<img class="center" src="https://sites.ualberta.ca/ALUMNI/NewTrailOnline/cyoa/img/cyoa1.png" />
The auditorium lights beat down on you, generating tiny pools of sweat on your forehead. You tug at your mortarboard, squint and see your family waving from the back—beyond the sea of people wearing black gowns. Someone calls your name. Deep breath. Smile. Walk across the stage and shake some hands. It’s all a blur but it feels significant somehow.
Congratulations! You’ve received your bachelor of arts degree from the University of Alberta.
You walk back to your seat and the grad sitting to your left leans over. You share nervous smiles. “So … now what?” he whispers. Good question. Grad school? Take the plunge into the workforce? After four years of wondering, it’s finally time to decide.
[[If you launch yourself into the work world->4]]
[[If you decide to go on and earn that second degree->7]]
[[If you put off the decision and start packing for an international adventure->26 End]]
To the surprise of your school friends, you still aren’t done with higher education. You boil your future down to two career paths: grad school or law school. You have the grades to do both, so you weigh the pros and cons.
You’ve always loved immersing yourself in research, which makes a lifetime of academia sound appealing. And, after all, your parents always did want you to become a doctor, even if this isn’t the kind of doctor they were thinking of.
With a law degree, you’d be walking away with a professional degree that could launch you into a lucrative career. Plus, your undergrad classes gave you plenty of experience in thinking on your feet and looking at issues from different angles.
Unable to decide, you take the law school admission test and apply to all the graduate programs to keep your options open.
Come springtime, you’re accepted to law school plus 13 grad programs. You sit down on the living room floor and spread out the acceptance letters all around you. You are overwhelmed with choices ... which is the right one?
[[If you move across the country to enrol in law ->3]]
[[If you choose a life of academia->2]]
<img class="center" src="https://sites.ualberta.ca/ALUMNI/NewTrailOnline/cyoa/img/cyoa4.png" />
You’ve been at your job for a while now—long enough to get really good at what you do but also long enough for boredom to creep in. The fluorescent lights are making you cross-eyed and your boss’s coffee breath has totally turned you off caffeine. Even making origami swans with the scrap paper left on the printer isn’t cutting it anymore.
Your boss sticks his head into your cubicle. It’s 3 p.m. Time for the weekly strategy meeting. As you file into the boardroom, your colleague leans over and whispers, “Guess what I just overheard? Sounds like Sunita’s going to retire next year!”
Your head starts to spin. Sunita’s job is tailor-made for you! You would be a long shot but you absolutely know you’d be great if they just gave you a chance. This could take your day-to-day from blah to hurrah ... but can you wait it out? As the meeting begins you start a pro/con list in the margins of your notebook.
<img class="center" src="https://sites.ualberta.ca/ALUMNI/NewTrailOnline/cyoa/img/cyoa4_1.png" />
[[If you stick it out->15 End]]
[[If you update your resumé->6]]
[[If you choose to leave it all behind and travel for a bit->26 End]]
Over the past year, you went out for lunch a little less and pinched pennies where you could—and you’ve finally saved up for the trip of a lifetime.
To ensure maximum spontaneity, you roll out an old map, close your eyes and drop your finger on a country. There it is—your destination! You have no clue how to pronounce the name of the city, but that only makes you more eager to go. You never were scared off by a challenge.
You delete your Facebook account and smile at your new-found anonymity. Besides, you know you’ll meet all kinds of new friends along the way.
As you board the plane, you realize you aren’t sure if you’ll ever come home … and that’s just fine by you.
<b>The End</b>
<img class="center" src="https://sites.ualberta.ca/ALUMNI/NewTrailOnline/cyoa/img/cyoa26.png" />
<img class="center" src="https://sites.ualberta.ca/ALUMNI/NewTrailOnline/cyoa/img/cyoa3.png" />
Congratulations! You’ve been accepted to law school. You pack up your whole life—fitting everything into your old Honda Civic makes building your fourth-year class schedule look easy—and move across the country to launch the next phase of your life.
