Grade 11 Career Day Welcomes New Slate of Industry Experts

St. Michael’s College School (SMCS) will once again open its doors to a new slate of industry professionals from both traditional and non-traditional careers at its annual Career Day.

Everything from law and personal fitness to landscaping and entrepreneurship will be on display during a full day of activities planned for Tuesday, January 28.

“This year’s theme is ‘Follow Your Passion’, highlighting the importance of pursuing careers that align with personal passions and values,” says Dr. Daniel Lumsden ’96, Community Engagement and Learning Lead and Career Day coordinator. “The day promises to be a transformative event designed to inspire, educate, and empower students as they explore their future career paths.”

Career Day is designed to provide students with a platform to explore potential career paths, gain insight from industry experts, and understand how their current education connects to real-world opportunities.

The event will kick off for the third consecutive year with featured keynote speaker Rob Nickerson — an actor, writer, producer, and teacher best known as a pioneer in improvisation as a teaching tool in non-traditional applications.

“We are fortunate to have such an engaging keynote speaker such as Rob to kick off the day,” says Lumsden. “Rob brings a unique, skilful, and highly engaging approach to his interactive session, which perfectly paves the way for a student-focused experience.”

The second half of the day will allow students to interact with a diverse variety of industry professionals through small, moderated fireside chats and 10-minute speed rounds where students can engage with professionals in their respective fields.

“We hope to inspire our students to explore their passion and also open their eyes to career options they may not have considered before,” adds Lumsden. “The day serves as an opportunity to educate, but also as another avenue for SMCS to develop mentorship and networking opportunities for our young men.”

Career Day 2025 Guest Speakers At A Glance

• Caia Osmond – Owner of CA-BOOM Sweets, Grade 11 student at Loretto Abbey
• Danilo Djuricic ’17 – Motivational Speaker, Harvard Alumnus
• Jordan Pettit – Holistic Health Coach, certified personal trainer
• Alexander Morris’06 – Criminal Defence Lawyer
• Matthew Shumka ’06 – Assistant Crown Attorney with the Toronto East Office
• Brady Jones ’01 – Managing Partner at BJRC Recruiting, a Toronto-based recruiting firm
• Kevin Gilligan – Principal and Creative Director at Lasso Studios
• Gianmarco Lopardo ’16 – Graduated from Queen’s University in 2020 and is now a business owner
• Umberto Lopardo ’14 – Graduated from Brock (B.Ed). Founder of UBL Group
• Jason Xiu – Current student at the University of Toronto in the Human Kinesiology program
• Fok-Han Leung – Family physician practicing general family medicine and inner-city health out of St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto