1980s

“You’re selling yourself. The product is just a tool.”

Sales leader continues to close the deal for Seneca

Helen Szumigaj

HELEN SZUMIGAJ came to Seneca to help a friend. A girlfriend of hers in Ottawa wanted to enrol in the Esthetics program, but her parents worried about her going away to school alone. So Helen came along to keep an eye on her and study business. She had an uncle in sales, but no other ties to the profession or any idea what she wanted to do. It was an educational “cold call” that sure paid off.

Her connection to Seneca now spans three decades, as a graduate, volunteer and donor. Helen was one of the first graduates of the three-year advanced Business diploma program and went on to chair the business program advisory committee, serve two terms on the Board of Governors and sit on Seneca’s Alumni Council.

Like countless students throughout Seneca’s history, she worked part time during her studies, first in retail, then for an insurance agency. These experiences, coupled with her education, helped Helen find her talents as a salesperson, which she leveraged into a successful career with leading food and beverage companies like Dare, Cadbury, Mother Parkers Tea and Coffee and Kerry.

Recently, Helen took on a new challenge in a different sector as the Director of Sales for the international flatware and service ware company Oneida. Selling a new kind of product isn’t a concern for her, though.

“You’re selling yourself. The product is just a tool,” says Helen. “It’s about instilling confidence in people you don’t know, and understanding where they are struggling so you can improve it.”

Helen attributes her strengths in interpersonal communications and problem solving to her time at Seneca. She benefited from the flexible learning environment and the industry knowledge her professors brought to the classroom. Helen notes one professor, Cindy Hazell (who retired as Seneca’s Senior Vice President, and was honoured as the first Professor Emeritus), as a great influence and mentor.

“I was really comfortable at Seneca,” says Helen. “The courses were very practical, and the halls were always energized. I liked the entrepreneurial spirit and that the professors had real-life experience. They connected with the students and made it interesting and fun to learn.”

Because of her ongoing connection to Seneca through volunteerism, Helen has seen first-hand the rapid growth that has taken place on campus over the past decade and a half. Her first program advisory committee meetings were at the old Sheppard Campus, and her time at Seneca includes the tenures of three presidents. With all this change, though, some constants have remained.

“Seneca’s core values have never changed,” says Helen. “To this day, you feel that excitement and the respect for the institution and the people. The people are who make Seneca what it is.”