Three years later, you finish law school. One more convocation. One more degree. Same question: now what?
You ditch your convocation party to wander and ponder next steps. Suddenly you see a faded flyer stapled to a post: “Wanted—Tree planters!”
Just imagine … fresh air, rustling leaves and, best of all, no textbooks! You could really use some time off before you take the bar exam. Plus, you always envied the students who did tree-planting as a summer job. They came back with the best tans and even better stories.
[[If you give the tree company a call->19 End]]
[[If you forget about the sign and start applying to law firms->18]]
After thinking it over for a few weeks, you accepted an offer from a school in the United States. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to study at a great university while getting in that bit of travel you were craving.
Now, you’re getting ready to defend your master’s thesis and talking with your supervisor about what’s next. She thinks that, with the right connections, you could roll out your research into its own corporation or non-profit agency. Or you could take your learning to the next level.
You love teaching, and research is your passion but, let’s face it, the academic job market is tough. Maybe it’s time to take your skills out into the larger world.
[[If you pursue a PhD->28]]
[[If you enter the job market->14]]
What was supposed to be a summer away from the daily grind of life turns into a year of living among the trees. You just finished building a pretty awesome tree house (if you do say so yourself), where you happily watch the sun rise and set every day.
You’re living farm to fork (or, more accurately, hand to mouth). You’re not sure what your job title is and you’re not sure if you’ll ever have one, but you’re happy.
<b>The End</b>
<img class="center" src="https://sites.ualberta.ca/ALUMNI/NewTrailOnline/cyoa/img/cyoa19.png" />
It has been a few years since you landed a sweet gig with the best law firm in town, and after plenty of late nights, skipped dates and long weekends spent poring over precedent, you finally have your eye on a corner office.
But all of that is about to change. The partner of your law firm calls you into her office and you can tell by the look on her face that she has bad news.
You’re right. The downturn in the economy means the firm has to downsize, she says. You’re handed a box and a perfunctory, “Thanks for your service,” and just like that you’re among the unemployed.
Feeling lost, you call a friend to commiserate. Over a cup of coffee your friend consoles you and offers a great idea. “You have plenty of other interests,” he suggests. “Why don’t you put law aside for now and try your hand at one of those?”
Hey – that’s right! You’re more than just a law degree. You have plenty of other skills to offer the world. You march out of the coffee shop amped on more than the double-double you just downed and decide to turn this into a new start.
[[If you start volunteering while looking for work->11]]
[[If you rekindle your love of creative writing—it worked for John Grisham->12]]
You begin picking up volunteer shifts at the local humane society. Suddenly, you’re filled with energy and ideas and feeling empowered to make a difference in your community. You realize that you want to feel this way all the time and decide to dedicate yourself to working for the public good.
You look up a few old friends from your university days—thank goodness you kept in touch!—and start calling in some favours.
<img class="center" src="https://sites.ualberta.ca/ALUMNI/NewTrailOnline/cyoa/img/cyoa11.png" />
[[If you start your own non-profit organization->20]]
[[If you enter your name as a candidate in the next provincial election->8]]
<img class="center" src="https://sites.ualberta.ca/ALUMNI/NewTrailOnline/cyoa/img/cyoa12.png" />
For years you’ve felt your creative energy leaking slowly out of your ear canals. Well, no more! You take a ho-hum job to make ends meet while you work on your novel. And if there’s one thing you took away from your degree, it was the ability to multi-task, so you slyly scribble character profiles in dry business meetings, sneak outside on your lunch break to write in the natural light and swap out the hour (or three) you spent on Facebook before bed to work on your draft.
Before long—although much longer than you imagined—your hard work pays off: you have a book deal! One book turns into a trilogy, turns into a movie deal and, before you know it, you’re taking calls poolside in Beverly Hills.
