Program Highlighted | Commerce
Introduction by | Director: Professor Wendy Rotenberg
Interview with | Heidi Li
Date | June 2002

Interview | Heidi Li

Heidi Li is an Innis College fourth year Commerce Student.

Innis: Would you introduce yourself?
Heidi: My name is Heidi and I just completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree. I did a Specialist in Commerce and Finance with a concentration in Finance. I also did a Major in Economics and a Minor in Mathematics.

Innis: What attracted you to the study of commerce?
Heidi: It's just personal interest.

Innis: What roles did advice/influence from peers, mentors, relatives, and others play in your decision?
Heidi: My parents thought it was a good subject for me to study, and I had many friends that went into Commerce at the time. With all these factors considered I decided to go into commerce.

Innis: Did you ever think of combining commerce with something totally different?
Heidi: Yes, I was actually thinking of doing Commerce and Design or Architecture at the same time, but it's hard to do because both programs require a lot of time to complete.

Innis: What aspects of this program do you find fascinating or inspiring?
Heidi: It depends on the courses, for example; in one course you may have a funny professor and you may find that it's a good course to take. In another course you may find that they have a lot of useful material that you can use in your career. I think it's all-inclusive. You have to have good materials and good professors.

Innis: How would you rate the facilities and opportunities offered by this program in the University of Toronto?
Heidi: I think they have the best facilities in the University on campus.

Innis: Any particular reason why you think that?
Heidi: Yeah, they have nice rooms, cable connections, overheads, video, cameras and everything.

Innis: Of all the courses in this program you have taken so far, which one did you enjoy the most, and why?
Heidi: I think it would be Corporate Finance, Introduction to Business Information Systems, Corporate Law and Marketing. Marketing is quite interesting because they teach you a lot of ideas about how to introduce a product into a market and how to get consumers to listen to your ideas. Corporate Finance teaches you about how the stock market and bond market work in a real sense.

Innis: Was it the material of the classes or the way the class was conducted that attracted you most in these courses?
Heidi: It works in both ways. The material is quite useful and interesting so the class was conducted in a practical way. You get lots of cases to analyze.

Innis: What's the normal class size like?
Heidi: It's about 40-50 people in one section, but one class may have 2 or 3 sections.

Innis: What extra-curricular activities have you been involved with on campus since coming to U of T?
Heidi: I was a volunteer at the International Student Centre. I was also involved with the buddy program and helped the foreign and transfer students with their difficulties, such as where to find a place, where to get their stuff and find a place to live, etc. I did that for about a year.

Innis: Was there any connection between the extra-curricular activities and the programs that you're in?
Heidi: Not directly, but I used to know a girl from Taiwan who was interested in studying commerce, so I gave her some advice about the program, but not directly.

Innis: Given your heavy course load and the organizations that you're involved with, how did you manage to organize your time?
Heidi: I think it's all a matter of concentration. If you can get the work done in an hour then don't do it in two hours, just save your time. It's good for you in terms of quantity and quality.

Innis: What is one piece of advice that you would give to someone who is interested in pursuing this program?
Heidi: I would say that it's a very useful program, and if you're really interested in business matters Commerce is definitely the way to pursue your interest.

Innis: What did you find most confusing about the program in terms of registration and course selection?
Heidi: I think the main issue is you have to decide if you're going for Marketing, Accounting, Finance, or Organizational Behaviour by the end of second year. In first year everybody is taking the basic courses to get into the Commerce program, and in second year students continue to take similar courses so the class sizes are pretty big, about 100 students per class. But after the second year you have to decide if you're going into Accounting or Finance. Starting at that point you will be taking totally different courses from your friends, so you have to say I'm definitely going to go for Accounting and you cannot switch back and forth from Accounting to Finance. You have to take different courses, so that's the main choice you have to make, which is frustrating. I have a friend who wanted to do both Accounting and Finance so she was taking both courses so it was like a double course load.

Innis: So you're saying that the courses don't really cross over?
Heidi: No they don't because for Accounting there are prerequisites for every course, if you don't have the prerequisite you cannot go further. So if you decide to go for Accounting then you have at least three prerequisites to take and those prerequisites don't count for any of the courses that you have to take in Finance. Each Finance course also have their own prerequisites so you can't take some Accounting courses for one term and then switch to Finance the following term.

Innis: Of all your achievements here at the University of Toronto, which one are you most proud of?
Heidi: Completing the Commerce Program. It's a really hard program.

Innis: As a student in this field, I am sure you have researched the job market. What kinds of employment opportunities are there?
Heidi: There are actually a lot of good opportunities every year for recent grads in the big five accounting firms, and big five banks in Canada. There are lots of opportunities; you just have to work hard in getting it.

Innis: What types of careers are you interested in developing in the future?
Heidi: I want to do a CFA, which is a Chartered Financial Analyst, which is a professional title in the Finance field.

Innis: What steps are you taking to assist you in achieving this goal?
Heidi: You need to pass 3 exams in order to achieve this title so I'll probably take the first exam next year or the end of this year. You need working experience in addition to passing the exams, so I'll need some working experience before I can write the second level exam.

Innis: Working experience is a 'requirement' before you can write the exams?
Heidi: Yes. Most people will finish in 3 to 4 years. It's not simply writing the exam, passing it, and you'll get the title. You have to have working experience to prove that you have the ability to be a Professional.

Innis: Are there any other things you would like to say to Innis students?
Heidi: I'll just say work hard and your dream will come true one day.

On behalf of Innis College I would like to thank you for giving your time so generously …

For furher information about the program in University of Toronto and beyond, click here.