Venture for Canada Fellow
Huron students are motivated by our Liberal Arts perspectives, and we're going to take them in different directions to create a better world.
Huron wants to wish Annika Lui a huge congratulations for earning a spot with the Venture for Canada Fellowship. Currently, Annika is completing the fifth and final year of her dual degree, which combines Huron’s Global Studies and Ivey’s Honours Business Administration (HBA) program. In December, she was delighted to be notified she had secured her position as a Venture for Canada Fellow where she will continue to blend her passions for social innovation and business best practices that will transform local and global communities.
Venture for Canada is a not-for-profit that trains top graduates to work at Canadian startups with the mission of fostering entrepreneurship. Annika’s application was one of 1,700 and she faced a gruelling multi-step process to rise to the top of this formidable competition. We couldn’t be more proud of her success and her dedication to Leading with Heart – while at Huron and far beyond its hallowed halls.
Annika’s journey began in Vancouver where she was an extraordinarily involved high school student (she participated in 23 extracurricular activities – to be exact). One of those activities included a philanthropic trip to Peru where she worked in health clinics and orphanages. Her interactions with this level of poverty and suffering were the driving force behind Annika’s desire to pursue a globally-focused degree, but one that would also empower her with the tangible skills to lead change.
“I had a very specific list: I wanted a university with small classes, a global development program that also fostered business acumen, and the opportunity to study abroad,” Annika explains. “Huron was the only institution in Canada that checked every box on my list. It offers a holistic and interdisciplinary Liberal Arts education – that’s just not available anywhere else.”
In her first year, Annika went to the Queen’s University Bader International Study Centre in England through Huron’s study abroad program where she served as the Student Body President. And, she hasn’t stopped blazing her trail since: she became a part of our Student’s Council, the World University Service of Canada and led Western’s Habitat for Humanity initiative to push its annual fundraising from $1,500 to $10,000. Now, she is the Co-Director of a new organization at Ivey that educates community members on the importance of diversity and inclusivity in workplace settings.
Annika’s leadership at Ivey is the perfect example of how Huron’s dual degree empowers students to combine our Centre for Global Studies’ anti-oppressive methodologies with Ivey’s case-based business courses. While trying to find a happy marriage between these seemingly oppositional interests can be, at times, a challenge – for Annika, it’s worth it. “The way I approach my life and career is that I want to do something meaningful,” she says. “In business, the intention to do good measurable impact may be there, but a strict business degree may not give you the conceptual framework to approach doing something impactful in a way that’s not developmentally harmful to the communities you work with.”
Annika will further her commitment to combining these approaches to personal and professional fulfillment throughout her Venture for Canada Fellowship. She acknowledges how her professors have been an integral part of fostering her ability to successfully do this. Annika explains the value of Huron’s unique environment as one that gives students the opportunity to form meaningful relationships with our faculty, so they know you, care about you, and will go out of their way to help you define and follow your path. This is another component of Huron’s Distinct Advantage, she shares, that is a rarity amongst Canadian universities, and one her friends at different institutions can hardly imagine.
At Huron, it’s not only the professors who encourage you to make a difference in the world around you: “I can confidently say, all my Huron friends have altruistic goals to do work that generates positive social change. It’s not just about monetary gain for us or our amazing alumni. We’re motivated by our Liberal Arts perspectives, and we’re going to take them in different directions to create a better world.”
Lisa Jones Keenan is the Vice President of Sales at Xplornet Communications, the largest rural fixed wireless broadband service provider in Canada. 
Leigh Allen is the AVP, Global Strategic Research, Reinsurance Group of America Inc., one of the world’s largest global life and reinsurance companies.
Yola Ventresca is a Managing Partner, Lerners LLP, Secretary of Huron’s Board of Governors and a Huron Class of ’02 alumni. Selected as one of Canada’s “Best Lawyers,” she is passionate about the value of Liberal Arts in helping students succeed in their careers.
Susan Farrow is an Assistant Professor in The Temerty Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto and a Founding Partner and Co-Director of The Toronto Institute of Group Studies, an organization offering certified training and education in group leadership. 
Frank Holmes is CEO and Chief Investment Officer of U.S. Global Investors, as well as a business commentator, philanthropist and Huron Class of ‘78 alumnus. Holmes also serves as the Executive Chairman of HIVE Blockchain Technologies, the first cryptocurrency mining company to go public in 2017.
Kelly Meighen is an experienced philanthropist and volunteer. In her role as president of the T.R. Meighen Family Foundation, she has created a legacy of volunteerism and philanthropic giving in the areas of youth mental health advocacy, environmental conservation and cultural vibrancy. 
Ranjita is Executive Chair of the Oxford Global Partnership, advising investors, businesses, family offices and entrepreneurs on sustainable, inclusive and responsible value creation. A Business Fellow at Oxford University’s Smith School, Ranjita engages with companies on pursuing value with values, and teaches a postgraduate “Essentials of ESG & DEI” course.
Caleb Hayhoe is the Founder & Chairman of Flowerdale Group and a Huron Class of ’85 Alumnus. Flowerdale Group is a Hong Kong based family office with a global investment outlook across public markets, real estate and private investment. Hayhoe previously spent over ten years building a global sourcing business together with an exceptional team, and remains committed to entrepreneurialism and helping great ideas become sustainable companies.
