JMSB Spring Convocation

Katerina Fragos
BComm, Finance
Valedictorian
John Molson School of Business

As one of 11 winners of executive search firm Odgers Berndtson’s CEO x 1 Day competition, Fragos got to shadow Videotron president and COO Manon Brouillette. Fragos also served as vice-president of Academic Affairs of the John Molson Competition Committee and represented the John Molson School of Business at various case competitions. She hopes to complete a master’s degree at Oxford University.

3 keys to a good education

• “Apply the concepts you learn whenever you can. Case competitions, internships, volunteering opportunities and student groups are good for this.”
• “Always try to understand the impact and meaning of classroom concepts. The brain remembers better when it knows why it is remembering.”
• “The highest form of learning is teaching. You've quasi-mastered a subject once you are able to teach it.”

2 lessons learned at Concordia

• “Whether in life or at work, always try to add value.”
• “Try things that make you uncomfortable. Learn about new topics. Explore exotic countries. Work in different fields. Discomfort develops character.”

1 piece of advice for graduates

• “The corner office should be the by-product, not the source, of your ambition.”

Sokhna Fatim Niang
BComm, Business Technology Management
Valedictorian
John Molson School of Business

Niang’s research interests lie in business intelligence and change management. She served as president of the African Students’ Association of Concordia. She dreams of working for Google, and she may one day pursue a master’s degree in business intelligence.

3 keys to a good education

• “Do not let bad grades or other little things bring you down. Every so-called bad experience is, above all, an experience. Every failure and every challenge makes you stronger.”
• “Do not compete against others — compete against yourself. You’ll develop confidence, and confidence leads to excellence.”
• “Do not be scared to step out of your comfort zone. Try new things, push yourself, answer questions in class and break your shell.”

2 lessons learned at Concordia

• “Be bold and take ownership of your work. When you don’t show or share the great things you do, there will always be other people ready to take credit for it.”
• “The power of networking. The people you work with on a group project might be the people able to open doors for you in the future.”

1 piece of advice for graduates

• “Do not limit yourself. As long as you push yourself, you can achieve great things — things you never thought you could achieve. Keep your eyes on the prize, but do not focus on the end result. Enjoy the process.”

Gwyneth Edwards
PhD, Business Administration
Governor General’s Gold Medal winner
John Molson School of Business

Edwards is investigating how strategic practices in organizations can enable and constrain performance. She’s particularly interested in how strategy unfolds over time and how firms can become locked into patterns of behaviour. She is an assistant professor at HEC Montréal, and has received a three-year Fonds de recherche sur la société et la culture grant to extend her thesis work. She hopes to publish in Administrative Science Quarterly one day.

3 keys to a good education

• “Finding an institution that matches your character and aspirations.”
• “The desire to keep asking why and making connections with what you have already learned.”
• “Academic and social support. Students benefit dearly from the support of teachers, administrators, family and friends.”

2 lessons learned at Concordia

• “The classroom is such a small part of a student’s education. As a professor, finding ways to extend learning so that it moves seamlessly from the classroom to real life is an exciting challenge for me.”
• “The world is relatively small, and everyone in it has a right to be heard. Concordia’s international and open culture broadened my understanding and helped me appreciate the richness of difference.”

1 piece of advice for graduates

• “Dream big. People have significantly more potential than they realize.”