DENISE SEMPLE

I am very fortunate to have great, unselfish friends.  After I completed GCE/CXC exams and as I waiting for the results, my friend Mavis Tombie came one day to ask if I would like to go to New Amsterdam and take the NATI entrance examination.  Having nothing better to do, I decided to go with her.  I was successful at the examination and was offered a place in the Secretarial Sciences program.

There were many excellent teachers at the school and we were blessed to have Mr. Kenneth Quintyn as our Math teacher.  I say `blessed` because without his patience and help I certainly would have failed miserably. The lessons I learned about presentation from Ms. Claire Thomas, my typing and shorthand teacher are things that are still a part of how I do my work today. I must also mention Ms. Lois Johnson who encouraged some of the girls from our group to challenge ourselves and take on the London Chamber of Commerce (LCC) accounting exams.  I completed my two year course at NATI in 1982 and worked in the Personnel Department of the Mayor & City Council of Georgetown while I continued attending classes and taking the LCC exams to improve my knowledge and enhance my employability.

When I migrated to Canada the skills I learned at NATI were good enough to help me find a job very easily. I also attended the University of Toronto and completed my Canadian Insurance Professional (CIP) designation through the Insurance Institute of Ontario. I worked for several years as Finance Leader and I am currently the Manager of Business Analytics at one of Canada’s top three Insurance Companies. I have now worked with my current employer for 16 years and my advice to students is to practice continual learning – make learning a life-long practice.
In this job I get the opportunity to utilise my analytical and presentation skills and my skill with numbers, all of the things I learned at NATI all those many years ago.

Thank God for my friend Mavis and NATI!