I grew up in the Gaspé and earned my BCom at a small university. My first job in a public accounting firm brought me to Montreal. That’s when I looked into the graduate diploma in public accounting at McGill University. McGill was the cream of the crop; you knew that if you made it through the DPA program, you were going to pass your CA exam.
Two years later, I walked through the Roddick Gates early one morning to see if my name was on the list of people who passed the UFE exam – that’s how we found out back then. I still remember making a collect call to my mother and the operator saying, “it’s your daughter, the CA.” Going through those two years of night school in a competitive environment was a big adjustment for me; it taught me resiliency and independence.
After working in several industries, I started as a corporate controller at McKesson, with the goal of moving up to the Chief Financial Officer position for Canada. I had 10 interviews for that job and one of the elements that helped me was the fact that I was a McGill graduate; McGill’s international reputation helped me get that CFO position. Over the next 16 years I moved up the ranks to President.
The School of Continuing Studies provided me with a solid base to start my career, and years later helped open up doors for me to continue moving forward. In giving back to the School, my hope is that it will allow others to realize their personal and professional goals.