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You have to own every opportunity and nothing comes with luck. You have to make your own luck.

Amrit Pal Singh, (BComm Co-op ’25, shown left) has spent the past four years "making" his luck. "Making" it meant most weeks he was working 80 plus hours between paid employment, classes, and course work for his Bachelor of Commerce Co-op degree. And it’s paid off. Singh is one of eight students in Atlantic Canada to win the Frank. H. Sobey Award for Excellence in Business Studies, for which he will receive $45,000.

When Singh arrived in Halifax to study in the Faculty of Management, it wasn’t the award he was after. He just knew that if he didn’t earn enough money to pay for tuition and living expenses, he’d have to return to India. And since he’d already taken the risk to come here, he was going to do everything he could to make it work. “There is always one person in the family who has to take the risk and move out of their comfort zone and play the odds,” he says. “What's the worst that’s going to happen?”  

"You nuture kids and you see your dream in them."

The middle child in a family that farms and runs a business, Singh helped his father grow wheat and rice as well as expand an air conditioning business. He started university in India before deciding to go overseas. Three universities caught his attention, but it was Dal’s reputation, the city of Halifax and the mandatory co-op that helped him decide.

To say he embraced life in a country and culture he didn’t know, would be understating the point. With English as his fourth language—his mother tongue is Punjabi, then he learned Hindi and his provincial language Haryanvi—he first got involved in the Dalhousie Sikh Student’s Association, the Maritime Sikh Society, the International Centre, and served as a student leader in residence. In his first 6 months he also worked 10 jobs until he found one that was right and paid him appropriately. He got to know his professors, attended networking events, and worked hard in his co-op positions, even volunteering to coach a kid’s baseball team when he worked at McCain Foods in Florenceville, New Brunswick.  

Having competed as an athlete at a national level in India, he attributes some of his success to his sports activity. He says “I think that sports has shaped my life. You get to work with people, you get to collaborate and work as a team to get on top.” Adding, “when you give back to the community, I think you nurture the kids, and you see your dream in them.”

It motivates and validates you

Despite the long hours and work that Singh has put in, he didn’t quite believe the good news when it arrived. He says he stared at the email for three minutes after which he says “I asked my friend to read it for me.”

Since 1989, the year the awards started, business students in Atlantic Canada have received three million dollars. In addition to the eight awards of $45,000 each, finalists receive $3,500. This year Dalhousie University has two of those finalists, Rachel Brannan (shown left) and Reefah Shehnaz (below).

Both Shehnaz and Singh agree that the award is not just about their personal achievements, but as Shehnaz says “it represents the support I’ve received from my professors, mentors, and peers at Dalhousie University.” She adds that “it serves as a source of motivation, validating my efforts and giving me the confidence to continue pursuing my goals.”

While Singh is interested in taking a job with a company and is currently doing interviews, Rachel Brannan wants to start pursuing her dream of building a sustainable fashion business.