From Ontario Tech to BMO

Class of 2014
Bachelor of Arts (Honours), Legal Studies
Faculty of Social Science and Humanities

Vannessa says her degree in Legal Studies from the University of Ontario Institute of Technology was the key to securing a job with BMO Financial Group following graduation.

She was drawn to Ontario Tech's Pathways Diploma-to-Degree program, which enabled her to transfer her paralegal diploma into a Legal Studies degree in only two years. Today, as Executive Assistant to the Senior Vice President and Assistant Chief Auditor of Technology and Operations for BMO, Vanessa enjoys "being a part of the corporate world, the relationships I have built with my team members and meeting people who are engaged, intelligent and remarkable at their careers."

While currently content with her work, Vannessa has ambitious plans for the future. "Ontario Tech helped me develop a love of learning. I came to realize that I would truly enjoy a life of academics." She has received an acceptance to the University of Essex in the United Kingdom for the Master of Arts in the Conflict Resolution program, which she will be attending with her husband in the fall.

Meanwhile, she's strengthening her credentials with a view of her future application. She's also planning her wedding to her fiancé who is currently studying at Ontario Tech.

Vannessa's advice to other students planning their careers: "determine a path you want to take sooner rather than later. It's much easier to change your mind and figure out another path than to not have a path at all."