Our second 2023 volunteer spotlight features JA Ottawa, Horizon Growth Company mentor, Sam Turgeon-Brabazon! Read on to learn more about Sam and why he decided to become a volunteer in our JA Ottawa program.

Robyn Lester, JA Company Coordinator, wrote: 

“From the moment Sam started volunteering with ONFE, it was evident that he had an unwavering passion for empowering young people and equipping them with the skills and confidence they need to pursue their dreams. Not only does Sam bring an immense wealth of knowledge and experience to the table, he also has a beautiful way of connecting individually with each student and meeting them exactly where they’re at. There’s no doubt in my mind that his mentorship will have a lasting impact on all the students he’s worked with at Sir Guy Carleton Secondary School. Simply put, Sam is an all-round outstanding person and we’re incredibly lucky to count him as one of our JA Company mentors.” 

Tell us a little bit about yourself

I tend to wear a lot of different hats, depending on the day. Currently, I’m a full-time graduate student at the Smith School of Business at Queen’s University getting my Masters in Management, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship.

Outside my studies, I’m based in Ottawa and work as a business development and government relations consultant with a primary focus on helping organizations in new-and-emerging industries amplify the impact of their projects, programs, and portfolios.

In my personal life, I love giving back and contributing to the betterment of my community in any way I can. This includes my serving as a mentor with JA Ottawa, but also my serving as the President of the Skills Ontario Alumni Association, and my being an academic mentor/guest lecturer to a fourth year undergraduate human rights seminar at Carleton University.

In my personal time, I love working out, cooking, writing music, gardening, and having long, meaningful conversations with friends and family.

What made you decide to volunteer with JA Ottawa?

I credit my having had so many amazing mentors thus far in my life with playing a significant role in helping me become who I am today. With this, I was really eager to become a mentor with JA Ottawa so I could play that same role for the next generation.

I should add that having the amazing opportunity to work alongside Albert, Robyn, Simon, Tracy, Mitch, and Heather from the ONFE/JA Ottawa team, along with Derek Brez from the Sir Guy Carleton team, has enhanced the experience tremendously.

I would highly recommend that anyone in Ottawa find a way to volunteer their time with JA Ottawa; I am certain they will not regret it.

Who was your favourite teacher and why?

This is an incredibly difficult question for me, because so many teachers played such a key role in helping me on my path. I have many, many favourites.

With respect to my entrepreneurial pursuits, I will always be eternally grateful to Sally Morency and Susan Ragaisis for having helped me discover my initial love of business (and social entrepreneurship more specifically) when I launched my first start up – Sam’s Sprouts – in high school. I still invoke many of their teachings to this day as they still provide me with guidance and comfort often.

What is your personal philosophy on life? 

Live each day to the fullest, stay humble, be the best that you can be, and help others on their paths in their own lives wherever and whenever you can.

If you could go back to a particular grade level or childhood age, which would it be and why?

I would go back to Grade 12; it was an exceptional year for many reasons and is filled with many beautiful memories.

At the same time, it was a year where I was fortunate to have been presented with several amazing opportunities and needed to choose which opportunity to take. I often experienced doubt as a result of this, questioning if I was pursuing the right path at that time.

If I could go back to that time, I would remind myself to appreciate stopping every once and a while to smell the roses, and trust that life is both long and filled with many incredible opportunities. You don’t need to figure out your whole life in Grade 12, you just need to figure out your next year, and maybe give some initial thought to where you want to go in the coming years.

What is your favorite hidden gem in Ottawa?

I’m a sucker for a really good restaurant/bakery, so many of my hidden gems are related to amazing food.

Four great spots that come to mind are Anabia Cupcakes in Barrhaven, the Wild Oat in the Glebe, Red Door Provisions off Beachwood, and (of course) the Green Door on Main Street.

Tell us about a lesson you learned this year. What did it teach you about yourself?

All it takes to build something amazing is an excellent idea (a good problem-solution fit), a team/working group (diverse in skill sets and personal/professional backgrounds), and disciplined follow through (doing at least 1 thing on the ‘Next Steps’ list daily) to make it a reality. That’s it.

It reinforced my long-standing need to break up with perfectionism and not overcomplicate new projects and ideas. Best of all, I believe this past year has been among my most productive and successful years thus far in my life, and I credit it with my having incorporated this learning in my life.

I highly recommend others adopt this practice – and generally integrate more principles of Design Thinking – throughout their day-to-day lives. It will pay off in dividends.

If you are interested in volunteering with JA Ottawa, please visit our program page.