Coffee With Convery

Students, New Grads, and Career Seekers, Welcome to #CoffeeWithConvery. This podcast is an intimate, upfront and personal coffee chat approach with some of the amazing and inspiring talent I have met over the years. My guest today is Julian Flowers a University of Toronto Scarborough student working towards his Bachelor of Psychology and Health Sciences with hopes of graduating in 2023. Julian describes himself as a energetic and passionate individual who has experience in customer services and sales. He has been a community volunteer working with elderly residents with Extendicare Rouge Valley; worked as a sales associate with Toy R Us; a sales associate with Vector Marketing; and recently worked as an Operations Analyst at RBC and is now going into his 4th year at UTSC. In his spare time Julian likes to play guitar, video games, go to concerts, and shoot photography. I had the chance to sit down with Julian to talk Music, networking and responsibilities and I am happy to share our conversation with you, Enjoy! #CoffeeWithConvery #Listen #Learn #BeInspired

Students, New Grads, and Career Seekers, Welcome to #CoffeeWithConvery. This podcast is an intimate, upfront and personal coffee chat approach with some of the amazing and inspiring talent I have met over the years. My guest today is Yash Goyal. Yash is a graduate of the Jaypee University of Information Technology with a Bachelor of Technology, Civil Engineering and currently enrolled at Northeastern University in Toronto pursuing his Master of Science in Project Management with an expected graduation date in July 2023. Yash describes himself as a confident, committed and curious individual. While attending Jaypee University of Technology, Yash was a Project Coordinator Intern with the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation and he also worked as a Business Analyst with Voli Innovations Private Limited. He realized his passion for Project Management and decided to move to Canada for his post-graduation to pursue a Master of Science in Project Management with Project Business Analysis as his concentration with Northeastern University, Toronto. Throughout his studies and internships, Yash has worked on various Data Visualization projects where he has gotten hands-on experience with MS Office and Power BI and learned even more about Business Analytics. He holds a Certified Associate in Project Management Certification from PMI, is currently working part-time as Operations Team Member with Saisethsons Hospitality Group Inc. and will be starting his Fall Co-op in September with Scotia Bank. I had the chance to sit down with Yash to talk Networking, Personal Growth and Red Velvet Cake and I am happy to share our conversation with you, Enjoy! #CoffeeWithConvery #Listen #Learn #BeInspired

Students, New Grads, and Career Seekers, Welcome to #CoffeeWithConvery. This podcast is an intimate, upfront and personal coffee chat approach with some of the amazing and inspiring talent I have met over the years. My guest today is Matt Parkin. Matt graduated with an Honors in Business Administration from the Ivey Business School at Western. Matt is an amazing entrepreneurial spirit who has been engaging in volunteerism, clubs and sports since he was born. He holds many licenses, certifications and over 20 awards including: a Certified Associate in Project Management, a Lean Six Sigma White Belt, a Delaware Hall First-Year Involvement Award, Robert V. Hicks Scholarship at Ivey (Awarded to an HBA student with high academic standing and a career interest in HR Management), a J.J. Wettlaufer Award at Ivey (Awarded to the male student in each section who, in the opinion of their peers, excels in activities within and outside the Business School) to name a few. To his credit, Matt was also in the top 25% of his class in his third year at Ivey. Matt is Director and Co-Founder of LEAP Canada a federally-incorporated non profit organization that equips students with the knowledge, skills, and connections they need to bridge the gap between high school and post-secondary education; Co-Founder of #Coble which educates, motivates, and holds students accountable during their job search with easy and actionable daily steps; a LinkedIn Personal Branding Coach and Business Development Lead and currently works at FindWRK in Customer Success/ Sales. I had the chance to sit down with Matt to talk LinkedIn, Personal Branding and Entrepreneurship and I am happy to share our conversation with you, Enjoy! #CoffeeWithConvery #Listen #Learn #BeInspired

Students, New Grads, and Career Seekers, Welcome to #CoffeeWithConvery. This podcast is an intimate, upfront and personal coffee chat approach with some of the amazing and inspiring talent I have met over the years. If you are tuning in for the first time, “Careering Talk” is an open mic series to empower job and career seekers with knowledge, insights, career pathing and coaching to find that dream job and develop a career with purpose and impact. On today’s Careering Talk, I have invited Sergeant Julien Ponsioen from the Metro Vancouver Transit Police to share with us his journey to law enforcement, his time spent with the BC Ambulance Service for over 25 years and to discuss his passion for all thing diversity and inclusion including his leadership and activism with the 2SLGBTQ+ community. Julien spent close to two years as the Vice President of Out On Patrol an incorporated non-profit peer support organization for 2SLGBTQ+ members of law enforcement focusing on community engagement, charitable work, and education. Julien is definitely a social media influencer and is engaging on many social channels including TikTok and twitter where his “Coffee with a Cop” has many followers including me. Julien is an active participant and past co-chair with Cops for Cancer Tour de Coast which supports the Canadian Cancer Society to fund outstanding pediatric cancer research and support programs like Camp Goodtimes. Since its start in 1977, Cops for Cancer has raised nearly $50 million to increase survival rates and support children living with cancer and their families. In his spare time Julien likes to do renovations on his house, sail, hike and bike. Julien and I actually met on twitter when I engaged in his Pride Challenge in 2020 and I won a really cool Metro Vancouver Transit Police Pride Patch. Julien and I continue to stay connected on social media and I’m super pumped to have Julien on the podcast today. I had the chance to sit down with Julien to talk Careering Talk: Career transitions, Pride and TikTok and I am happy to share our conversation with you, Enjoy! #CoffeeWithConvery #CoffeeWithACop #Pride2022 #Listen #Learn #BeInspired

