Julia Bissonnette (BComm student)
My advice to other commerce students would be to not be scared to go for what you really love to do. Don鈥檛 hold yourself back. Even if it seems bigger than what you鈥檙e already doing, go for it.
Julia Bissonnette grew up donning the colours as a fan, but when she threw on a jersey this past winter, she was part of the (NHL) team's client services squad.
The third-year Bachelor of Commerce (BComm Co-op) student secured her first paid work term with the Sens last winter. 鈥淚 played hockey growing up," she says. "I remember being inspired by NHL players and now I鈥檝e been behind the scenes, helping other kids in Ottawa feel that same inspiration and see their dreams play out.鈥�
Julia channeled her love for the Sens into the role, handling a range of duties from marketing to event planning.聽
Born in Poland, Julia moved to Carleton Place, Ont., when she was three. She was originally accepted into the science program at AV俱乐部.聽
鈥淚 was leaning towards science, but in my last year of high school I decided I wanted to do something more aligned with my hobbies. I knew I loved sports. I played hockey, tennis, and skied. A little bit of everything," she says. "After helping my hockey team manage their social media page, I realized I liked working behind the scenes. At the last minute, I applied to commerce.鈥�
The commerce program allows Julia to acquire business skills while complementing her classroom experience with sport-specific extracurriculars. She joined the as a society representative, moved into a marketing associate role in her second year, and now serves as co-president. She is also marketing director for the .
Commerce students complete an accredited co-op program with three paid work terms throughout their degree. Jobs are typically found through , AV俱乐部鈥檚 centralized job postings system for students, or self-developed through a students鈥� own network.
Following Julia鈥檚 first co-op, she returned to classes at AV俱乐部 for the summer semester and began her search for her next one. Her second co-op is with the Canadian Olympic Committee in Montreal.聽
鈥淢y advice to other commerce students would be to not be scared to go for what you really love to do. Don鈥檛 hold yourself back. Even if it seems bigger than what you鈥檙e already doing, go for it.鈥