Originally from Montreal, Margaux Hamel is a second-year Bachelor of Commerce Co-op student majoring in Finance. Despite only being a Dalhousie business student for just over a year, Margaux has already taken steps to expand her network and build relevant professional experience.

As a first-year student, Margaux decided to attend MCS’ Toronto Corporate Tour. “I had attended multiple events on campus through the year, but having the chance to go to Toronto to tour trading floors and offices was an opportunity I could not miss out on.” During the event, Margaux discovered potential career paths in her field of finance, grew her professional network, and had meaningful conversations with many industry professionals.

Towards the end of her first year, Margaux joined Women in Capital Markets (WCM), a national non-profit organization with the mission to accelerate equity, diversity, and inclusion across the finance industry. She attended the WIBA Conference last spring, where she had a chance to hear from Lara Zink, the now former CEO of Women in Capital Markets. She found her words incredibly inspiring and wanted to get even more involved with the organization, which led her to apply for the Campus Ambassador role for WCM. “I felt it was a great opportunity for me to get more involved with WCM, but also to help students at Dal feel like being a woman in capital markets is possible for them.”

Margaux’s role as Campus Ambassador is to connect WCM with events and contacts at Dalhousie while being the representative on campus for the team across the country. One of her larger goals is to increase awareness and grow the WCM community to universities all over Canada. Over the time in her position, Margaux has learned how many people are willing to help her and other students achieve success. Her role at WCM has given her the opportunity to be a part of the job process and has drastically shifted her mentality on job searches. She has started seeing this process as “who do you want working by your side for 4 months.”

Margaux’s advice for students wanting to become a campus ambassador is to jump in and don’t be afraid to apply. As many companies have campus ambassador positions, she feels it is a great way to get involved in an integrated opportunity bridging your schooling and career. “The team at WCM is so welcoming and are supportive. It’s a big network of women who want to inspire others to take leadership roles and it’s a great community to be apart of”.

As a second-year student, Margaux is now searching for her first co-op for the winter term. She says that it has been important to dedicate time to her job search every day, and to not get discouraged when an opportunity does not work out. “Trusting the process, being interested, and networking are big keys to success”.

Margaux is most looking forward to the learning aspect of her co-ops, particularly finding out what she likes and doesn’t like in a career. “As a second-year student and for my first co-op, I think it’s important to realize that you don’t know that much. Find a company that wants you to learn and grow with their support.” Margaux wants the chance to try as many things as possible to make the most out of this fantastic opportunity and to be remembered for her hard work making a positive impact on the team. “At the end of my four years at Dal and my three co-ops, I hope to have found something I am passionate about, and to be excited to go to work once I graduate.”