Alumni
THE SOUND OF SUCCESS
ALUMNA’S COMPANY HAS INVENTORY OF MORE THAN 100,000 VOICES
When Stephanie Ciccarelli graduated from Western in 2006 with her Bachelor of Musical Arts, she knew voice would be where she made her living. But Ciccarelli has found success promoting other people’s voices internationally with a company she founded with her husband David in 2003.Voices.com is an online marketplace that connects business people with voice actors and professional voiceover talents. Initially the main clients were radio and television stations, advertising agencies and other businesses. But the growing need for voice talent for video games, iPhone, audio books, and other technology applications has generated explosive demand. In 2009 Voices.com was named number 20 on Profit Magazine’s Hot 50 list, after experiencing a 534 per cent growth in revenues from 2006 to 2008.
TOO SUCCESSFUL TO RETIRE
O'Leary still has to-do list
It’s no surprise when a graduate of the Richard Ivey School of Business becomes a successful entrepreneur. But Kevin O’Leary, who earned his MBA at Western in 1980, has become probably the most visible entrepreneur in the country.Since last autumn, he has been co-hosting, with business reporter Amanda Lang, The Lang and O’Leary Exchange, a lively weekday program on CBC News Network that debates the state of the markets and the economy. He is also a regular on Dragons’ Den, the CBC-TV show in which aspiring entrepreneurs pitch their ideas to venture capitalists, including O’Leary. And he appears on Shark Tank, the U.S. version of Dragons’ Den airing on ABC-TV.
THEATRE THAT CHALLENGES AUDIENCES
In 2007, a Western alumnus joined forces with a graduate of the National Theatre School, and an innovative London, Ontario theatre company was born.Passionfool, the brainchild of Western alumnus Justin Quesnelle, BA’03 (Poetic and Dramatic Literature) and Eva Blahut, has revolutionized the local theatre scene, and won critical acclaim for its productions. It has earned a reputation for presenting theatre that is both intellectually and ethically challenging, leaving its audience members grappling with questions long after the actors have taken their bows.
Legal path leads to helping women of Yemen
“It was the president of Yemen who looked me in the eyes and said, ‘Why are you quitting this company? You need to continue to do this kind of work that you’re doing. We need help in Yemen because we have educated our females in the last 10 years but we don’t know how to integrate them into the workforce.’”Unless you’re Donna Kennedy-Glans, LLB’84, chances are that you’ve never encountered this situation: a Yemeni government official beseeching you to continue your corporate work with a Canadian energy company because he sees the benefits to the women of his country. So how does someone go from a childhood on a family farm in Southwestern Ontario to a conversation with a president in the Middle East?
Macklem manoeuvres money markets on world stage
In September 2008, as the sub-prime mortgage crisis shook the pillars of global finance, Western alumnus Tiff Macklem, one of the federal government’s most senior civil servants, played a key role in managing Canada’s response to the upheaval.“The world was on the precipice,” he recalls. “My every waking moment was spent dealing with events.”
Macklem, MA’84, PhD’89 (Economics) 48, had been appointed Associate Deputy Minister at the Department of Finance less than a year earlier. He serves as Finance’s deputy at international forums such as the G-8 (the seven major industrialized countries plus Russia) and the G-20 (which embraces new economic powers such as China and India). It’s his job to brief Prime Minister Stephen Harper for the G-8 and G-20 summits.
Alumna at helm of Special Olympics in London
As the final countdown to the Vancouver 2010 Olympics approaches, it’s becoming harder to turn on a television without hearing mention of the Winter Games.But one alumna already has her sights on another Olympic event scheduled to take place on Canadian soil next year – the 2010 Special Olympics. What’s more, the upcoming summer games are set to be held on the Western campus.
President and CEO of Special Olympics Canada Deborah Bright, BA’90, MA’92, said organizers are already in high-gear working to secure facilities, recruit volunteers and build momentum for the event, which is expected to draw about 1,300 athletes with an intellectual disability from across Canada.
This won't hurt a bit
How do you motivate a dentist to win a boxing title? Try hitting him in the mouth.
That was enough to make Terry Witzu, DDS’74, win the Heavyweight Masters Class Amateur Boxing belt at the age of 59 last year in Kansas City, Missouri – a first for a Canadian.
But how does a dentist from Sudbury become a champion boxer – especially only having six official fights before entering the Ringside World Championships?
Well, having a black belt in martial arts from his younger days helps.
As a dental student in the early 1970s, Witzu formed both The University of Western Ontario Karate club and a karate club at Fanshawe College.
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