“There are many connections between football and the business world,” Mill says. “The teamwork, the camaraderie, working hard for the people around me and the discipline and determination.”

Mill, who was part of two Vanier Cup-winning Mustang teams in ’17 and ’21, can draw a direct line from his playing days to his successes at Ivey, graduating in 2023 with a MSc in Management, Digital Management (MSc DM).

The line begins with mentorship he received from an older Mustang teammate who was a studying Ivey student. Nicholas Theriault suggested Mill explore what Ivey had to offer, and the younger player was hooked.

“Nicholas is two years older than me, and he encouraged me to go to Ivey,” Mill says. “As an undergrad I was so busy playing football with the dream of turning pro that I wasn’t sure of what to do next. That’s when Nicholas mentioned Ivey’s programs and I never looked back.”

While at Ivey, Mill was the vice president of the finance and technology club, a role that helped him build on the leadership qualities he developed as a football player.

Nowadays, Mill has exchanged Vanier Cups for cutting-edge business strategies as an analyst in CIBC’s Enterprise Innovation and Strategy department, for which his Ivey experiences prepared him well – and gave him an edge over other candidates.

“It was the Ivey Digital Innovation Studio opportunity, where we worked with blockchain solutions to improve customer experiences, and we won,” Mill says, who also earned a graduate diploma in Business and Sustainability while at Ivey. “The CIBC managers liked what we did, and they offered me a job.”

Mill is quick to acknowledge the incredible mentors he had access to while studying, who provided him with academic and personal support. A main source of inspiration is Glen Rowe, an emeritus and adjunct professor at the Ivey Business School who also served in the Canadian Navy for 22 years, as a main source of inspiration.

“He (Rowe) really pushed me to be the best I could be,” Mill says. “He was so caring, and I’d visit him during his office hours to talk about school but also about things outside of school. His support was invaluable.”

Mill keeps in close contact with his alumni and faculty network, many of whom come from all over the world and who he considers best friends. A key component of this network is its diversity, Mill says, listing off the countries his classmates represented during his time at Ivey.

“In today’s business world it’s vital to have empathy for and understanding of people from different backgrounds and cultures,” Mill says. “I learned so much about other cultures at Ivey and I don’t think I would have had that experience anywhere else.”

Mill says opportunities such as the MSc DM program will only gain more relevance as the pace of technological change goes into overdrive, and as Ivey continues to deliver on its promise to prepare graduates for the real world.

“Ivey exposed me to real companies, real ideas, real problems, solutions and experiences, and these are the things that prepared me for my career,” Mill says. “My program will only become more relevant with the rapid pace of technology.”