Dan Beauregard (pictured right in white hat) and fellow resident assistants (RAs) from Concordia attend an RA retreat.
“Persistence.” This simple yet powerful notion, says Dan Beauregard, BA 75, holds the key to success in life. “Be persistent in attaining your goals. Sometimes you lose and sometimes you win, but whatever direction you choose, that's where you're meant to go.”
As Concordia celebrates the 50th anniversary of the merger between its two founding institutions, Sir George Williams University and Loyola College, Beauregard reflects on his university experiences with appreciation for everything the school offered him.
Beauregard retired in 2019, after a long and successful career working his way up to director of operations and sales for a number of large, international companies. The most rewarding aspect of that work, he recalls, was the ability to realize large-scale projects from beginning to end, to see the effective results from his efforts.
“I had a reputation on the market as a Mr. Fix It in the sense that I would go into a branch that was struggling and was able to troubleshoot within a certain period of time and just grow the business from there,” he says. “That's where Concordia comes into play.”
A political science major, Beauregard credits the courses he took in university for setting the stage to launch his professional pursuits. “The classes that I was taking at the time eventually fit into what I needed as a manager and a director. Sociology, advertising, family law, commercial law, accounting and business courses — I wanted to get an education to understand various fields.”
Formative experiences
A Concordia professor who left an indelible mark on his career trajectory was Marcel Danis, whose law courses Beauregard credits for his knowledge of contracts, company operations and legal negotiations. Not only were Danis’s courses practical, says Beauregard, but his teaching style was enjoyable. “His presentations were fun to listen to and he made it interesting to see how the laws have changed.”
“University is where you have to start knowing and trusting yourself, and you just go from there,” says Dan Beauregard.
Beauregard pictured in his 1975 graduation photo.
Beauregard (right) pictured with former classmate and long-time friend, Steve Kennedy.