Friends share convocation milestone

[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/busconvo08.jpg” caption=”Lisa Shantz and Jaclyn Serviss will graduate from the Commerce program at the DeGroote School of Business today.”]Best friends Lisa Shantz and Jaclyn Serviss have shared many experiences together throughout their 17-year relationship: kindergarten, the 4×100 metre relay team in Grade 2, the first day of high school, Welcome Week at McMaster, nights at Quarters and the Commerce program at DeGroote. Today, they will share another important milestone: their convocation ceremony.

Growing up together in Waterloo, the two felt an immediate connection. Explains Shantz, “Our personalities are similar, but they are also very different, and in that sense they complement each other. We really do bring out the best in each other.”

When it came time to choose a university, both were drawn to McMaster. Jackie's brother was enrolled in Kinesiology at McMaster and Lisa's older sister was enrolled in the Commerce program, so they were familiar with the campus. As well, an inspirational high school teacher had a profound impact on both of them.

“Laurie Guest was a teacher at Bluevale Collegiate where we both went to school, and she definitely had a way with showing us the different opportunities we would have with taking a business route and different areas that we could go into. She saw something in Lisa and I both and directed us in that light,” says Serviss.

Shantz and Serviss have taken Guest's advice and explored various areas of business during their time at DeGroote. Shantz is now employed in a market research position with Millennium Research Group, and Serviss is in human resources at Frito Lay.

“Throughout the four years at DeGroote, you're provided with a lot of challenges to overcome, and that gives you the confidence when you are graduating to go into the work world and think that you can do it and overcome whatever is presented to you and you feel like you have the necessary skills to succeed in any situation that you are in,” says Shantz.

For Shantz, the last year has been particularly challenging, as her father was diagnosed with an advanced stage of cancer just as she was finishing her third year courses.

After spending the summer with her family, she made the difficult decision to return to McMaster for her final year. For support, she turned to Serviss.

“Living in the same house together and having a lot of the same classes with her and spending time together really made me feel a lot more comfortable because she is like a sister to me. She was extremely supportive, and I know I couldn't have done it without her.”

At the end of November, Shantz's father died. In January, Shantz was back at school, determined to finish her degree.

“Lisa to me is very inspiring,” says Serviss. “To be able to go through a situation like she just did, and to be able to pick herself up in time to not only write her final exams in December because she didn't want to defer them, but to come back in January just shows you the type of individual she is. To see her be so focused and dedicated and show that whatever you put your mind to you can do, that was inspirational to me. To see her cope with it in such a manner made me pick myself up and want to be there for her and show her that we could get through that last semester together.”

And get through it they did.

Shantz says that focusing on school helped her deal with her father's death.

“My mom and dad had always said that they wanted me to focus on finishing school and getting my degree. It was something that was very important to them and as well as to me. So I knew it was something that had to be done. I just put my mind to it and was committed to doing whatever I needed to do to finish.”

Serviss recalls Shantz's father as a very intelligent man who valued education.

“We were doing projects in marketing in second year and we could call him up and he would give us feedback. He was always so proud of her and for him it was very important for Lisa to get her degree and to go on and to be successful. At convocation, he'll be there too. He'll be there.”