Part of me feels like I spent a good portion of my growing years preparing to go to McGill. As a fourth-generation Canadian, I was regularly surrounded by friends and family who regarded McGill as this almost exclusive place for the best and the brightest in Canada. As a kid looking up through the Roddick gates, it almost felt like they were doors to build a better future. So, for me, it was a no-brainer. Once McGill gave me the opportunity to join its Electrical and Computer Engineering program, I didn't even bother looking at the other colleges that accepted me.
There were several memorable experiences. Great professors, incredible campus, great student community, ambitious and intelligent friends that helped create a motivating learning experience. But if I had to choose one experience that stood out above all others, it would be the IYES internship program.
When I first joined McGill, the tech industry was flourishing. I still remember how competitive it was to get into the Electrical Engineering program. A lot of folks, including myself, were looking forward to graduating and finding an incredible company to join. However, a year into the program, the infamous dot-com bust occurred and many of those companies we were hoping to join ended up dissolving.
So IYES became an incredible opportunity for me at that time, offering me a 12-month internship in the industry I was studying for. This experience also gave me incredible insight into what type of career I was interested in and gave me a great competitive advantage over other candidates interviewing for jobs after graduation. As a result of that, I was able to try out a few companies before landing on a career at Microsoft in Redmond, Washington, where I've been for the last 15 years and every day feels more like fun than work
I have nothing but fond memories of Montreal and the time I spent there. What's not to love about Montreal? I love the festivities (F1, Jazz Festival), I love the night life (coffee shops, outdoor restaurants), and the downtown core that surrounds the McGill campus. But I think the thing I miss most about Montreal is the strong multiculturalism. There's so much of it. Different cultures were embraced, celebrated, and enjoyed.
I currently balance my time across two professions. Firstly, as an Engineering Manager at Microsoft and secondly as a real estate investor. Both careers were heavily influenced by my parents who also worked in the tech industry and built a real estate passive income portfolio. But also, my engineering career was heavily influenced by my internships. Given the vast number of career possibilities that the engineering program at McGill prepares you for, my internships at Pratt & Whitney, the Canadian Space Agency and Matrox helped me better understand what I truly enjoyed doing (which turned out to be software development) and what I did not enjoy quite as much.