Matias Totz

Biography

"A curious student, aspiring entrepreneur and newbie angler. All-round nice guy with a zest for life."

Born in Zurich and having briefly lived in Singapore before growing up on Vancouver Island, I am happy to call Calgary my new home where I study commerce as a Haskayne Legacy Scholar. University has expanded my previous academic interests in the “3Ms” – mandarin, marine science and mathematics to include data science, entrepreneurship and business analytics which I believe are key skillsets for future business leaders. With a focus on developing both my technical and soft skills, I actively seek out leadership roles in clubs and councils and opportunities to give back to my community. These experiences have sparked new friendships and taught me an assortment of life skills – how to plan large-scale events, devise successful social media strategies, perform fundraising research for local veterans, create presentations for hundreds of first-year business students, and motivate others as captain of the undefeated “Savage and Average” basketball team. Recently, I have discovered the thrill of competing in business case challenges where collaboration with talented teammates under looming deadlines brings out the best in my critical thinking and creativity to solve real-world problems such as using insect flour to build a more resilient food system in Alberta. Exploring new hobbies helps keep me sane during lockdowns and exam periods when you can find me playing online opponents to improve my chess rating, painting the latest Warhammer model, or researching valuable silver coins to collect.

Awards

• 2020 Richard & Lois Haskayne Legacy Scholarship
• 2021 Don MacLeod MROO Leadership Award
• 2021 EY Challenge - 1st Place
• 2022 Haskayne Accounting Case Competition - 1st Place
• Duke of Edinburgh International Gold, Silver and Bronze Awards
• 2021 Hunter Hub Solutions Lab-Resilient Food Systems Challenge - 2nd Runner Up
• 2020/2021 Dean's List
• 2020 President’s Scholarship
• 2020 BC Government District Award for Public Service