Originally from Istanbul, Turkey, Ozgur Ozguven came to North America to play basketball in high school. He played basketball and graduated high school in Pennsylvania before starting his post-secondary journey at Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. Now in his second co-op term, Ozgur started this winter with the Corporate Finance team at J.D. Irving, Limited (JDI)

Ozgur is in his third year of the Bachelor of Business Administration program and is planning on majoring in Finance. With a passion for the world of finance, he has participated in multiple case competitions since he started at Acadia. One of those competitions was the Maple League Case Competition at Bishop's University where he met with members of the JDI Finance and Recruitment teams. "I had applied to J.D. Irving before the competition and had the chance to network with the team after the presentations." says Ozgur about his initial meeting with his soon-to-be director.

"We had the opportunity to first meet Ozgur at the Maple League Case Study Competition in October" says Chris Bell, Director of Corporate Finance and Analytics at JDI. "Events such as this are a great way to network with and recruit our next generation of talent for JDI Finance. Ozgur immediately stood out as a confident young leader that is passionate about finance. We are fortunate to have him join the team as a winter co-op student" adds Chris.

After the interview process and receiving an offer to come work at JDI's head office in Saint John, NB, Ozgur started with the team in January 2020. "I received a warm welcome when I came into the group, I even met the CFO on the first day, that doesn't happen anywhere else" he says.

Ozgur's first co-op term was with the Nova Scotia Health Authority. "I am really enjoying working for a business like JDI. It is much different than working for a non-profit like my first co-op term because as a finance student, companies like JDI offer a unique finance experience. I am exposed to new challenges and learning new skills." says Ozgur. "I am really happy with the projects I have been exposed to so far, my team is very helpful in teaching me new things and giving me the opportunity to advance my skills as well."

Ozgur will graduate in Spring 2021 from Acadia and hopes to stay in Canada after that, with the aspiration to become a Canadian Citizen someday! 

About the Maple League Case Competition

The Maple League Case Competition is put on annually by the Maple League of Universities. This includes Bishop's University in Sherbrooke, Quebec, St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, and Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick. The case competition brings together over 30 of the top business students from these schools to compete using a real-life business case. JDI was a proud sponsor of the 2019 event.

You can learn more about the Maple League of Universities here (http://mapleleague.ca/about/)

Interested in a co-op term or a career with JDI? We are hiring!  Apply today at careers.jdirving.com