“You showed up on hard days. You showed up when life was complicated. You showed up when you doubted yourself.” – Dr. Louise Olivier
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New Westminster’s Anvil Centre was filled with celebration, reflection, and more than a few emotional moments on Wednesday, May 27, as Yorkville University recognized the achievements of its British Columbia Class of 2026.
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More than 450 graduates were celebrated across two convocation ceremonies – the first at 10 a.m., the second at 3 p.m. – representing the Associate of Arts and the Bachelor of Business Administration programs with specializations in Accounting, Energy Management, Project Management, and Supply Chain Management.
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For many graduates, the milestone represented far more than the completion of a degree. Throughout the ceremonies, speakers reflected on the realities behind the achievement: balancing school alongside careers, raising families, navigating immigration journeys, overcoming setbacks, and continuing forward through uncertainty.
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Opening Remarks
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Yorkville University Provost Dr. Eileen De Courcy opened both ceremonies by welcoming graduates, families, faculty, and those joining via livestream from around the world.
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“Each of you has worked tirelessly to reach this moment, and your dedication and perseverance have paid off. Today is a testament to the transformative power of a Yorkville education,” she said, encouraging graduates to recognize not only their accomplishments, but also the connections they built throughout their studies.
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“The bonds you have built during your time at Yorkville will last a lifetime. Your classmates are now part of your professional network, as are the thousands of Yorkville alumni, whose ranks you join today.”
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Dr. Laura Kinderman, Principal and Vice President Academic for British Columbia, echoed those sentiments, welcoming graduates into Yorkville’s alumni community and encouraging them to continue building on the education and experiences they gained during their studies.
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“Your colleagues have faced many of the same challenges and celebrated similar joys on their journey to this special occasion,” she said. “They stand with you today in shared pride for all you have accomplished.”
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Distinguished Convocation Speaker Justin Medak
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At the morning ceremony, BBA faculty member Justin Medak delivered an address centered on opportunity – not as an abstract concept, but as something that often arrives disguised as uncertainty, risk, or hard work.
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“When people talk about graduation, they love to use that word, opportunity,” he said. “But here’s the problem – no one really tells you what that actually means.”
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Medak shared the story of how he first became involved with Yorkville University in 2012 after hearing a radio advertisement for a newly launched BBA program in BC while commuting to work at Deloitte. At the time, he was already teaching evening classes elsewhere and facing a four-hour round-trip commute twice a week.
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After sending in his résumé, he was asked to interview for a teaching opportunity. Although he initially believed the role had gone to someone else, he later received a phone call asking whether he could build and teach Yorkville’s first Introduction to Financial Accounting course in just three weeks.
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“I spent the Christmas holidays working 14-hour days to build that course,” he recalled. “It was intense, but I wanted to create the best possible experience for students.”
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That experience, he said, ultimately led to a 14-year career with the university, including the opportunity to help build Yorkville’s accounting specialization from the ground up.
Throughout his remarks, Medak encouraged graduates not to wait until they felt fully prepared before pursuing new opportunities.
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“Most people who get opportunities don’t feel ready; they just decide to go anyway,” he said. “Say ‘yes] a little earlier than you’re comfortable with.”
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He also acknowledged the realities many Yorkville students face while completing their education.
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“You’ve been managing work, deadlines, finances, families, and now you’ve added a degree on top of that,” he said. “That means your advantage isn’t just knowledge – it’s perspective.”
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Reflecting on the long-term nature of career growth, he added: “Careers are not built on one big break; they are built on a series of small decisions where you chose to step forward instead of staying comfortable.”
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Distinguished Convocation Speaker Dr. Louise Olivier
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The afternoon ceremony featured remarks from Liberal Arts faculty member Dr. Louise Olivier, who opened by noting that May 27 marked exactly ten years since she received her own PhD in South Africa.
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“I remember the weight of that moment,” she said. “The years of work were behind me. The quiet question ahead of me: What now?”
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Her address focused on the themes of resilience, belonging, and the importance of recognizing the value in others. Central to her message was a philosophy she often shares with students: “Every seat is a VIP seat.”
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“Not just the front row. Not just the students who speak the most. Not just the ones who seem the most confident,” she said. “Every single seat. Because every single student matters.”
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Looking out at the graduating class, Olivier reflected on the persistence required to reach convocation day.
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“You showed up on hard days. You showed up when life was complicated. You showed up when you doubted yourself,” she said. “And that matters.”
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She encouraged graduates to bring that same sense of recognition and encouragement into their careers, communities, and relationships.
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“Success alone isn’t what the world is missing,” she said. “It needs more people who help others believe they can be. People who open doors and hold them open.”
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Olivier closed by returning to the symbolism of Yorkville’s blue, comparing it to the sky and ocean – expansive, uncertain, and full of possibility.
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“The horizon ahead of you isn’t something to wait for,” she said. “It’s something you are ready to step into.”
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Student Convocation Speaker Joanna Garin
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Morning student speaker Joanna Garin, an Online BBA Accounting graduate, delivered one of the ceremonies’ most personal reflections, speaking about resilience, reinvention, and the quiet courage required to begin again.
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“Today, I stand before you not just as a graduate, but as a story of resilience,” she told the crowd. “The kind of success measured not only by achievements, but by the setbacks that demanded growth, the uncertainty that tested direction, and the quiet, persistent courage to begin again.”
