A Once-in-a-Lifetime Experience with Illuminate Universe and CPA Ontario!

Hello Everyone!

My name is Meera Mehta and I am currently a Grade 12 student at Turner Fenton Secondary School. Today, I had the amazing opportunity to be one of many aspiring students and entrepreneurs attending Illuminate Universe's National High School Business Conference!

The day started off with incredible introductions and presentations from this year's Co-Chairs and their partners at CPA Ontario. I was not sure what to expect from a keynote speech by an accountant, but the result went much beyond my expectations. It was a pleasure to be able to hear from a FORENSICS ACCOUNTANT (which I didn't even know was real until today)! I have always had an interest in detective work and solving mysteries, and knowing that this could all be done with math was incredible. Moreover, hearing about some of his most interesting cases and the opportunities he had to testify in front of large audiences was amazing.

Over the day, we also had opportunities to attend other workshops to learn about how to support our mental health and stability. Further, we got to hear from a CPA recruiter about the benefits and opportunities through a career as an accountant.

The conference came to an end with a team case competition relating to the topic of Forensic Accounting. As we wait on the results of the competition, I can't help but be proud of all we've accomplished in a single day.

Good luck to all of our competitors and I encourage all you readers to join Illuminate and CPA Ontario at many more events to come!