March 11: Finance student Chloe Blais receives the Warren Jestin Scholarship in Canadian Economic Policy

Fourth-year finance student, Chloe Blais, received the Warren Jestin Scholarship in Canadian Economic Policy on Monday, directly from Dr. Jestin, himself.  An honorary doctorate recipient and University of Guelph alumnus, Jestin is Scotiabank’s chief economist and senior vice-president, and has been with the Bank since 1979.

His scholarship is awarded annually to the economics students with the highest cumulative average over all courses in economic policy. Blais was awarded the scholarship in front of her peers at professor Evie Adomait's third-year Money, Credit and Financial System's class in Alexander Hall.

A highly engaged and sought after public speaker, Jestin spoke to the third-year class on where our economy is and where it is going. Repeating the phrase, "economists are storytellers," he gave an interesting take on how the US economy is rebounding after the financial crisis of 2007-2008.

Jestin correlates the growth of the US economy to a number of factors including a decline in debt levels and increase in consumer enthusiasm. With increased disposable income based on affordable mortgages, "Consumers have more power than before," he said.

Jestin also discussed where the North American business world is heading, stating: "It's not necessarily who you're working for but what business you're going to create." He pointed to student entrepreneurship as being the focus of Ontario in order to sustain the economic growth of its neighbour to the south. He referred to the numerous successful small to medium-sized businesses throughout B.C that helped the province grow.

When asked on advice for new graduates, Jestin suggested to think carefully about summer employment, take as much co-op as possible and volunteer to get your foot in the door. He also told the students to possess these four distinct personality traits - numeracy, literacy, adaptability and resiliency.