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Fellowship events have added colour to the current online learning environment for me and made my transition into university an exciting one!

The Fellowship Program has been one of the highlights of my first term studying Accounting and Financial Management (AFM) here at the University of Waterloo. In addition to meeting a group of like-minded and motivated peers, I have been introduced to numerous opportunities that I would never have even heard of otherwise.

Question: How has being a Fellow and the extra connection you have with your Honouree helped you transition to an online learning environment successfully?

What’s up, Warriors! My name is Vishnu, I’m a first-year student in Accounting and Financial Management (AFM) and I’d love to share some insight into the opportunities and experiences you stand to gain as part of the Fellowship Program.

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.

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.