Passion for numbers lays ground for exciting career
May 19, 2020
Taught basic arithmetic at a young age by his maternal grandmother fuelled Chedi Mbaga’s passion for numbers and the odds always seem to favour him.
Leading up to the 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games in Toronto and the Golden Horseshoe, he was among 30 Canadian high schoolers awarded the CIBC Youthvision scholarship supporting high-potential Grade 10 to 12 students who might not otherwise have the financial means to pursue higher education.
In addition to the $38,000 in funding, mentorship and job experience, they were introduced as “The Class of Pan Am” at a special two-day forum during the Games.
From an initial pool of 4,438 applicants, Mbaga and 32 young Canadians were selected in 2017 for Loran scholarships that are the largest undergraduate merit award on the basis of character, commitment to service and leadership potential. The award is valued at $100,000 over four years.
A year later, he and six other Canadian students were invited to attend the G7 Finance & Development and Central Bank of Governors meeting in Whistler, British Columbia.
Of the 1,115 applications for the inaugural Canada Chief Science Advisor (CSA) Dr. Mona Nemer’s Youth Council, Mbaga is in the group of 20 members unveiled in March.
Applicants between the ages of 18 and 30 with an interest in STEM and their societal dimensions were invited to apply.
The Youth Council mandate includes identifying and informing Nemer on key issues and challenges facing the Canadian science community, advising on and taking part in outreach activities and providing the CSA with accurate and balanced views from a youth perspective.
“The idea of an opportunity to be part of enhancing policy and therefore improving outcomes appealed to me,” said Mbaga. “I thought I have enough to bring to the table and this is a platform for me to learn and get some hands-on experience.”
The preschool years spent in Tanzania with his maternal grandparents laid a powerful foundation for the Ottawa-born University of New Brunswick (UNB) third-year student zest for learning and higher education.
“My grandparents told me that anything can be taken from you except your mind,” Mbaga, whose research interests are in monetary policy and banking, pointed out. “They said I will always have that and I should cherish it.”
Through scholarships and bursaries, the eldest of five siblings started Grade Seven in 2011 at St. Michael’s College School where he anchored the daily announcements broadcast on the school’s local channel.
Mbaga made an impression on his first day at St. Mike’s.
“I was quite shy, but a teacher asked to me to read a passage of scripture during the homily,” he said. “I remember everyone saying, ‘You are a really good public speaker’. A lot of the strengths I didn’t know I possess came out during my time there and I left feeling that not only did I get a solid academic education, but good character education.”
A Legislative Page for three weeks at Queen’s Park in 2013, Mbaga chose UNB over the University of Calgary which are the only two Canadian universities offering certified Geodesy & Geomatics Engineering.
An all-encompassing discipline, Geomatics is a number of arts, sciences and technologies involved with the collection, processing, managing and displaying of geo-referenced information while Geodesy is the basic science that underlines geomatics.
“What I am studying is a lot about positioning and numbers,” he said. “I am open to pursuing work in Geodesy and strongly considering moving towards the finance side because I think the strong skill sets I have developed through my community engagement can really be applied in many situations.”
Participating in the Shad Canada program at UNB in the summer of 2016 made Mbaga’s choice of university easier.
Focussed on science, technology, engineering, arts and math, the annual summer enrichment program offers high-achieving high school students an opportunity to interact with eminent university faculty and visionary corporate leaders.
“I debated in high school and went to Queen’s, McGill and the University of Toronto,” he said. “I wanted a different experience and it turned out to be very refreshing and enjoyable. I also learnt about Geomatics and Geodesy Engineering through a presentation that was done during Shad.”
Besides familiarity with the campus, the Atlantic province university size appealed to Mbaga.
Canada’s oldest English Language university enrolment hovers around 10,000.
“Feeling that you aren’t just a number in the crowd was attractive,” he said. “Also, Fredericton is smaller and quieter than Toronto and I get to experience a different part of Canada. I love to drive and I have driven between Fredericton and Toronto, which takes about 14 hours one way, more than 10 times. I use that time to think and evaluate how my last semester went and what I want to achieve in the upcoming school term.”
Loran Scholars are offered three 12-week summer internships encompassing enterprise, public policy and community development.
At the end of his first year at UNB, Mbaga drove to Toronto for a one-week vacation before making the nearly 36-hour drive to Calgary (he slept in his car during breaks) to be a Research Analyst Intern as part of his public policy stint with Calgary Economic Development that collaborates with regional, national and international business to facilitate access to the Calgary market.
In that role, he wrote reports on industry developments and policy shifts, supported the drafting of Predictive Analytics and Autonomous Systems white papers, conducted research and statistical analysis and prepared presentations for management.
In between that assignment, Mbaga flew to Whistler to participate in the G7 Finance & Development Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting.
“I was taking some Economics courses at the time and saw this as super-interesting,” he said. “Even though my major isn’t Economics, I felt I knew enough to put forward some solid suggestions. Being in the same room with former Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin and Christine Lagarde (the former International Monetary Fund Chair and Managing Director) who are tackling global problems made me feel I could sit in their chair and that nothing could prevent me from achieving what I want. I was really motivated.”
Last summer, he was a Research Intern at LEAP|Pecaut Centre for Social Impact. The Toronto-based centre uses a venture philanthropy approach to support social innovators in creating systemic change in the health, education and employment sectors, using pro bono corporate advisors.
On campus, Mbaga isn’t only absorbed in his academic studies. He was the UNB Engineering Endowment Fund Chair and Outreach Director of the university’s International Swim Program he co-founded with other students to offer free survival swim lessons to refugee and immigrant families as part of the integration process into their new environment.
Prior to pursuing post-secondary education, he volunteered with Big Brothers Big Sisters, St. Alban’s Boys & Girls Club and the Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre.
Grateful for the financial investments in his education, Mbaga – who is a contributor to the Dalhousie Business Review -- promises not to disappoint.
“They have allowed me to push myself,” he said. “The big thing about learning is developing leadership potential. Knowing that I have all of those people who believe in me, I feel driven not only to pay it forward, but make good on their generosity and make the world a better place in whatever way I can.”
Attributing his grit and work ethic to his mother, Mbaga is well on his way to achieving that goal and more.
