‘It helped me grow’

This October, Asper Co-op alum Julianne Par finally held a parchment bearing her name and one of her biggest achievements so far: Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) from the Asper School of Business.

Seeing her name on the piece of parchment that she worked for five years to attain, Par [BComm(Hons)/24] was reminded of a piece of advice that changed the course of her academic journey. She had applied to Asper upon entry to university and didn’t initially get in, which inspired two focused and determined years of study until she could reapply and then officially enter the program in her third year of post-secondary education.

Proud as she was of her hard work to get that acceptance, Par also couldn’t ignore a growing tension: her feeling of being behind, wanting to make up for lost time and secure a true four-year degree, compounded with her growing awareness of all that was available to her as an Asper student.

“I was actually very hesitant to join the Asper Co-op Program,” she says. “I was really worried about graduating ‘on time’ and feeling like everyone should finish the degree in four years.”

But this perceived timeframe couldn’t quite keep Par’s interest in co-op at bay. Conflicted, she reached out to a friend who had experience with the program and who reminded her of something deceptively simple:

“It’s your degree, isn’t it?” her friend pointed out.

This reminder was a lightbulb moment for Par.

“From that moment, one of my goals was to take as many opportunities as I could at Asper because the School offers so many things that students can take advantage of; it’s just a matter of being confident and brave enough to try those things,” says Par.

In pursuit of this new goal, Par started to craft her unique BComm journey—she joined the Asper Co-op Program and completed three work placements across as many sectors and industries.

At Deloitte, she supported quarterly reporting while brushing up on public accounting and auditing controls; at Transport Canada, she saw labour relations theory in practice as part of the PSAC strike of 2023; at Priceline Partner Solutions, she pitched a new influencer-led media campaign for a client, learning how to pivot and research in response to client feedback.

Par’s co-op experience was diverse, with her work placements shifting between accounting, human resources, and marketing. She shares how these experiences truly helped her learn both what she wanted and enjoyed in a career, and perhaps less comfortably, what she knew was not going to be a forever fit.

While Par greatly enjoyed the technical finesse of accounting and speaks highly of her time at Deloitte, she also realized that her soft skills, lifestyle, and interests did not quite fit the field.

“I felt lost for a bit, after realizing that, to be honest,” she says.

“I thought that I was going to be a CPA—it had been my be all and end all at that point. I had to sit down, reflect, and retrack.”

Par gave herself space to be uncertain, to rethink what she wanted, to allow herself enough grace to know that it wasn’t her job as a student to have every single thing figured out right away, but she did need to keep trying and pushing herself to learn.

Enjoyment of core human resources courses and a flair for marketing led her into her next two placements respectively, and then into her current role as House Brand Coordinator at Princess Auto.

“I really do think that from all the different industries and roles I tried through co-op, I’ve become a more well-rounded business professional. Those three experiences really did support my job search after finishing my courses,” she says.

Par notes the support of the Asper Career Development Centre, mentioning the resources, networking, and insights they offered throughout her journey.

“I think the Career Development Centre really did help me grow,” she says.

“I really didn’t know the things I could learn.”

Like so many Asper graduates, Par was proud to finally hold her Bachelor of Commerce degree in her hands—proud of the accomplishment it reflects, the years of focused study and dedication, and proud of the prestige, the excellence of an Asper School of Business education.

And, proud to see her name on that parchment, to have completed her BComm journey, to have changed, to have doubted, to have grown, and to have learned.

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Learn more about how to apply for co-op as an Asper student here.

Emily Wilson