Congratulations! You are a Career Creative!
<b>The End</b>
[[Go on to the next page to meet other Career Creatives, just like you.->13 End]]
The first few years after starting your non-profit are tough. You and your (underpaid) staff are crammed into a corner of an office, trying to make the world a better place by working to solve problems that seem too big on a budget that seems too tiny. You remind yourself that over the course of history, people have managed to achieve more with less.
In one of your daily searches for funding opportunities, you stumble upon a massive grant that you might actually have a chance at winning. You need this money; it’s now or never. You drive all of your energy and considerable persuasive writing skills into the application but this time you recognize that it’s too big to handle on your own. You call up your university friends to lean on their expertise. Luckily, you had a diverse group of pals—one is now a communications expert, another manages an NGO and a couple are entrepreneurs.
Unlike many group projects you worked on in school, this one brings a combination of backgrounds and skills that lead to a great result—you got the grant! Your project takes off and your dream of dedicating your life to making a difference is now a reality.
Congratulations! You’re a Social Justice Warrior!
<b>The End</b>
[[Go on to the next page to meet other Social Justice Warriors, just like you.->21 End]]
It’s election night! After two stressful, sleep-deprived months of campaigning, you can hardly keep your eyes open as you wait for results at a swanky hotel. The room is buzzing with excited energy.
Finally, the TV anchor declares a winner. Your campaign was a success! Flashbulbs and champagne corks pop all around as people you don’t even know shove forward to pat you on the back.
But this isn’t the end … it’s just the start of a new chapter. You know you have a lot of work ahead of you but, in this moment, it all seems worth it.
Congratulations! You are a Political Player!
<b>The End</b>
<img class="center" src="https://sites.ualberta.ca/ALUMNI/NewTrailOnline/cyoa/img/cyoa8.png" />
[[Go on to the next page to meet other Political Players, just like you.->9 End]]
<img class="center" src="https://sites.ualberta.ca/ALUMNI/NewTrailOnline/cyoa/img/cyoa9.png" />
<em>Meet</em>
<span class="name-lrg">CHRIS HENDERSON</span>
'05 BA
Chris Henderson developed a knack for political competition during his undergrad, when he was the go-to guy to manage cutthroat Students’ Union executive election campaigns. This landed him a job as director of research and political affairs for the Students’ Union after he graduated.
His biggest break came in 2007 when a high school buddy, Don Iveson, ’01 BA, asked Henderson to manage his first Edmonton city council campaign. Iveson won and Henderson later managed Iveson’s second successful council campaign in 2010.
Henderson’s work landed him a position at communications consulting agency Calder Bateman, which offered him a strategist position. Henderson’s latest foray into politics was managing Iveson’s successful 2013 mayoral campaign, where Iveson took 62 per cent of the vote in a six-person race.
<em>Other alumni who forged successful careers in politics and public service include: <b>Rachel Notley</b>, ’87 BA(Hons), premier of Alberta; <b>Joe Clark</b>, ’60 BA, ’73 MA, ’85 LLD (Honorary), former prime minister of Canada; <b>Beverley McLachlin</b>, ’65 BA, ’68 LLB, ’68 MA, ’91 LLD (Honorary), Supreme Court chief justice.</em>
<img class="center" src="https://sites.ualberta.ca/ALUMNI/NewTrailOnline/cyoa/img/cyoa21.png" />
<em>Meet</em>
<span class="name-lrg">CANDICE LYS</span>
'06 BA(Hons)
Armed with an arsenal of education and experience, Candice Lys is changing how sexual education is taught in the North. Majoring in sociology during her undergrad, Lys volunteered with the U of A’s peer health education group, a passion that drove her to pursue a master’s degree in health promotion at Dalhousie University.
