With a 90% average coming out of high school, Tara Spence had her pick when it came to universities. With her passion for accounting, and desire to study in a warm and welcoming environment, she chose the School of Business at Trent University. Now, four years later, her decision to study business at Trent was rewarded with a top award from the Women’s Business Network (WBN) of Peterborough.   

Looking back, before deciding which university to attend, Ms. Spence was invited to a special dinner for top scholars at Trent where she met Dr. Ray Dart, then director of Trent’s School of Business, and was overwhelmed by how energetic and genuinely happy he seemed for her future.

“That just really introduced me to the welcoming community that Trent and Peterborough have to offer,” Ms. Spence says.

Ms. Spence, who also fell in love with the natural beauty of Trent’s campus on the Otonabee River, has been an active member of the campus community throughout her four years, as the current co-president of Trent Accounting Society, a dedicated member of the Trent Business Students’ Association for the past four years and a bartender at the campus pub The Ceilie.

“What I enjoyed the most about studying at Trent is the wonderful people that I have met along the way,” she says. “Everyone I have met here including the profs, the career centre, my colleagues at The Ceilie, friends… they have all provided me with a support network that has given me a courage I never thought possible. I was actually very shy when I started out my studies at Trent.”

Recently, the WBN recognized Ms. Spence’s hard work and achievements, awarding the 2019 Female Business Student Award.

“At Trent, I am surrounded by students who I know would be equally deserving of this award, which is why I am so humbled and honoured,” she says.

The 21-year-old, who is specializing in Accounting and minoring in Economics, will graduate in June. She has already accepted a job offer at the Toronto accounting firm MNP.  She’ll also pursue her CPA while working full-time and would eventually love to teach at a university.

Whatever the future holds for Ms. Spence, Dr. Kirk Collins, current director of the School of Business at Trent says she undoubtedly will continue to be successful.

“She gives her time freely for the betterment of Trent with her volunteerism, outreach and willingness to engage in and outside the classroom with her peers and instructors,” he says. “On top of all that, she is an incredibly gifted student, with a personality to match. Through her four years at Trent, she has set an excellent example to her fellow students and has proven herself to be on a laudable trajectory for her life after Trent.”

Find out more about the prestigious School of Business at Trent.