I always found McGill to be a very inspirational place, from the campus and facilities, to the legacy of the alumni and bright thinkers that have walked through its halls. My time at McGill helped refine my vision of what I wanted to do, and provided me with invaluable skills that I carried into my career.
I currently work as the Chief Strategy Officer for a tech company, and as I reflect back, I realize that my degree in economics and political science brought immense value. However when I started out, my path wasn’t so clear.
In my second year, I struggled as I dabbled in coding, and eventually decided against pursuing a degree in computer science. Although discouraged, and despite trying to succeed in that field because it was the vision I had for myself, I knew there were other things I would be successful at.
From that point on, I decided to play to my strengths, and have never looked back. I learned to understand the service industry, bridging the gap between business and tech. In the long run, I got to work in tech without coding, and pursued every entrepreneurial opportunity I found interesting. This was certainly a lesson in resilience. Life is long, and failures are always short-term. There is another opportunity to succeed every day.
Those years of studying for my BA taught me to develop a macro perspective of my future roles and of the sectors and markets in which I could find myself. I learned the importance of understanding both my place in the world and in the global economy. There will always be different factors that influence your venture. Had it not been for my degree, I may not have taken that same approach to problem solving. If your view is narrow, you forget about the other forces around you, and you end up problem solving in a bubble, without considering other influences that could provide greater insight. McGill taught me how to think about problems outside that bubble.
I encourage current students and young alumni to never discount the value of higher education. Nothing can take away the thought processes you develop as you pursue a university degree, nor your personal evolution into an adult – especially among high-performing peers. There is so much available to you if you are thoughtful in how you approach and do things, and identify the skills you bring to the table. People are creating things every day. There is a never-ending flow of opportunity to tap into as you grow.