Drew Stirling developed his passion for business with a social orientation when he was involved with Enactus uOttawa, an organization that lets students act as entrepreneurs to bring about economic, social and environmental change.
“To put it simply, Enactus builds businesses with a positive impact and a sustainable approach,” says Drew, who just graduated with an honours bachelor of commerce, option in management.
Drew started at the University of Ottawa in fall 2016 and quickly became part of the team of The Growcer, one of many Enactus initiatives.
In April 2017, he took a summer job with Growcer and just fell in love with its mission — to fight food insecurity in Canada’s north, integrate fresh produce with traditional Inuit dishes and create jobs for the local population. Since that summer, Drew has remained with Growcer, working for the company while completing his studies.
Before coming to study at the University of Ottawa, Drew was looking for a university with strong teaching that would offer him memorable experiences outside the classroom. You could say that he got what he was looking for!
A former junior hockey player, Drew is now customer success lead with The Growcer.
Moments of pride
Starting in second year university, Drew set out to climb the ranks of the business. “I was telling my parents about my job and they were like, ‘Cool, but what the heck are you really doing all day? A farm inside a shipping container?’”
He finally saw the pride in his parents’ eyes during a startup competition he took part in. “They were there and that’s when it actually clicked for them,” he recalls, laughing.
Drew also went on a student exchange to New Zealand in fall 2018. “Until then, I had never travelled solo, nothing extensive. So I moved across the world for six months, and I’m so proud of that.”
Diversity and creativity
As part of his work with Growcer, Drew has been integrating new members to the customer success team. It’s an opportunity to show his leadership skills and he feels he’s got what it takes.
“Growing up, my biological family was a foster family with typically four foster siblings living with us, of different backgrounds, many of whom we are still in contact with today. I think being surrounded by this diversity has allowed me to gain an appreciation for a wider variety of opinions and has allowed me to develop my ‘outside the box thinking.’ I’m comfortable with creative thinking and divergent thoughts in a business or school environment.”
For Drew, the true value of a university degree in commerce is not necessarily what you get in class or in textbooks. It’s mostly about the people you meet and the relationships you develop on the way.
“So, to future students, I would strongly suggest you take part as much as possible in extracurricular activities that you’re passionate about.”