"My ultimate goal is to become a financial planner and be able to open my own financial planning firm in my hometown where I could make a difference in the community that raised me.” From a small town with a high school of 300 people, Julia Despres has recently joined the Telfer School of Management where she has been given the opportunity to develop her personal and professional life. Julia was initially attracted to the Telfer School of Management due to the location, bilingualism, reputation among peers and the strong reputation Telfer has on a global scale. Julia is a student with many passions including an immense affection for flying. Julia has been a part of the Air Cadets for six years and “will do anything to get in the air.” After spending a summer in Ottawa staffing the Advanced Aviation Course at the Connaught Cadet Training Centre, she fell in love with Ottawa and continues to walk around and explore Ottawa’s many wonders. Through Telfer, Julia has been able to share her passion of movies with other students, spending many nights in residence watching films and bonding with what are now close friends.
With a dream of becoming a financial planner on the horizon, Julia additionally expressed her ambition to become a leader in her community. “I would like to be able to be successful enough to donate funds… specifically to Cadets Canada, my high school and local sports teams in my community. Air Cadets was such a big part of my life and I would like to be able to give back to a program that (greatly) benefitted me. The reason I would like to donate to my high school is to spark the interest of young people in my community about the world of business. Because the school is so small, (it has limited resources therefore,) it is very difficult to offer any type of business classes, and I want to change that. My aspirations are essentially to influence younger generations in a positive way and be able to support those who are struggling.” For Julia, your donations reinforced the importance of giving back to the community.
When asked about who inspires her Julia stated, “People like you who have donated their hard earned money to students like me. You are the ones who inspire us to be better people, the ones who enable us to become better people. I will ALWAYS aspire to be in the position to give back to this world. The amount of bursaries available to students is unbelievable and I will always strive to be like the numerous donors who have envisioned a brighter future for others.” Your donations inspired Julia and enabled her to fulfill her full potential while making the most of her experience at the Telfer School of Management.
Julia can speak on behalf of many scholarship recipients of her immense gratitude for donors like yourself. Once again thank you for your donations, which drove Julia’s passion to become a philanthropist in her community and allowed her the opportunity to attend and thrive at the Telfer School of Management.
