The McLaughlin College Annual First-Year Student Celebration scheduled for Jan. 27 at 7 p.m. will welcome Leah Taylor Roy, MP for Aurora-Oak Ridges-Richmond Hill to present her keynote address “Playbook for Success – Lessons from a Political Journey.”
Taylor Roy was elected MP during the 2021 Canadian federal election. She is a graduate of the University of Toronto with a degree in commerce and earned a master’s in public policy from Harvard University.
Her passion for public policy and business aligned while working at the World Bank, followed by a career with the management consulting firm McKinsey and Company, working to support Canadian businesses. Taylor Roy later served as executive vice-president for a U.S.-based co-generation company.
Taylor Roy says she understands the importance of quality higher education in advancing personal life and career goals and appreciates the difficulty and demand for students to perform well in their studies, especially during a pandemic.
“I want to share my life experience with all the students at McLaughlin College and York University as they undertake their own higher educational journeys,” says Taylor Roy. “I have learned much during my career that could benefit students as they map out their own careers in their chosen fields of endeavour.”
James C. Simeon, associate professor and head of McLaughlin College, will be hosting the event on Jan. 27 and says the purpose of the annual address is to welcome first-year students and support their academic journey.
“It is widely accepted that first year is the most difficult year of university,” says Simeon. “We want our first-year students to know that they are appreciated fully by all of us at McLaughlin College and that we will assist them in any way we can to help them to thrive and to succeed.”
This annual address is open to the public and will take place virtually. Taylor Roy’s address will be drawn from her own experience as a university graduate and activist committed to the advancement of women’s rights. She has worked tirelessly in promoting the struggles of the less fortunate in society and, especially, for the advancement of women’s equality.
“Hopefully, my words and example will help to inspire the students to find what they are most passionate about and commit themselves to the advancement of a more socially just society for all,” says Taylor Roy.
In addition to delivering a keynote address, Taylor Roy is also looking forward to speaking with students.
“We anticipate a highly fruitful exchange between MP Taylor Roy and the students in attendance,” says Simeon. “This will provide our students with an opportunity to speak directly with one of Canada’s newest political leaders. MP Taylor Roy is one of 103 female MPs and one of the 22 female MPs who were elected for the first time in the 2021 federal election. She is, indeed, among a select pioneering group of women politicians who have their hands on the pulse of Canadian public policy.”
To register for the event, click here.