As a kid, Randy Ambrosie [BComm(Hons)/87] was, in his own words, the “rottenest kid in class”—the sort who left his mother in tears after parent-teacher conferences.

“I was probably, in some respects, an improbable Bison,” says the UM alum.

It wasn’t until high school, once his first season in the Winnipeg Bantam Football League ignited a passion for the game, that he saw himself getting serious about academics. He was already thinking about playing football professionally and knew that meant university.

Getting into university was just the first hurdle for Ambrosie. Once at UM, he juggled a new interest in business with the demands of Bison football. Initially struggling, he was inspired by the idea that he could earn his way to belonging, alongside his more academically inclined classmates. He fondly remembers many professors but credits a business policy course taught by Ross Henderson, who used a Socratic approach, for cultivating a love of learning.