Learning from John Nicola, CEO of Nicola Wealth


Coming to you from our virtual International Study Trip course classroom, we are the Marketing & culture team: Abirna, Jennie, Katie, and Rebecca. Today, we want to share with you - our behind the scene experience of planning our International Study Opportunity to New York City.
Isaac, a 4th year AFM student met with SAF to talk about his experience with this program and how it prepared him for the recent CFA Institute Research Challenge (IRC). "Every student coming into SAF had heard about the 2016 team’s win on the CFA IRC international stage with Canadian Tire. As a result, I was always keen to represent Waterloo on a larger stage and knew this was a great opportunity."
Mitchell, a 4th year AFM student met with SAF to talk about his experience with this program and how it prepared him for the recent CFA Institute Research Challenge (IRC). "It was the hard work and commitment that our team put in which ultimately made the difference. Our team members during that time were either on co-op or exchange and so it took a lot of planning and dedication for us all to stay connected."
Shortly after graduating from the University of Waterloo, I began my full-time career in the investment banking group at TD Securities. I obtained this opportunity thanks to the University of Waterloo’s fantastic co-op program

I spent my last co-op work term as a business finance co-op student at the Ontario Public Service, more specifically, the Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade. I didn’t work directly with Premier Doug Ford, but I did receive a few emails from him!
To prospective UWaterloo students, I would like to share a recap of my Winter 2020 co-op experience as one that was very unexpected, yet valuable. The skills I developed as a student in the AFM program prepared me for the new working reality during my first work term.
Like many of us, Miljana Prelic, Performance Measurement Analyst at SAF is learning to adjust to the new remote workplace. A big difference for Miljana is that she has a new co-worker, Oliver, her toddler at home. We wanted to catch up and find out how she is managing the new normal and if she has any insights to share.
Due to complications arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, the plan for the winter 2020 International Study Course shifted several times. I was a member of the meals and culture team, and our team was responsible for creating a presentation for the class to learn more about our original destination, Singapore. This included its history, cultural diversity, government structure, etiquette, laws, and points of interest. This allowed all our classmates to be knowledgeable about what they were to expect from the trip, and how they should be interacting with the speakers in our meetings.