As part of her PhD research at the University of Toronto, Lys co‑founded FOXY, Fostering Open eXpression among Youth, a non-profit, arts-based sexual education program for young women in the Northwest Territories. In 2014, FOXY won the $1-million Arctic Inspiration Prize. Lys plans to expand programming across all three northern territories and has launched a program for boys called SMASH—Strength, Masculinities, And Sexual Health.
<em>Other alumni working on social issues include: <b>Alfred Orono</b>, ’00 BA(Criminology), ’03 LLB, former prosecutor, United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda; <b>Robert J. Opp</b>, ’94 BA, director of innovation and change management at the United Nations World Food Programme; and <b>Patricia Lane</b>, ’79 BA, ’82 LLB, advocate for gender and sexual minority rights in Manitoba.</em>
<img class="center" src="https://sites.ualberta.ca/ALUMNI/NewTrailOnline/cyoa/img/cyoa13.png" />
<em>Meet</em>
<span class="name-lrg">AMRITHA VAZ</span>
’97 BA(Hons), ’02 LLB
Amritha Vaz was on a fast track to a creative career before tendinitis forced the former music student and aspiring classical violinist to switch to political science in her second year of university and pursue her second love: social justice. Vaz topped off her BA with a law degree at the U of A, followed by a master’s in international development at the University of Guelph and two master’s degrees (in philosophy and international conflict resolution) at the University of Bradford in England. After working in Sierra Leone and South Africa in post-conflict legal reconstruction, Vaz came back to Canada.
A friend recommended she compose music for a small independent film. Her career blossomed from there to include scores for award-winning and Oscar-nominated movies like The Time Traveler’s Wife, (500) Days of Summer and Adoration.
<em>Other career creatives include: <b>Malorie Urbanovitch</b>, ’11 BA, fashion designer; <b>Mary Pinkoski</b>, ’99 BA, ’06 BEd, former City of Edmonton poet laureate; <b>Jason Kapalka</b>, ’92 BA (Hons), ’94 MA, co-founder of PopCap Games; <b>Krista Monson</b>, ’91 BA, former stage director for Cirque du Soleil; <b>Josh Miller</b>, ’77 BA, president and executive producer of Panacea Entertainment, an independent film and TV production company.</em>
It’s 8 p.m. Another night stuck in the office grading papers. Circling yet another grammatical error (do they even teach “that versus which” in school anymore?), you ask yourself—again—why you ever thought a career in academia was right for you.
“Hi, professor. Do you have a minute?” You turn at a light knock and a student is standing in your doorway clutching a binder. You recognize him from your 8 a.m. class—one of the few who actually manage to look awake at that early hour. He shuffles his feet and you become aware of just how young he looks … but of course he is young. Seventeen, maybe 18, and just out of high school. Still trying to figure out his way around campus.
“What can I do for you?” you ask, feeling tired and slightly annoyed at the interruption.
It takes a minute, but as he talks you realize this young student has read your papers—all of them!—and he wants to follow in your research footsteps. He asks if there are any opportunities to work with you.
You usher the student into your office and his face lights up. Did you ever look so young, so eager to learn? As you push aside the stack of unmarked papers and hand him a brochure about the U of A’s Undergraduate Research Initiative, you realize you don’t feel tired anymore.
“I’m glad you asked. Here’s how we can get you started.”
Congratulations! You are an Academic Influencer!
<b>The End</b>
[[Go on to the next page to meet other Academic Influencers, just like you.->29 End]]
It has been a few years of working 9 to 5, and while you like the regular paycheque, the watercooler gossip and email onslaught isn’t quite what you’d pictured for your future. Even more frustrating, you’ve streamlined your job so well that you have time to organize the office supply closet.
You glance at a photo on the corner of your desk—you smiling in your grad robes with the old university crew. That seems like a lifetime ago. What happened to that driven, creative and enterprising go-getter?
“I just feel like I’m not being challenged anymore,” you confess to a co-worker.
One afternoon as you’re cruising Facebook (it enhances your creativity, you swear), you notice a post from one of your university friends. “I finally did it!” she writes. “I quit my job to follow my passion!”