Students, New Grads, and Career Seekers, Welcome to #CoffeeWithConvery. This podcast is an intimate, upfront and personal coffee chat approach with some of the amazing and inspiring talent I have met over the years. My guest today is Natan Lewko a Business Commerce graduate from the Lang School of Business and Economics at the University of Guelph, and he is currently enrolled at York University — Osgoode Hall Law School with hopes of graduating in 2023. Nathan is the Co-Co-President of the Osgoode Venture Capital Law Society (OVCLS) where he ensures the OVCLS provides Osgoode students with the clearest possible picture of what it is like to be a venture capital lawyer alongside his Co-President, Sara Siddiqi. Nate also is a student mentor with Legally Bright since August 2020 where he provides mentorship to prospective law students on how to get into their preferred law school. Nathan has consulting, private equity, and sales experience within his career portfolio of experience, and he will be starting at corporate law firm Pillsbury Winthrop Shawn Pittman in New York next week as a Summer Associate. After graduating from law school he plans on returning to Pillsbury to advise founders and investors as a corporate lawyer. He is in the early stage of investing as an aspiring angel investor and he likes to read, listen to podcasts, invest, and play golf in his spare time. I had the chance to sit down with Nathan to talk Leadership, intentionality and self-motivation and I am happy to share our conversation with you, Enjoy! #CoffeeWithConvery #Listen #Learn #BeInspired

Students, New Grads, and Career Seekers, Welcome to #CoffeeWithConvery. This podcast is an intimate, upfront and personal coffee chat approach with some of the amazing and inspiring talent I have met over the years. May 4th — May 10th this year marked the 69th annual Canada Mental Health Association Mental Health Week. Approximately 1 in 5 children and youth in Ontario has a mental health challenge and according to CAMH By age 40, about 50% of the population will have or have had a mental illness. Yet according to the Mental Health Commission, In Canada, only 1 out of 5 children receive appropriate mental health services. Cleary this is a topic that is top of mind and one that needs discussion. My guests today are Avina Patel and Madeleine Poutissou. Avina and Madeleine are the co-chairs of Queen’s Commerce Mental Health Association a student mental health group established to promote mental health and wellness throughout the Commerce community and to give those who are struggling a sense of hope. I first got introduced to QCMHA when I was at RBC and established a partnership with the Association for the first Mental Health Case Competition in 2021. It was a huge hit in that it raised awareness and innovative actionable ideas around mental health from an intergenerational perspective. So, let’s meet Avina and Madeleine. Avina is currently enrolled at the Smith School of Business and due to graduate in 2023 with her BComm Degree. Avina has worked as Financial Analyst Intern with the Ford Motor Company, been a consultant for Smith Business Consulting and most recently will be joining the Boston Consulting Group this summer to work as a Summer Intern. In her spare time, Avina likes to workout outdoors, take photos and make food. Madeleine is also currently enrolled at the Smith School of Business and due to graduate in 2023 with her BComm Degree. Madeleine has worked as summer intern for Daemar, Inc., been a Counsellor at the Glen Bernard Camp and most recently is a Investment Banking Summer Analyst at Scotia Bank. In her spare time, Maddie likes to spend time with friends, attend dance and spinning classes and watch reality tv. I had the chance to sit down with Avina and Madeleine to talk Mental health, curiosity and resilience and I am happy to share our conversation with you, Enjoy! #CoffeeWithConvery #Listen #Learn #BeInspired

