Saving lives in the developing world has always been DeGroote MBA grad Anne Connelly's calling. Understanding that humanitarian aid requires more than just medical personnel, Connelly took her flare for numbers to Doctors Without Borders (DWB).

From DWB, Connelly was recently hired as a financial administrator for one of the organization's humanitarian projects.

“There has been civil unrest in the country for a while, mainly caused by poor government and warring rebel tribes coming in from neighbouring countries,” Connelly said. “However, the project I'm working on is economic in nature. It's looking to combat rampant malnutrition caused by a collapse in the economy. When the world economy collapsed, the demand for diamonds dropped leaving many without work.”

After completing a co-op term in the DWB office in Toronto, Connelly knew she could be a useful asset to the team overseas.

“Most people generally think that you have to be a doctor to go abroad with DWB,” Connelly said. “But there are just as many roles for project managers and administrators.”

As an undergraduate at Queen's University studying life sciences, Connelly was exposed to many humanitarian crises around the world. Unable to ignore what she was learning, she became passionately involved in the Queen's Health Outreach (QHO) program.

During her third year of study at Queen's, Connelly inherited a preexisting public health education project in Belize. In her last year, she became the QHO general director. During that time, Connelly organized eight international projects.

During that experience Connelly realized that the most significant contribution she could make to not-for-profit organizations such as QHO and DWB was to provide the leadership necessary to expand their potential reach.

In 2007, Connelly joined the co-op MBA program at DeGroote to compliment her background in life sciences with an executive business level education.

“DeGroote taught me to develop a global mindset of how businesses operate at the international level,” Connelly said. “By learning the culture, the languages, the people, the climate, everything, you can develop more holistic solutions to any given problem.”

Connelly credits the co-op MBA program for allowing her to gain a variety of experiences that mirrored her career ambitions.

“An MBA at DeGroote allowed me to keep my options open,” said Connelly. “I feel confident that the skills learned at DeGroote can help me with whatever I'm doing, no matter the sector.”

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