at the University of Waterloo, my knowledge of coding is pretty limited. I had the misconception that only students who knew how to code or “hack” could participate in hackathons. For anyone else with similar notions, let me tell you that you are entirely incorrect!

I think it’s extremely beneficial and inspiring to be able to hear the stories of these women who attended the same university as I am currently, and am grateful I participated in the meeting and unlearn all I thought I knew about the accounting and finance world.

This year, after completing all of my co-op terms, I decided to join the UWaterloo team for the McGill International Portfolio Competition (MIPC). While the prize money was a good motivator, I figured I could also come out of this competition gaining more skills at my disposal.

There aren’t many opportunities in life where you will have the privilege to compete on an international stage, and even fewer chances to do so as a student representing your university. So, when I was invited by the School of Accounting and Finance (SAF) to represent the University of Waterloo at the 2020 McGill International Portfolio Challenge (MIPC) alongside three of my peers, I knew this was an opportunity I could not pass up.