Helpful Hands, Hard Hustle: How Emile Earned His Early Offers

The first time Emile and his mom sat across from us on Zoom, he was a Grade-10 kid with a shy smile and a single question: “Do I really have what it takes?” What he had, in truth, was a spark—an instinct for economics, a work ethic forged by parents who spent their careers in business, and a willingness to learn.

What he needed was a roadmap.

Calendars Before Commendations

Our coaches always start with the unglamorous stuff: deadlines, deliverables, and colour-coded blocks. Emile had big targets—Laurier BBA, McMaster DeGroote, Guelph, plus the “reach four” of Rotman, UTSC, Queen’s Commerce, and Western Ivey—so we built a backwards timeline: OUAC submissions by August, supplementary essays by October, interview prep every other Friday. By September of Grade 12, the mountain looked less like Everest and more like a well-marked staircase.

Filling the Page with Proof

Content was Emile’s first fear. Did he have “enough” to write about? So we audited every interest and helped him diversify:

• Initiator → Tutor: two elementary students every week.
• Leader → VP, Investment Club: guiding stock-market rookies through their first trades.
• Member → STEM Club: testing physics demos after school.
• Community → Golf-Camp Coach: 60 volunteer hours in the sun, teaching six-year-olds how to grip a 7-iron.

With each role came a tracking sheet—impact numbers, challenges solved, lessons learned—so when essay season arrived, Emile wasn’t staring at a blank doc; he was choosing the best story from a library of proof.

Taming the Camera Monsters

The second fear was interviews: random prompt, 60-second timer, no do-overs. We drilled until muscle memory replaced panic—purpose-built questions, instant feedback, eye-contact cues. By October he could thread any answer back to his “why”: turning curiosity about markets into a career that helps families make better financial decisions. When Laurier’s portal flashed Accepted, the grin on his face said the reps had paid off.

Grades—and the Myth of Perfection

Advanced functions sat at 81 %, calculus at 84 %. Emile worried those numbers might sink him. Instead we showed him how smart course selection could lift the average: keep his beloved econ and data-heavy courses, balance them with Food & Nutrition (100 %), and finish mid-terms at 90.5 %. Universities saw more than one tough math mark; they saw resilience and strategic thinking.

The Email Avalanche

Early offers rolled in fast—Laurier BBA, McMaster DeGroote, Guelph BComm—faster, in fact, than Emile expected. The waitlists for Queen’s, Ivey, Rotman, and UTSC felt lighter now; he knew he already belonged somewhere great. “Helpful,” he said when we asked for one word to sum up the journey. We’ll happily wear that badge.

Skills That Stick Long After the Portal Closes

• Project-management habits: from scattered tasks to a living, colour-coded calendar.
• Interview reflexes: filler words out, purpose in.
• A habit of service: tutoring and coaching that will travel with him to any campus he chooses.

Advice to Grade-Nine Emile (and Every Student Reading This)

Start earlier than feels comfortable. Build a variety of roles—initiate, lead, join. Choose courses that stretch you and protect your average. Remember that one shaky quiz is not the end of the world, and that preparation turns camera prompts into conversations. Most of all, know that hard work guided by the right help is never wasted.

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