Career Blog
Q. Why did you choose Telfer?
A. I chose Telfer for its great accounting program and its CO-OP option. The accounting courses help prepare students who are pursuing a CPA designation. This was perfect for me because I would like to achieve this designation in the future. Also, I wanted to gain valuable work experience during university, and the CO-OP program has allowed me to do that. I have completed my first 4-month CO-OP term, and it exceeded all my expectations! My placement gave me a real preview of my future career and confirmed that accounting was the right career path for me.
Q. How did you decide what career you would like?
A. Before deciding to pursue a career in accounting, I wanted to become a teacher. However, that changed in high school when I took my first accounting class. I had always enjoyed math and working with numbers, so I decided to try it out in grade 11. I ended up liking it. I had great teachers in high school who showed me what a career in accounting could look like and taught me about the CPA designation. That really helped me make my initial decision to pursue a career in accounting.
Q. What is your favourite Telfer memory?
A. Last fall, I had the opportunity to perform in the CASCO virtual gala as a dancer. It was a very fun and rewarding experience to do something that I love while helping raise money for the kids at CHEO. Participating in the CASCO gala has surely been one of the highlights of my time at Telfer so far.
– Mary Warren
4th-year Accounting student and dancer, CASCO Gala
Inspired by Brandon Stanton’s Humans of New York, this weekly feature of the Telfer Career Blog will contain photography of individuals from the Telfer School of Management community and a corresponding narrative that gives us a glimpse into their lives.
“One word that I would use to describe Telfer is family. I love that the Telfer community is one big, happy family that supports you no matter what. Whether you’re celebrating a new job offer or crying over an unbalanced balance sheet in financial accounting (trust me, we’ve all been there!), you can always count on the Telfer community to have your back!
My most memorable moment at Telfer so far has been joining CASCO (shoutout to the CASCO fam ♡)! Being able to work with such hard-working students who come together to give back to the community has been truly inspiring these past two years. The CASCO community helped me find growth and confidence in myself, which allowed me to even go on to be this year’s president!
If I could go back and advise my 1st-year self, I would tell her to GET INVOLVED! As cliché as it sounds, it is through Telfer clubs, case competitions, and so much more, that I was able to meet some of my very best friends. Not only did I meet the loveliest people, but I was also able to gain valuable work experience and grow my professional network!
All in all, these past 3 years at Telfer have been quite the ride! I’ve met amazing people and made amazing memories, and I can’t wait to see what my last year here holds. Whether we’ve interacted directly, or if we just walked by each other in the halls of DMS, thank you for being part of my Telfer journey!”
– Patricia Felthman
4th-year Accounting student and President, CASCO
Inspired by Brandon Stanton’s Humans of New York, this weekly feature of the Telfer Career Blog will contain photography of individuals from the Telfer School of Management community and a corresponding narrative that gives us a glimpse into their lives.
“I have been teaching the undergraduate course in Organizational Behaviour for many years now. While I teach at all levels at the Telfer School of Management, this class is particularly close to my heart. It is a required course, which means that some students are super excited about the material, while others take it because they have to. Regardless, it is wonderful to share my passion for OB with all my students.
It is motivating to show students the relevance of OB regardless of their area of specialization. Various OB concepts have applications that extend beyond a professional setting, such family and friend relationships, or simply life in general. I like to bring in those examples in my discussions. I find that they tend to be useful for students who don’t necessarily have a ton of work experience. These examples allow them to anchor the concepts of the course with something that they are familiar with and then see the applicability of the concepts to the business world.
One of the greatest joys of that class is when I hear from my students who initially didn’t really think they would find this class useful but now they see the applicability of OB to the field that they want to go into later on in life. As a teacher, that is always rewarding.”
- Silvia Bonaccio, Ph.D.
Organizational Behaviour Professor
Note: Professor Bonaccio loves attending the @CASCOTelfer gala to support the CASCO team in their incredible fundraising efforts, which benefit the @CHEOhospital foundation. Her CHEO bear collection continues to grow year after year.