London connection
Alumni meet in the UK
Alumni from the University of Manitoba are making an impact all over the globe, including in London, England where, earlier this month, many of our London-based alumni attended an event hosted by H. E. Gordon Campbell, High Commissioner for Canada to the UK and the U15 Group of Canadian Research Universities.
Thirty five University of Manitoba alumni joined over 350 grads from the other Canadian U15 research universities to reminisce, connect, and forge new relationships.
UM Today caught up with one U of M alumna who attended the event to ask her a few questions. Trina Zwarich graduated from the Faculty of Management in 1995 with an honours degree in commerce. Here’s what she had to say.
What brought you to London and what are you doing now?
In order to answer this question, I have to take a step back to the time that I left Winnipeg, which was 1998. Having written the Uniform Final Examination with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Manitoba in the summer of 1998, I accepted a transfer to the regional office of PricewaterhouseCoopers Bermuda, opting to escape the harsh Canadian winters. I spent the next 10 years of my Chartered Accounting career in Bermuda working with various companies within the Investment Industry. It was during this time that I met my Irish husband, who was also an accountant, and in 2009 my husband accepted an opportunity to work for Morgan Stanley in London, England, and we set off across the Atlantic with our 15-month-old daughter. After a six-year parental career gap (and a second child), I have recently re-entered the workforce and am currently working as a Financial Manager for a growing independent merchant-banking firm.
How did your experience at the University of Manitoba shape where you are today?
Having taken the Commerce program, I believe my experience at the University of Manitoba gave me the skills and confidence needed to become a Chartered Accountant. The courses within the Commerce program provided me with the desire to exceed boundaries, to explore all opportunities, and to always drive to do my best.
What did you most enjoy at the alumni reception?
It was so nice to meet other Manitobans, and hear their Manitoban accents – I’ve missed that. But I also enjoyed reminiscing about our University days and time spent in Winnipeg. Even though we all had graduated in different years, decades even, and from different faculties, we had a common bond of having lived in Winnipeg and attended the University of Manitoba so were able to share stories that only U of M alumni would understand. It was also wonderful meeting University President and Vice-Chancellor, Dr. David Barnard, and learning about the University’s research initiatives.
Are you a U of M alum living outside of Manitoba? We’d love to hear from you. Connect with us on UM Today, or via Facebook or Twitter. Or, keep an eye on upcoming events – we always enjoy hearing from our alumni.
It is great to see the UofM representatives have travelled so far away from home.
Trina is my niece and we are very proud of her accomplishments. We miss her as she is so far away.