I participated in JA as a student in the 2018-2019 company program as the President and VP of Finances. We started a company called Trinkets of Hope, where we sold handcrafted stuffed animals to raise money for people living with disabilities. I then came back to the program in 2024 to volunteer as an advisor, where I helped a group of students develop a company called Fintastic Solutions. They sold shirts to raise awareness about the harmful practice of shark finning. At the end of the program, I was pleased to find out that myself and my fellow advising partner, Jessica, had won the Advisor Team of the Year Award!!
What are you doing now?
After finishing my bachelor of commerce double degree at Queen’s University in Ontario and Peking University in China, I started working as a change management consultant at Deloitte in Halifax, in which I help organizations navigate tech-driven changes Right now, I am currently on a sabbatical to travel the world. In the last few months, I have been to Spain, Morocco, the Czech Republic, Austria, Germany, Brazil, Argentina, Peru, and Colombia. My highlight so far was volunteering at an eco-lodge in an indigenous community in the Amazon, which gave me the opportunity to be a bridge of friendship between the local people and the tourists.
How did JA impact you?
My goal in the future is to become an entrepreneur, and being part of the JA company program in high school showed me that this life path could be possible for me even as a teenager. In the past, I used to be really shy and scared to ask anyone for help or favours. JA pushed me out of my comfort zone, and as a result I am now super comfortable with networking and being vocal about what I need to succeed, in both work and within my personal life.
Why get involved with JA?
Being apart of JA is unlike any other club that you can join in school. Normally, if you join drama club, you will put on a play according to the script, and if you join soccer, you will play the game according to the rules. In JA, you have a lot of creative liberty to design and market pretty much any product or service you want! You will run your company as a board of directors of a real company would, with each member of your team taking on a different role like VP of finances, VP of human resources, etc. You will gain so many real-world skills including working in teams, budgeting, networking, and sales/persuasion. In this ever-changing world, being adaptable is a must, and I encourage any entrepreneurial-minded youth to take a chance on themselves by joining JA.