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by Dianne George
DiCastri does a celebratory breakdance in Shanghai’s financial district.
Fourth-year business student Nick DiCastri is no stranger to breaking new ground, whether on home turf or abroad.
Here at home, he has co-founded ACE Victoria (Advancing Canadian Entrepreneurship) for business students. He’s also the first UVic co-op student ever hired by the Shanghai branch of the Standard Chartered Bank (SCB).
He impressed his employers to such a degree that they nominated him for the UVic Business Co-op Student of the Year award. “I’ve never met an intern with so much passion, drive and competence,” says DiCastri’s supervisor John Bowen, head of cash management sales for China.
Worldwide, Standard Chartered employs about 50,000 people. Because of DiCastri’s abilities, he was asked to lead the team organizing the bank’s participation in the EuroFinance conference, which is attended by more than 170 of the world’s largest companies.
In his spare time DiCastri also helped two UVic classmates organize a hip-hop launch party for a charity they had created to help malnourished rural Chinese children.
“I’m honoured to have been selected as this year’s award recipient,” says DiCastri, who returns home this month to accept his award after completing an exchange term with the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing.
“I’m very grateful for the generosity of the TD Financial Group and would like to thank the members of SCB, the business faculty, and the business co-op office for all their help and support during my co-op placement.”
Students are nominated by their employer and evaluated on their contributions to the company, UVic, the business co-op and career centre, and to the community. Each student must also maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 6.5.
To be considered for the award, the candidates must also write a letter describing their work-term experiences. Twenty-four of the nominees wrote letters and DiCastri’s was chosen as the best submission.
As the award winner, DiCastri receives $1,000 from the TD Bank Financial Group and is invited to represent UVic in the Canadian Association for Co-operative Education Canada-wide search for its co-op student-of-the-year.
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