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Garin described a journey shaped by change and uncertainty long before arriving at Yorkville University. Over the years, she said, she moved through different industries, faced moments of doubt, and navigated periods where the path forward felt unclear.
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Then, in December 2019, just five days before Christmas, she arrived in the Yukon from the Philippines with her husband and daughter as the world was entering the COVID-19 pandemic.
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“My husband, my daughter, and I were placed in quarantine, confined to a small hotel room, watching snow fall for the very first time through a window, in minus forty degrees,” she recalled.
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Between them, the family carried six suitcases – “our entire life reduced to what we could bring,” she said. With no guarantees and no certainty about what came next, Garin reflected on the emotional weight of starting over in an unfamiliar country during an already uncertain time.
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“In that moment, the world outside felt frozen, and the future felt uncertain,” she said. “But what I felt most was not fear. It was hope.”
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Throughout her address, Garin returned to the idea that resilience is not about avoiding hardship, but about finding the strength to continue moving forward through it. She described “the power to begin again” as the ability to rise after setbacks, rebuild after disappointment, and keep going even when circumstances suggest otherwise.
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“This power is what allows us to stand after we fall, to smile after we cry, and to move forward even when everything tells us to stop,” she said.
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Speaking directly to fellow graduates – particularly younger members of the audience – Garin acknowledged that life rarely unfolds according to plan, but emphasized the importance of continuing forward despite uncertainty.
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“Success is not defined by how perfect your path is – but by how many times you choose to rise,” she said. “If you can begin again, you can become anything.”Top of Form
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Student Convocation Speaker Karan Miglani
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Afternoon student speaker Karan Miglani, a BBA Project Management graduate, delivered a candid reflection on failure, reinvention, and finding direction through uncertainty, grounding his address in the idea that progress is often non-linear and shaped as much by setbacks as by success.
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He traced his path from India, beginning with an abandoned engineering degree that marked his first major academic pivot. From there, he described a period defined by uncertainty and disruption: the upheaval of the pandemic, visa rejections, and stretches of work in logistics and warehouse roles.
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Rather than presenting this as a straight line of decline or recovery, Miglani framed it as a prolonged period of searching – one in which direction was not immediately clear, but persistence continued.
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At one point, he recalled watching former classmates celebrate their engineering convocation online while he remained in a very different place in his own journey. The moment, he said, was less about the event itself and more about the emotional weight of comparison and stalled progress.
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“It wasn’t just about missing an event,” he said. “It felt like I was being left behind.”
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Later, after finally receiving visa approval to study in Canada, he described a moment of pause during a layover at an airport. Standing between two departure gates, he looked at two planes – one headed home, and one toward an uncertain future. The physical choice in front of him became a metaphor for a larger internal shift.
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“For a moment, I just stood there, because it wasn’t about planes anymore,” he said. “It was about having a direction.”
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It was in following that path before him that Miglani landed at Yorkville University, where he began to regain momentum through a series of increasingly engaged roles. He worked as a student ambassador and peer mentor, and later moved into teaching opportunities and academic operations.
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In his telling, these experiences were not simply steps forward, but turning points that helped restore structure and confidence. They also marked a shift from being someone navigating uncertainty to someone helping others navigate it.
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“Every failure. Every delay. Every restart… it’s not there to stop you,” he advised his fellow graduates. “It’s there to shape you.”
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He concluded with a quote from Leonard Cohen: “You lose your grip… and then you slip into the masterpiece.”
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Dr. Julia Christensen Hughes’ Closing Remarks
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Dr. Julia Christensen Hughes, President and Vice Chancellor, closed by finding the day’s through line in her own story.
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Forty-five years ago, fresh off earning her own B.Com, she was an assistant manager at The Keg – doing shifts in the dish pit, cutting lobster tails, hands hot, shoes soggy.
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“But there was opportunity, right?” she told the room. “There’s opportunity, when, regardless of the experience you find yourself in, you show up, and you do your best, because organizations all need people who show up and are committed to doing their best.”
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She had no idea at the time that an MBA and then a PhD were ahead of her. That path unfolded, she said, shaped in part by watching her own immigrant parents go back to school in the 1950s to earn their Canadian credentials while raising their family. Education in her household wasn’t abstract. It transformed lives and built futures for the next generation.
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With that in mind, she gave a warm nod to the young families in the room, noting that her own two sons were born during her MBA and her daughter during her doctorate.
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“I’m a big believer that you need to get on with life while you’re earning your academic credentials,” she said.
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“Showing up, committing, believing in yourself, you will find a way, and by doing that consistently, you will stand out, and you will have a remarkable career, where you will make a positive impact on organizations and communities wherever you choose to live.”
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Then she counted to three and sent hundreds of caps into the air.
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President’s Award Recipients
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Yeshi Choden – Associate of Arts
Kristy L. Brubacher – Bachelor of Business Administration – Accounting
Navdeep Singh – Bachelor of Business Administration – Energy Management
Jacqueline T. Hack – Bachelor of Business Administration – General
Michaela M. Dennis – Bachelor of Business Administration – Project Management
Sizalobuhle Mapani – Bachelor of Business Administration – Supply Chain Management
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