New Grad Spotlight: Megan Suitor (BIB/20)

Megan Suitor is a graduate of Carleton University’s Bachelor of International Business program. During her time at Carleton, she completed a year abroad in Chile, where she currently resides with her partner post-grad. She was also a member of the Women in Business club, was the Vice-President of Operations and President of the Sprott DECA club, and represented the Sprott School of Business at the international level in Washington, D.C. We chatted with Megan about her experiences as a student and young professional living abroad, her time in Sprott, and the lessons she’s learned along the way.

Hi Megan! Our alumni community would love to hear more about your Carleton experience. How did your time as a Sprott student prepare you for a career abroad?

Sure! I was fortunate enough to do an international exchange in high school and knew I wanted to continue that type of education, which led me to Sprott. The Bachelor of International Business was one of the only programs that offered a language component and a year-long exchange, which was super appealing and ultimately gave me a lot more education than any textbook could have.

I specialized in international marketing and trade, and I minored in Spanish during my time at Carleton. It was great to be around like-minded people. Not a lot of people are willing to pick up and leave their lives for another country. Aside from the program itself, there were so many international opportunities within Sprott that I was able to participate in. I joined the India Study Tour – a multi-week exchange program organized by the Canada-India Centre for Excellence at Carleton.

In 2019, I did my yearlong exchange to Chile, where I now live. Nowadays, you can exist in any country without knowing the language because there are expats everywhere, but speaking the language opens so many doors. Learning Spanish at Carleton and during my year abroad helped me really integrate into the culture here.

You decided to move back to the country where you studied abroad four years after graduation. What led you to your current role in Santiago, Chile?

I had such a great time on my exchange in Chile, and I knew I wasn’t finished learning the language or learning about the culture in a business context. This gave me the motivation to continue that Spanish education on my own time. COVID happened the year I graduated so I decided to stick around in Ottawa. For four years, I worked at Export Development Canada (EDC) on a team that does risk analysis and structuring for projects like solar farms, wind farms, and new airports that Canadian companies are building abroad.

Still, I knew there was something missing for me. I was expanding my financial knowledge through that experience, but I wanted to continue my Spanish education and get that work experience outside of Canada.

I came to Chile with no job lined up and was lucky to get a position with a company I had my eye on for the next step of my career. Currently, I work at a company called WSP, which is actually a Canadian consulting firm that specializes in professional and engineering services. I work on the business side, building and deepening client relationships. It’s given me a lot of insight into the engineering world. Our biggest focus is the environment when we do our engineering designs so we can better the world and be future-ready.

What is the career milestone you’re proudest of to-date?

During my four years working in Canada, I was able to expand my network and gain trust from the people I worked with in a rapid manner. I asked questions and held myself accountable, which allowed me to quickly move forward in my career. I’m proud of how many people I was able to connect with in such a short period.

I’m in a different country now and a lot of the connections I made back home have trickled down. It’s crazy how small the world is. I started from scratch and am in a completely different industry. I’m proud that I had the bravery to take that leap of faith.

What advice would you give to recent Carleton grads who are feeling pressured to have everything figured out?

Everything is planned out for you for most of your young life. When I graduated from university, there was a pretty natural next step which was EDC. I learned quickly that it’s good to stay curious. It’s not worth staying anywhere if you need to continue learning for yourself. Once you’re financially independent and have deeper relationships, it’s hard to make changes because you might have to consider other people. You should be open to these changes nonetheless because they can make your world better.

I’d also say that there’s a lot of pressure – especially in the business world – to do it all. It’s also okay to not want change if you’re happy and feeling satisfied with what you’re doing.