Supporting Canadian athletes’ next moves
Since 2016, Smith has been helping Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) athletes plan for their career after sport with academic scholarships to Smith programs. And in April 2021, 10 more COC athletes came to Smith to build their business skills:
- Lanette Prediger, skeleton (Executive MBA Americas)
- Oluseyi Smith, athletics/bobsleigh (Executive MBA Americas)
- Doug Csima, rowing (Executive MBA)
- Diana Matheson, soccer (Executive MBA)
- Courtney Brown, artistic swimming (Master of Management Innovation and Entrepreneurship)
- Andrew Gray, soccer (Master of Management Innovation and Entrepreneurship)
- Segun Makinde, athletics (Master of Management Innovation and Entrepreneurship)
- Aaron Rublee, canoe/kayak (Master of Management Innovation and Entrepreneurship)
- Nicolas Youngblud, water polo (Master of Management Innovation and Entrepreneurship)
- Benjamin Preisner, athletics/marathon (Master of Management in Artificial Intelligence)
This new group joined the network of over 130 elite Canadian athletes who have been awarded academic scholarships since Smith became the exclusive business education partner of the COC. Smith’s scholarship program is one component of the COC’s Game Plan, Canada’s total athlete wellness program, helping athletes plan for success beyond sport.
As Oluseyi Smith, EMBAA’23, a two-time Olympian, professional engineer and scholarship recipient, noted “I’ve seen how this program has changed the lives of some of my teammates. And I'm thrilled to be a part of the class of 2023. Smith recognizes just how much an athlete can bring to a business setting.”