RECOGNIZING EXCELLENCE CAMDEN MARACLE
Camden Maracle
Firstly introduce yourself and tell us where your home place is. Describe your jobs in just under four sentences. Please also provide your title and profession.
My name is Camden Maracle with my given name Ranahstha’tsi (A Strong Frame) that was chosen by the elders of my community. I am from the First Nation community of Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory, where I grew up with two younger brothers and an older sister. I hold close roots to my community where I participated in Long House ceremonies and traditional learning from community members. I am part of the Bear Clan along with my brothers and my mother.
I moved to Toronto when I was 18 to pursue a degree in Finance and Economics at Ryerson University. After completion of my undergrad I began my career at the Bank of Montreal as a Process Analyst in Technology and Operations. My position is mainly project based, so day to day activities change regularly. I love this aspect of the job as nothing becomes dull or repetitive and I am forever learning new skills. I mainly assist with the technology investment portfolio, helping to ensure projects meet benefit requirements and costing to the banks directional goals.
What sparked your interest to work in this industry?
Beginning in high school I found a passion for working with numbers and people. During my final two years of high school I worked as a personal trainer and fitness instructor at a YMCA. This cracked my shell quite a bit and gave me the confidence to approach unfamiliar faces and present in front of large audiences. During this time I began taking Economic, Finance and Accounting courses and learned I had a skill in these areas. At the time I especially enjoyed accounting and had a projectory to complete my Undergrad in Business and go on to complete my CPA. I pursued a degree in Business where my passion for Finance and Economics took over and I moved away from accounting. I do look back at my high school days as the true beginning of where my business passion began and thank all my teachers for presenting such a world to me.
What do you enjoy most about your career?
The people aspect has always been a enjoyment of mine. Anyone that knows me, knows that I will talk to anyone and everyone and am always eager to learn from others and share personal experiences. Learning through social interaction has always been my favourite way to engage new opportunities as I find it creates a more personal bond and lasting understanding than traditional classroom learning.
What does success look like to you for Indigenous youth?
Success looks different for all people. Success for one young Indigenous person may mean being able to pursue a higher education and become a professional, while success for another may mean being able to learn traditional knowledge and skills from their elders and live off the land. I think what’s most important is that young Indigenous people have the opportunity and support to pursue their goals, whatever they may be.
How has a failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success? Do you have a “favorite failure” of yours?”
There has been a lot of failure in my professional career so far and I would not have it any other way. Each failure has created an opportunity to learn, adapt, and grow from the experience. A favourite failure of mine that has had a lasting impact on my professional career is during my first real career interview (BMO) and completely bombed the entire process. I was unable to answer any technical questions and stumbled on personality questions as well. It was an extremely humbling experience and taught me to always be prepared before going to into anything.
What are one to three books that have greatly influenced your life?
I have a lot of favourite books with many of them being biographies as I have grown to a fascination on how entrepreneurs develop their product or service and the unique challenges that each of them face. My favourite biographies include; Jeff Bezos’s “The Everything Store”, Warren Buffet’s Biography, and Arnold Swartzenager’s “Total Recal”. Each of these individuals started from humble beginnings and created a brand around them in a lean Startup fashion. Additional to these biographies I have enjoyed the complete Freakconomics series and of course the Harry Potter series as a my top fiction series.
Do you volunteer? If so, where and why is that important to you?
I have volunteered a lot in the past, working with Indigenous Students at Ryerson University to obtain scholarships and organizing networking events for the students. Keeping my focus on Indigenous students, I have began working with students in Toronto on financial literacy and am working towards being certified in Tax accounting to assist low income families during the tax season. I have found that giving back to the communities that helped shape you gives you the opportunity to lead by example and pay it forward.
What are some challenges you think the next Indigenous generation will face in your industry/profession?
The challenges that I see most apparent in the Indigenous communities is breaking the generational stigma. The ability to grow beyond your bubble and adapt to new locations and experiences is something that is difficult for many that grow up in a Native community. I recommend many of my community members to travel, explore and push yourself out of your comfort zone, it is where the most learning is done.
In the last five years, what new belief, behavior, or habit has most improved your life
Coming from a smaller community and moving to downtown Toronto for University, I had to make a lot of adjustments to my lifesytle and outlook on the world. The understanding that you are the centre of your own universe and others feel the same way about themselves humbles you quite a bit. Being able to meet so many people from all walks of life all different backgrounds expands your understanding of this world. It makes the world much smaller and gives you the realization that we are all in this together no matter the differences.
What advice would you give to a smart, driven student about to enter the “real world”? What advice should they ignore?”
Currently just the entering the “real world” in the past 6 months, there is an abundant of advice that has been given to me both good and bad. Some of which I have taken and shouldn’t have, well others are pieces that I will carry through for the remainder of my career. The biggest piece of advice I would give is that don’t become complacent. Keep learning, keep growing and always be looking months and years down the road. Contacts are especially important and always give each person your best self, you never know who may be the next most important person in your life.
