On Saturday, September 15, 2018, we hosted over 100 students at the Toronto office of Fasken LLP for the 5th Annual CAUFP Youth Summit presented by TD.
The conference brought together black and visible minority students to connect with Bay Street professionals and learn about what it’s like to work in finance, consulting, law, accounting, and technology.
“The nature of work is rapidly changing,” said Abdul-Aziz Garuba, the President of CAUFP and Senior Manager at RBC, “and it is necessary for students to get an idea what the jobs of tomorrow will look like so they can prepare adequately today. This includes taking the right courses in school, connecting with professionals, and getting mentored.”
The conference opened with a welcome address from Martin Denyes, Managing Partner at Fasken, followed by a keynote presentation by Karl Chelashaw, AVP Global Infrastructure and Cybersecurity at TD Bank. Karl spoke on behalf of Mike French, SVP Finance at TD Bank, who sponsored the conference.
Other speakers at the conference included Ellis Perryman, AVP Phone Channel at TD Bank, Mukani Moyo, Associate Partner at McKinsey, Olivia McKenzie, Articling Student at Fasken, Thaine Carter, VP Investment Banking at TD Securities, and Jeff Dennis, Counsel and Entrepreneur-In-Residence at Fasken, among others.
“The broad industry experience and expertise of the speakers was impressive. The speakers also canvassed issues that are extremely relevant to young professionals beginning their careers. I was able to learn a lot and will certainly be able to utilize all the tips and lessons from the event.” – Tawanda Masimbe (Osgoode Hall Law School)
We had diverse students in attendance who came from schools across the country including McGill University, University of Ottawa, University of Toronto, Ryerson University, York University, Bishops University, Wilfred Laurier University, and McMaster University. They were enthusiastic in their expectations and were keen to ask questions.
“An unfortunate reality is that it’s often difficult for black achieving students to find peers who are striving for similar goals. This event provided an opportunity to be surrounded by students and leaders who look just like me, who are all reaching for success. It also provided an opportunity to network for potential job and intern opportunities.” – PJ Grant (University of Toronto)
The day wrapped up with a networking session where the students got to meet and connect with professionals from different organizations including RBC, TD Bank, Accenture, McKinsey, Shopify, PSP Investments, and Fasken. In addition, scholarships worth $500 each were awarded to 3 deserving individuals for their commitment to academics and community involvement. The scholarship recipients were Jasmine Ali, Aysha Mohammed, and Jeffrey Fasegha.
“I liked how the professionals invited, at least the ones I interacted with, displayed a genuine interest in us delegates and in wanting to help us out in whatever way they could. They were present and engaging and willing to answer questions.” – Olaitan Ogunnote (University of Guelph)
We would like to thank our presenting partner TD Bank for sponsoring this event and Fasken LLP for providing the venue and facilities.
Check out more photos from the Youth Summit here: https://caufp.pixieset.com/2018caufpyouthsummit
