The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
To call Julie Rossington a go-getter would be quite the understatement. At just 27, the former Flin Flonner is gaining accolades as one of Edmonton's dynamic young leaders. 'I believe that we are our only limitations,' says Rossington, recently named one of the Alberta capital region's 'Sizzling Twenty Under 30' by Edmontonians magazine. What has Rossington done to earn such acclaim? Plenty. She works as campus director at Edmonton's Reeves College, a private post-secondary facility, overseeing 25 employees and 150-plus students. Prior to assuming that role last year, Rossington worked as a student services coordinator for CDI College before being promoted to financial planner and then financial administrator. She also worked in regional finance for the Eminata Group, an education company that operates CDI and Reeves colleges. What's remarkable about Rossington's success in such numbers-oriented jobs is that back in university she had to overcome the belief that she wasn't good at math. Well, mission accomplished. You don't walk away from the University of Saskatchewan with a bachelor of commerce (with distinction) without stellar math skills. After graduating from the U of S in 2009, Rossington headed to Edmonton not entirely sure what she would do _ but thrilled to be there nonetheless. 'I knew that I needed to start small,' she recalls. 'Skipping cities and provinces makes it hard to prove your resume. With limited experience out of university, I was caught in the fast-paced economy that I was looking for.' Rossington quickly found her niche at the Eminata Group, climbing the corporate ladder at a breakneck pace. When the campus director at Reeves College stepped down last year, Rossington saw an exciting opportunity. Even after being told that she lacked the experience for the job, she refused to accept that the position was beyond her grasp. In an astute tactic, Rossington asked whether she could fill in as campus director until someone was permanently hired. She got the go-ahead. 'If a door of opportunity closes, sometimes you need to have the guts to try the window,' says Rossington, who graduated from Hapnot Collegiate in 2004, the same year she left Flin Flon. From day one, Rossington treated the Reeves College campus as if it were her own business, giving every ounce of herself to the company throughout 14-hour days. Within weeks, the powers that be realized that Rossington was just who they needed. She was officially named campus director in July 2012. In this role, she does everything from staff and financial management to recruiting students and devising business forecasts. Asked how she has achieved so much at a young age, Rossington credits a 'constant drive for success.' 'It is not about focusing how hard something is to achieve, or the odds of achieving it, it is about putting in the right amount of effort and hard work in to accomplish those goals,' she says. Looking ahead _ and Rossington is always thinking about her next goals _ she wants to grow into a larger managerial role. 'Alberta has a lot to offer,' Rossington says. 'At this time it is too early to see what my next victory will be. In the meantime I will keep pushing for success.'
