What stood out for me about McGill was the quality of the teachers and the students, who were equally amazing and from all over the world.
The diversity and international focus of the business program was also appealing to me and provided a global perspective. We learned to study business the right way; not just memorizing facts but understanding the different ways business is practiced in the real world. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I wouldn’t change a thing about my time in Montreal or at McGill.
Montreal is my favourite city in the world, even in the winter. The social aspects are unbelievable, and it’s a uniquely international city. The diversity of the cuisine is especially representative of that. As a McGill student, I remember going to pick up fresh bagels at St-Viateur and then going across the street to a Greek restaurant called Arahova to dip them in tzatziki. I love EVERYTHING about Montreal!
After graduation, the McGill network helped me tremendously in my career. I got a great job in consulting out of university and then, in the pursuit of more money, worked at Goldman Sachs in New York and later at a hedge fund called Citadel. I then moved into the venture capital industry in the San Francisco Bay Area.
When I realized that I was always happiest on the first day at a new job, I decided to change careers. That shift from chasing money to chasing dreams changed my life.
During this transition, I networked a lot and there were always people from McGill who helped me. All I had to do was reach out and ask. I think that’s one of McGill’s unique strengths: we have such wonderful memories of McGill that, as alumni, we feel compelled to help one another.
I was invited back to guest lecture at McGill in 2013 when I was still working full-time in venture capital, and I was inspired by the BCom students that day. It was through that experience that I found my passion – teaching and helping others. Many students reached out and I helped because they asked.
I started to give back and volunteer a lot at the Lemo Foundation, which is a charity in East Palo Alto, where the graduation rate is only 40%. Our motto is “Don’t expect to accomplish your dreams in life, unless you help others accomplish theirs first.” I then started teaching and created a course for the charity called An Entire MBA in One Course that received a lot of press. I now have a fulfilling career as a business professor and entrepreneur, and McGill had a lot to do with that.
It is such a privilege to be able to teach. I think that all problems can be solved with education and that making education accessible has a transformative impact. Having searched for my passion over the years, my life came full circle when I returned to McGill a couple of decades after graduation and found my passion in the classroom.
My advice to today’s students is to pursue your passions. Be willing to fail and don’t pay attention to what other people think. If you watch my favourite movie, 3 Idiots, you will understand what I am talking aboooot (I still proudly have my Canadian accent).
A book that I think should be required reading when picking a career is The Art of Happiness by the Dalai Lama. In the book, he states that the problem with Western society is that we chase money for our entire lives and our health suffers. At the end of our lives, we spend all of our money in order to maintain our health. Then we realize that we never lived to begin with.
Also, remember that no one is smarter than you. I feel so strongly about this when it comes to my students that I licensed this short Steve Jobs video from the Silicon Valley Historical Association. Please watch it as it will change your life.
And finally, don’t forget that your network is your net worth. I think the biggest untapped resource is McGill’s global alumni network. Do a LinkedIn search and reach out to us; we really want to help students and fellow alumni. All you have to do is ask and you will receive.