Students, New Grads, and Career Seekers, Welcome to #CoffeeWithConvery. This his podcast is an intimate, upfront and personal coffee chat approach with some of the amazing and inspiring talent I have met over the years. If you are tuning in for the first time, “Careering Talk” is an open mic series to empower job and career seekers with knowledge, insights, career pathing and coaching to find that dream job and develop a career with purpose and impact. On today’s Careering Talk, I have invited Kristen Cocoman, a graduate of the State University of New York Fashion Institute of Technology and the current President and CEO at The ALS Association Greater New York Chapter. The ALS Association Greater New York Chapter serves patients and families throughout the New York City, Long Island, Northern & Central New Jersey, and Westchester & the Hudson Valley. The Chapter plays a major role in promoting the mission to lead the fight to treat and cure ALS through global research and nationwide advocacy while also empowering people with Lou Gehrig’s Disease and their families to live fuller lives by providing them with compassionate care and support. The ALS Association is the only national non-profit organization fighting Lou Gehrig’s Disease on every front. I had the opportunity to meet Kristen and the Hudson Valley Walk to Defeat ALS Team in 2012 when I started the Walk for Christie. My friend Christie was 41 years old, with a one year old daughter, when she was diagnosed with ALS. Christie passed from ALS in November 2019. With May being #ALSAwarenessMonth, I had the chance to sit down with Kristen Cocoman to talk Careering Talk: ALS advocacy, nonprofits and volunteerism and I am happy to share our conversation with you, Enjoy! #CoffeeWithConvery #CareeringTalk #Listen #Learn #BeInspired

Students, New Grads, and Career Seekers, Welcome to #CoffeeWithConvery. For those tuning in for the first time, this podcast is an intimate, upfront and personal coffee chat approach with some of the amazing and inspiring talent I have met over the years. “Careering Talk” is an open mic series to empower job and career seekers with knowledge, insights, career pathing and coaching to find that dream job and develop a career with purpose and impact. On today’s Careering Talk, I have invited Luke Girard to the podcast to share his incredible journey from hockey player to graduate of Wilfrid Laurier University to banking with TD to firefighting with Toronto Firefighting Services. Talk about an off-roading and winding career path and journey. Luke started his hockey career playing for the Vaughan Vipers of the Ontario Provincial Junior Hockey League and went on to join the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks Hockey Squad where he played for 4 seasons scoring 41 goals and 41 assists in 97 games. Luke also spent time in Belgium where he played for the Herentals HYC of the Royal Belgian Ice Hockey Federation. Luke and I met when he was at TD Bank helping us with our banking affairs and our relationship grew into a wonderful friendship with him and his lovely wife and partner Ashley. During the lockdown of the pandemic, Ashley and Luke welcomed their son Oliver and now are new parents as well. I had the chance to sit down with Luke to talk Careering Talk: Hockey, finance and firefighting and I am happy to share our conversation with you, Enjoy! #CoffeeWithConvery #CareeringTalk #Listen #Learn #BeInspired

Students and young professionals are facing barriers, uncertainty, biases, and changing priorities as they navigate the school to work transition. Their collective stories have inspired me and now I want to share these stories with you. So let’s meet Denys Linkov. Denys is a graduate of The University of Toronto where he received his Bachelor of Science in Computer Science. Denys currently works as a Machine Learning Architect at Voiceflow where he is responsible for designing and building Voiceflow’s data science and machine learning platform. Denys’ goal is to make creating voice apps easy, intuitive and collaborative. Denys is also a community builder. He has a keen interest and is focused on youth and the future of work. He has engaged with a number of youth groups as a mentor, speaker and leader and has engineered many discussions on career development and technology. He helped to scale Tech Under 20 a leading youth tech group in Halton and he is successful at a competitive level in Debate and Taekwondo. I got the pleasure of meeting Denys back at RBC when he was first a student and have continued to see Deny thrive with his impact and passion for tech, students and the future of work. I had the chance to talk Creativity, technology and internships with Denys Linkov and I am happy to share our conversation with you, Enjoy! #CoffeeWithConvery #Listen #Learn #BeInspired

On today’s episode we are going to continue the journey with #ThrowbackThursday. If you are tuning in for the first time and as a reminder for our listeners, “Throwback Thursday” is where I bring onto the show students and young talent that I met years ago and to see where they are now. My guest today is Sibi Anand. Sibi is a Carleton University BComm Finance graduate. Before we met, Sibi had worked at the Public Works and Government Services Canada in Ottawa as a Supply Officer and he was a contract SAP functional consultant for MMLS Consulting Inc. Sibi and I met back in the day at IBM when I was leading talent and onboarding for IBM Consulting Services and we were just standing up our client services centre in Bedford, Nova Scotia. Sibi went on to work at IBM as an SAP BI Consultant in Halifax and has performed various roles of responsibility with much success at Halogen Software, Saba Software and he now is the Senior Manager, Business Consulting at Cornerstone on Demand in Ottawa. In his spare time, Sibi enjoys eating shawarmas, deal-hunting at Costco, and travelling with his wife. He hosts a podcast called ‘Brown and Lovely’ that focuses on conversations around mental health in the South Asian community in addition to showcasing the journeys of up-and-coming artists, creatives, and entrepreneurs. He is a passionate advocate for all things mental health, personal development, leadership development, and financial literacy. I had the chance to talk Throwback Thursday: All things Costco, mental health and leading with yes with Sibi Anand and I am happy to share our conversation with you, Enjoy! #CoffeeWithConvery #ThrowbackThursday #Listen #Learn #BeInspired