Congratulations to The School of Accounting and Finance’s 2024 valedictorian
While everyone has the same 24 hours in a day, Natasha J. Chen (BAFM ’24) seems to make the most of hers.
Chen is the very deserving 2024 School of Accounting and Finance (SAF) valedictorian of 2024. She is completing her degree on the Dean’s Honours List and is graduating with a Bachelor of Accounting and Financial Management (AFM), with both a Professional Accountant Specialization and Financial Leadership Specialization. She is currently pursuing her Master of Accounting degree, with a convocation later this year.
It was a pleasure to have Natasha as a Teaching Assistant. She was always diligent and responsible and a wonderful mentor to the students in and out of the classroom. Her academic achievements along with her desire to give back to the SAF and UWaterloo community make Natasha a wonderful representative for the Class of 2024 as valedictorian.
If Chen looks familiar to you, it’s probably because she’s been a permanent fixture on the SAF Instagram page over the past four years of her undergrad.
Chen knew that she wanted to attend the University of Waterloo from a young age and received her offer of admission at 16 years old. Instead of starting grade 12, she opted to begin her first year in AFM in 2019.
She’s involved in many different student clubs and groups including ACE Consulting Group, Hack the North, Accounting and Finance Student Association (AFSA), student case and stock-pitch competitions, the SAF Fellowship program, the CPA Ontario Centre for Sustainability Reporting and Performance Management (CSPM) Career in Academia Mentorship Program, the SAF Outreach Ambassador Program (SOAP) and she has been an undergraduate teaching assistant in every term since her second year.
Wait—there’s more.
Chen has also played intramural volleyball and dodgeball, been a member of the Karate & Jujitsu clubs, the Chinese Christian Fellowship (CCF), the Village 1 Residence Council, and worked with UW AccessAbility Services as a volunteer notetaker.
“Looking back at my undergraduate journey, I’m a big believer in the snowball effect. If you’re uncertain about how to become the best version of yourself, start by putting yourself out there a few times and before you know it, there will be so many other opportunities and experiences that will pile on to help reach your goals,” shared Chen.
As for her plans for the future, Chen is working on her Master of Accounting degree at SAF and is preparing to write the CPA Common Final Examination (CFE) in September. Afterwards, she plans to visit family in Asia before starting a full-time position at EY Toronto in the Technology Risk Consulting practice.
Congratulations, Natasha!