OK, it’s all a little cliché but you can’t help feeling jealous. Suddenly the old tingle is back. You’ve got a few bucks stashed away ... should you take a risk and dust off those old dreams?
What were your passions in university?
[[If you were a debate club member and student politician->10]]
[[If you were a news junkie->24]]
[[If you stay but ask your boss to give you more challenging work->15 End]]
[[If you go for a walk to think it over->27 End]]
The Students’ Union elections were a big deal with your group of university friends. Even though you never ran for a position yourself, you were a top-notch campaign manager, surprising even yourself with your people skills and ability to sum up complex campaign platforms. You even managed a few winning campaigns. Now your friend from back in the pizza-and-strategy-session days is running for city council—and is asking you to manage his campaign.
If you remember anything from the SU, it’s that managing campaigns is no easy task. It’s full of late nights and delivering last-minute pep talks to your anxious candidate. But you also remember how you loved those nights spent debating social policy and solving the world’s problems. And, let’s face it, you did kind of live for the drama of it all.
Do you launch yourself headlong into the race?
[[If you agree to help->8]]
[[If you decide to go for a walk and think about it->27 End]]
You queue up All the President’s Men and by the time the credits roll, you realize it’s time to make all those late nights at The Gateway mean something.
Luckily, juggling newspaper duties and classes taught you something else: hasty research skills and working on a tight deadline. You perfect your story pitch using every persuasive writing technique you can recall, then email the editor of your local paper.
A week goes by. You email a followup.
Two weeks go by. You call and leave a voice mail.
At three weeks, you realize you’ll have to make this happen and you head to the newspaper office. You knock hesitantly on the editor’s door. She swivels her leather chair—and she’s just as intimidating as you imagined. You pitch your idea and she’s interested. The newsroom is strapped for staff, so she glances over your clippings from The Gateway and asks you to write the article ...
… which is a huge success! Other media outlets scramble to pick up your scoop and your editor offers you a job.
Weeks later, you fall into bed after another day of chasing the story. As you roll over, your eyes land on a memento you chanced across at a used bookstore on the way home. Sitting on your bedside table is a copy of All the President’s Men, signed by Bob Woodward. You smile as you drift off to sleep.
Congratulations! You’re a Member of the Free Press!
<b>The End</b>
[[Go on to the next page to meet other Members of the Free Press, just like you.->25 End]]
Long ago you realized that no job is perfect. Your career path has certainly had plenty of ups and downs—remember that time your boss found your stash of origami swans made from scrap printer paper?—but you made a choice to stick around and you worked things out.
Over the years, you have become really (really) good at what you do. You earned the respect of your peers and enough industry awards to overwhelm your office wall—your corner office wall. And, thanks to a solid pension plan, after 30 years with the company, you are eligible for early retirement.
As your younger colleagues carry in the Happy Retirement cake (red velvet, your favourite) you check your phone one more time. Yup, it’s still there. The email from the travel agent that reads, “Your booking is confirmed. Here is the itinerary for your round-the-world ticket.”
You put your phone back into your pocket and smile at your co-workers as you start cutting the cake. It has been a great 30 years, but now it’s time for the next chapter to begin.
<b>The End</b>
As you’re walking down the street, you see a familiar face approaching: it’s your boss from a short barista gig you held in your third year of university. You small-talk with your ex-boss for a few minutes and she tells you one of the coffee shop’s top baristas unexpectedly quit. She asks if you could fill in for a couple of shifts while they try to hire someone else.
What do you have to lose? You were looking for a change of pace anyway.
You start slinging coffees again. Soon, people are flocking from all over the city to catch a glimpse of your impeccable latte art. After four years of downing coffee during your undergrad, you’ve been able to master a steady hand while keeping the coffee shakes at bay. And that extra dose of creativity inspired by your art history classes doesn’t hurt, either.
