As the days grow sunnier, it means many graduate students will begin the long march to the convocation stage later this year. Each year different students take on a number of leadership roles in the Schulich community that have a direct impact on the quality of experience each grad student has during their time here.

This interview series will provide insight about students’ extracurricular leadership, professional achievements, and personal reflections.

– Frank Paul, Graduate Business Council President, MBA candidate, 2017

Class of 2017 Profile: Meet Nathan Tracey, MBA Candidate

Part 1: Quick Stats

Age: 29

Hometown: Jordan, Ontario

Undergraduate School and Degree: McMaster University, Civil Engineering

Community Work and Leadership Roles: President of the Schulich Real Property Students’ Association

Fun Fact: I’m learning to speak Spanish.

Part 2: Business Education & Achievements

Q: Where did you work before coming to Schulich?
A: I worked for Cole Engineering, designing roads, sewers and drainage and getting the permits to build them.

Q: Which professional achievement are you most proud of?
A: Getting the development approvals for my first independently managed project, and subsequently working on bigger and bigger projects.

Q: What did you enjoy most about Schulich? 
A: Developing new relationships. It was great meeting everyone at school and having a good reason to meet some interesting people outside of Schulich. Secondly, the crazy and unusual opportunities such as the Chile/Peru study tour and the Global Leadership Program.

Q: What was the most challenging thing about your MBA? 
A: Trying to squeeze it all in. It’s a difficult juggling act of academics, extra-curriculars, friends, family, job hunting, etc.

Q: What was the most surprising thing about your MBA? 
A: The most surprising thing about business school is the results you achieve. Looking back after the end of a semester, it’s always surprising to see how much you have accomplished and how hard you pushed yourself to accomplish it.

Q: Who would you most want to thank for your success?
A: My wife, whose patience I abuse daily. My Schulich friends and faculty who give me purpose and enrich my days.

Q: What’s your best advice to a Schulich applicant?
A: See beyond the academics and really endeavor to drink it all in. Schulich is a great place to cultivate relationships and pursue interests that you would never otherwise be able to – it’s such a small window of opportunity.

Part 3: Fill in the Blank…

“I knew I wanted to go to business school when…”
Nathan: …I acknowledged that simply changing companies would not bring any additional happiness.

“If I hadn’t gone to business school, I would …”
Nathan: …definitely be stuck in traffic in a much nicer car!

Part 4: Fast Favourites

  • Book: An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth by Chris Hadfield.

  • Movie: Caddyshack

  • Musical performer: The Tragically Hip

  • Schulich professor: Theo Peridis: A man powered by Diet Coke and Aeroplan miles, who doesn’t seem to sleep and always has sound advice.

  • Schulich courses: Real Estate Finance. It was what I was most curious about when I came to Schulich and it scratched the itch. I had always wondered what was going on behind the scenes to support Toronto’s crazy development boom.

Stay tuned for more profiles of the Schulich class of 2017!