Lesly Yao (BCom’18) isn’t your stereotypical small-town Quebec firefighter. Born in Tahiti, the Bachelor of Commerce grad was growing disillusioned with her work at a marketing firm when a Canadian Forces recruitment advertisement caught her eye—and her imagination. But because Yao was not a citizen at the time and a job with the Forces was not in the cards. “I’d always had it in the back of my mind to become a firefighter,” she says. “I watched shows about firefighting, and it appealed to me, but it also seemed unattainable.

Swimmer Clément Secchi (BCom’22) has become the first McGill University graduate to reach the podium at the Summer Olympics since 2008. The 24-year-old management graduate from Aix-en-Provence, France, earned bronze for his native country on Sunday as part of the men's 4x100 medley relay. A four-time All-Canadian at McGill, the 5-foot-11, 157-pound butterfly specialist was a three-time recipient of the Forbes Trophy as the University's male athlete of the year.

Jordan Cowie, McGill Desautels Faculty of Management’s 2024 valedictorian, spoke with the McGill Reporter about her student experience and shared her insights upon completing her degree. Graduating with a Bachelor of Commerce in Labour-Management Relations and Human Resources, Jordan chose McGill University for its affordability and proximity to her family in Westchester, N.Y., and for her strong affinity to Montreal’s urban and natural beauty.

Gillian Stein (BCom’00)’s great-grandfather founded the Toronto-headquartered electronics business Henry’s in 1909, but she never envisioned becoming the company’s CEO. Growing up, she had seen how stressful running the company could be for her father Andrew, who had a heart attack at the age of 47. “I always had a ton of respect and passion and admiration for the business but it wasn’t something I wanted for myself,” says Stein. “I changed and the business changed.

2024 is shaping up to be a big year for François Cauchon (BCom’22). Cauchon will be representing Canada at the summer Olympic Games in Paris. "It is a surreal feeling," Cauchon, who battled through knee, back and ankle injuries before being named to Canada’s 14-member fencing team, tells CBC. "For every amateur and professional athlete, The Olympics is the holy grail of sports."

Graduate Certificate in Professional Accounting (GCPA) Tian Cheng Huang (BCom’22, GCPA‘23) and Kyra Swift (BCom UOttawa’21, GCPA’23) have been named to the Honour Roll of the Common Final Exam (CFE) for their outstanding results.

McGill Desautels graduate Avneet Bhabra (BCom’23)’s research paper “23% and Counting, but Not ‘One Size Fits All’: Helping Canada’s Immigrants Strengthen Their Financial Knowledge” has been published by the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) on Canada.ca. Focusing on financial literacy amongst immigrants in Canada, the paper was selected as a finalist in the undergraduate category of the FCAC’s 2023 Building Better Financial Futures Challenge.