Fast-forward one year and your latte art has taken Instagram by storm. People are lining up out the door to snap a shot of your espresso creations, and the world barista community is taking notice. You get invited to the World Barista Championship—and win!
You return home and open your own café, where you can stir up new creations whenever you want. Take that, wise-cracking family members who joked that you wouldn’t amount to anything more than a coffee maker with a BA.
<b>The End</b>
<img class="center" src="https://sites.ualberta.ca/ALUMNI/NewTrailOnline/cyoa/img/cyoa25.png" />
<em>Meet</em>
<span class="name-lrg">JIMMY JEONG</span>
’01 BA
Jimmy Jeong studied philosophy and design at the U of A but says he got his “real” education while volunteering as a photographer at The Gateway, the U of A student newspaper.
His entry into professional photojournalism was partly luck: while on assignment for The Gateway, he met a staff photographer for the Edmonton Journal, who forwarded his portfolio to an editor. Jeong perfected his freelance work while maintaining his day jobs, which included graphic designer for the U of A Students’ Union and art director of Edmonton’s former SEE Magazine. Jeong began a full-time freelance career in 2007. His work has appeared in the Globe and Mail and The New York Times.
<em>Other alumni who went on to a career in news media include: <b>Jeremy Keehn</b>, ’98 BA, news editor and writer who has worked with The New Yorker, Harper’s Magazine and The Walrus; <b>Warren Serink</b>, ’00 BA, producer at CBS News; <b>Paula Simons</b>, ’86 BA(Hons), columnist at the Edmonton Journal; <b>Margaret Evans</b>, ’14 BA, CBC foreign correspondent.</em>
<img class="center" src="https://sites.ualberta.ca/ALUMNI/NewTrailOnline/cyoa/img/cyoa29.png" />
<em>Meet</em>
<span class="name-lrg">CRISTINA STASIA</span>
’00 BA(Hons)
After completing a joint honours degree in English and women’s studies, Cristina Stasia was accepted by all 13 graduate programs to which she applied—both a blessing and a curse.
Stasia ended up completing a master’s, a certificate of advanced study and a PhD at Syracuse University in New York. Her 10-year academic path in the U.S. eventually led her back to the University of Alberta, where she taught in the Department of Women’s and Gender Studies for five years.
Stasia is now director of instruction at the U of A’s Peter Lougheed Leadership College, where she trains and supervises the college’s teaching fellows. In 2014, she founded Level Consulting, a firm that advises organizations on their gender inclusivity and equity practices.
<em>Other Academic Influencers include: <b>Rudy Wiebe</b>, ’56 BA, ’60 MA, ’09 DLitt (Honorary), author and U of A English professor emeritus; <b>Heidi Janz</b>, ’93 BA(Hons), ’95 MA, ’03 PhD, U of A disability ethics researcher and assistant adjunct professor, playwright and author; <b>Brent Shaw</b>, ’68 BA, ’71 MA, classics professor at Princeton University in New Jersey; <b>Catherine Krull</b>, ’90 BA(Hons), ’92 MA, ’96 PhD, dean of social sciences at the University of Victoria.</em>
You scan the job posting sites for what is probably the millionth time. You know you want to take your career in a different direction but … which one is the right one?
You Google “How to find the right job for me” and start reading blogs, landing on one called Work Your Bliss to Pay Your Bills.
“When starting in a new career direction, look to the past,” the author writes. “Think about the person you were in university, the activities you enjoyed and the people with whom you socialized. Go back to the beginning and you will find the path forward.”
You sip your coffee and ponder the advice. New Age baloney aside, the author has a point. Thankfully, you were involved in plenty of activities during your undergrad. More importantly, you made plenty of contacts you can still call on.
How did you spend your free time when you were at the University of Alberta?
