Rhéanne Morin's superpower for networking: To see a friendly face wherever she goes.
“You don’t grow in your comfort zone,” says Asper School of Business student Rhéanne Morin.
Every chance she gets to go out of her comfort zone, she takes. It’s this attitude that led her to the CANDO Economic Development Youth Summit in Edmonton this summer, where she and her team placed second in a case competition.
Morin and her team at the CANDO Economic Development Youth Summit in Edmonton
The five-day event in August 2025 had about 300 applicants but only accepted around 50 young up-and-coming leaders. As a marketing major starting her final year at Asper, she was just happy to get in.
“I’m so glad I went,” she says. “It was really great to put theories that I learned in school into actual practice.”
By day, the summit hosted various panels and speakers. By night, the young leaders would break into teams and work on a case competition.
The real-life case asked the teams how they would develop 64 acres of land located in Lloydminster, Alberta, acquired by Frog Lake First Nation.
“I really had to dive deep into my first-year accounting and marketing classes,” she says, emphasizing the importance of learning to think quick on your feet.
On the final day, teams presented their economic development plans to a panel of judges. After travelling by herself and learning so much over the five days, she was thrilled her team got second place.
She says their success is owed to the diverse perspectives of her team, who each brought something new the others wouldn’t have thought of.
“Being surrounded by my people and being surrounded by culture was really inspiring,” says Morin. “I left that whole week feeling inspired and ready to work hard, and do good for my community.”
Morin may be majoring in marketing, but what she really wants to do is create something from nothing. In other words, she’s passionate about entrepreneurship.
Maybe this has something to do with how she felt coming into Asper School. In her first year, she would’ve described herself as “a very shy, timid, small-town girl.”
When you’re timid and shy, the world can seem small. But the resources and opportunities offered at the Asper School transformed her outlook: “Now I see things so much bigger than I used to. There’s so much more potential,” she says.
She specifically cites Indigenous Business Education Partners (IBEP) as a program that made going out of her comfort zone easier.
She developed a superpower for networking. Her goal is to see a friendly face wherever she goes.
“You never know who or where you’re going end up working with in the future. You never know who could potentially be a good connection,” she says, stressing the importance of networking and taking on any opportunity that presents itself.
Morin embraces curiosity when approaching strangers: “you’re always trying to figure out the puzzle pieces.” She starts with a simple question like “What brings you here?”
To fellow students, she recommends volunteering time with a student group, or even better, making a student group.
Her entrepreneurial mindset led her to revitalize an Asper School student group called, well, The Entrepreneurial Mindset, with her friend Anthony Theriault. Morin also previously volunteered as Director of Communications on the UMQAS student group (University of Manitoba Queer/2SLGBTQIA+Asper Students).
Morin has grown so much that it’s impossible to see how she was ever shy or timid. The Asper School may have caused the change, but what’s her secret?
“I live on Red Bulls,” she says.
IBEP offers tutoring, mentoring, financial aid, and more to Indigenous students pursuing a business degree at the Asper School of Business.
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