by Amber Sandhu
“I remember being there. I remember what I wore back in the 90s. I remember being with my parents. I remember the speech my grade 12 physics teacher gave.” Amanda Thomas still reminisces about the night as if it was yesterday. The guidance counsellor at Stouffville District Secondary School at the time, considered Thomas for the award.
Thomas knew she did well academically, but it was the character-building skills that gave her pause. She was surprised to be nominated for a Future Aces Scholarship.
Preparing for post-secondary can often be stressful, specifically where finances are concerned. Thomas was apprehensive about the idea of attending university, however after earning the Future Aces scholarship some of her anxiety was alleviated.
“I didn’t have any financial issues that first year of university,” shares Thomas, the youngest of five children.
She believes the scholarship helped set her up for success.
Amanda graduated with a finance degree and is now celebrating 10 years with managing financial services in a corporate role.
“The culture of the firm that I was raised in as a young accountant taught me what I wanted to find in my next step, and I found it here,” she says. “I work for an amazing company!”
Many of the positive behaviour traits entrenched in the Future Aces Creed authored by the late Dr. Herbert Carnegie, is what Thomas strives to practice in her professional life.
“It’s those soft skills,” she says. “It’s caring, integrity, fairness, putting your clients’ needs first, doing the right thing — I love it!”
Overcoming her own doubts, Thomas continues to progress with her company and has entered her second year as a leader on her team. “A lot of it came from academia but also those leadership skills that I didn’t appreciate 20 years ago.”
Being a scholarship recipient and appreciating the support Future Aces provided has helped guide Thomas along her life journey. And she has never forgotten that impact.
Thomas continues to give back to Future Aces Foundation, along with her husband.
“It was such a blessing for me in my university career that when I started to work full- time, it was important to me that I financially do this for somebody else,” says the mother of two. “I connected with Future Aces post-graduation. I started supporting the scholarship as a donor. My husband and I do it annually.”
As for the former student who questioned her confidence, she is now setting her sights on being appointed to her leadership role in her company.