[[If you had a penchant for social justice (staffing bake sales was your jam)->11]]
[[If you were a newspaper junkie and basically lived at The Gateway office->24]]
[[If you hung with the debate club and Students’ Union politicians->10]]
[[If you were full of money-making ideas and started a new business every other week->22]]
A message blinks on your screen. “Hey, I did it!” writes your friend. “I finally quit my job to start up that new business we always talked about. I’m heading out on my own. You in?”
You slowly sit back in your chair and ponder the message. You’re not 100 per cent sold on the business plan, but the message does remind you that you used to dream of being your own boss. There’s a reason you spent your electives on economics and business classes. The clock ticks. Your cursor blinks. He’s waiting for your answer.
<img class="center" src="https://sites.ualberta.ca/ALUMNI/NewTrailOnline/cyoa/img/cyoa22.png" />
[[If you pass on the offer and stick with your current job->14]]
[[If you take a chance and say yes->23]]
Well, you did it! You and your partner went out on a limb and launched your own business. It has been a roller-coaster few years spent making presentations, making contacts and just plain making it work. Despite some success, things are starting to get tense between you and your business partner. The smallest things are turning into fights (don’t even get him started on what the proper office temperature should be). It feels as if you’re a bickering married couple—without the spousal tax benefits.
This morning you came to work to find a yellow Post-it note stuck to your computer monitor. It’s from your business partner—actually, make that your former business partner.
“I’m done. Good luck,” says the note.
You’re a little bit relieved but you also begin to worry. Can you do it on your own? Do you even still want to? Then you remember that there are programs where you can get advice and mentorship from other U of A alumni. Maybe you’re not all on your own.
On the other hand, it has been a frenzied few years and you sure could use a break. Maybe this is that “someday” you always talked about where you can cash it all in and finally do some travelling.
[[If you decide to risk it and take over the business on your own->16]]
[[If you start planning a very long getaway->26 End]]
At first it’s a little scary going out on your own as sole manager of a company but you slowly start to find your footing. You hire some employees who challenge you (but in a good way) and things move forward in ways you’d never expected.
A few years pass, sales continue to climb and you’re holding your own as CEO. Actually, you’re doing better than holding your own—you’re darn good at this! You hired a great team, you know your market inside out and, of the 100 little decisions you make every day, you feel confident about at least 90 of them.
You sit back in your leather chair and put your feet up on the desk. Turns out life is pretty good when you’re in charge.
Congratulations! You are an Entrepreneur!
<b>The End</b>
[[Go on to the next page to meet other Entrepreneurs, just like you.->17 End]]
<img class="center" src="https://sites.ualberta.ca/ALUMNI/NewTrailOnline/cyoa/img/cyoa17.png" />
<em>Meet</em>
<span class="name-lrg">ANGELA SANTIAGO</span>
’96 BA
During her undergrad, Angela Santiago didn’t know she had an entrepreneurial spirit.
After writing her law school admission tests during her undergrad, Santiago quickly realized that becoming a lawyer wasn’t for her. Not long after, her dad called with an idea: he wanted to sell potatoes. Not just any potatoes, but small and creamy ones like they had in his home country, the Netherlands. Santiago was reluctant but went along with his idea—and The Little Potato Company was born on a half-hectare plot outside Edmonton.
Twenty years later, the company remains the only one in North America to specialize in small “creamer” potatoes and has achieved more than $100 million in sales. Santiago was chosen by Alberta Women Entrepreneurs for their 2016 Celebration of Achievement award.
Other grads with an entrepreneurial spirit include: <b>Brad Ferguson</b>, ’92 BA, ’95 BCom, president and CEO of Edmonton Economic Development Corp.; <b>Daryl Katz</b>, ’82 BA, ’85 LLB, founder and chairman of the Katz Group of Companies (owner of the Edmonton Oilers); <b>Ruth Kelly</b>, ’78 BA(Spec), ’16 LLD (Honorary), president and CEO of Venture Publishing; <b>Ashley Janssen</b>, ’06 BA, co-owner of AgileStyle, a custom web application firm.