Classroom learning and hands-on experience are adding up to career success for Nathan Ofori-Nti, a fourth-year Brock University Goodman School of Business Accounting co-op student.

Ofori-Nti is one step closer to his professional aspirations after completing an internship with TorQuest Partners, a private equity firm in Toronto.

Through the TorQuest Scholars Program, a mentorship initiative designed to provide Black-identifying students in the Greater Toronto Area with hands-on experience in finance and business, Ofori-Nti gained exposure to various career paths in finance while working alongside professionals in investment, business development and value creation teams.

“The program gave me a transformational career experience,” Ofori-Nti said. “At TorQuest, no two days were the same. I was constantly learning about businesses from the ground up, keeping up with market news, evaluating investment opportunities, preparing financial models and presenting to the investment committee.”

Ofori-Nti’s journey to TorQuest began with an intensive application process that included multiple rounds of interviews with program administrators and firm partners.

His perseverance paid off when he was selected for the competitive program and spent four months immersed in the fast-paced world of private equity.

Ofori-Nti’s journey to TorQuest was made possible by a unique collaboration between Brock’s Co-op, Career and Experiential Education (CCEE) unit and the Black Student Success Centre.

CCEE, which connects students with relevant work placements and offers a range of resources to support career development, often comes across specialized scholarship and co-op opportunities from organizations across the province. Opportunities targeted to the Black and BIPOC community get forwarded to the Black Student Success Centre. This partnership allows the team to connect these opportunities to the broader Black community at Brock.

Through these collaborative efforts, Ofori-Nti was able to secure the highly competitive summer internship at TorQuest, setting him on a path to success in the finance world.

“The education I received from Brock was recognized outside the classroom and helped prepare me for this opportunity,” he said. “I’m grateful for the chance to work alongside established financial professionals at TorQuest.”

His time at TorQuest is just one of several experiential learning opportunities Ofori-Nti has pursued through Brock’s co-op programs.

He has also completed placements at Twenty-First Financial, where he gained foundational business experience, and British multinational brand of firms PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), where he worked as an auditor in the private assurance practice.

“My time at PwC was amazing,” he said. “It built my business acumen while helping me develop communication, critical thinking and problem-solving skills.”

Alesia Dane, Associate Director of Co-op Education and Workplace Partnerships at Brock, highlights the powerful impact of experiential learning in preparing students for meaningful careers.

“By leveraging his co-op enrollment and work term experiences at Twenty First Financial and PwC, Nathan was able to explore opportunities beyond co-op, securing a prestigious internship at TorQuest,” Dane said. “The skills and work ethic he developed through co-op played a key role in his success. His dedication to gaining hands-on experience has set a strong foundation for his career in finance and accounting. We are excited to see how he continues to grow and make an impact in the industry.”

In addition to his co-op experiences, Ofori-Nti is a member of Brock’s chapter of Beta Gamma Sigma, an international honour society recognizing the top 10 per cent of undergraduate business students.

“This achievement is a testament to the numerous hours spent figuring out various accounting problems while balancing university life,” he said. “A special thanks to my mother, uncle and God for supporting me every step of the way, as well as the wonderful professors who guided me.”

Reflecting on his academic and professional life thus far, Ofori-Nti credits Brock’s co-op program and student clubs for equipping him with essential skills.

“The most valuable lesson I learned from Brock is how to communicate effectively through group projects and extracurricular activities,” he said. “The best advice I’ve received is always to be ready. You never know when an opportunity is around the corner.”