An Alumni Three-Pack
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Three SIAST alumni are at work in careers that are especially suited to their skills. Their profiles are divergent in terms of decade of graduation and work experience, but the three are united in that they found an educational path that worked. Now their employers, clients and communities are benefiting.
COUNT ON HIM: Leland Kreklewich found a job that makes the most of his skills and education.
GREAT WITH NUMBERS:
Structure and routine are important to Leland Kreklewich. Affected by autism spectrum disorder, Kreklewich found that small class sizes, clear expectations and approachable instructors at SIAST Palliser Campus worked well for him. He graduated in 2006 with an 89 percent average from his twoyear accounting program. Kreklewich participated in an eightmonth co-op work term with the accounting firm MNP LLP. “I was offered a job with them after finishing school,” he says. “Based on the good reviews I received from my employer, I was named Co-op Student of the Year for 2005.” Today, he has a condo in Saskatoon and he’s a senior accountant with MNP – a company that, he says, provides the work life that leverages his talents, namely a good memory, strong analytical skills and good accounting and auditing skills. Kreklewich works on a variety of files, helping clients do their bookkeeping, and travelling to undertake audits for others. “There are 120 people in my office and 10 or 12 in my department,” he says. “I collaborate with colleagues and oversee junior staff on bigger jobs.” Kreklewich is currently undertaking distance education with Laurentian University. “It’s another option that offers a different route to a university degree and a CGA (chartered general accountant designation),” he says. “I’d like to build on my success at SIAST.”
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HARD WORKER:
“I knew that hard work would pay off,” says Terry Parchewsky (Business Accountancy ’96). He worked at a golf course for a year after high school, before starting coursework at SIAST Palliser Campus in 1994, where he also played competitive basketball. Then he made the decision to roll up his sleeves and concentrate on landing a job that would let him learn as much as he could about accounting, rather than pursuing the bestpaying entry-level job out there. Parchewsky had always had that practical, hands-on way of getting things done when it came to his education and career. “I found a four-month summer job that taught me a lot,” Parchewsky says, “and that led me to a job with a small Saskatoon CA firm, Lorne Horning Chartered Accountants. I thought it was a three-month job, but it turned into a permanent position.” He worked at the firm for 14 years, travelling Western Canada working with businesses and First Nations bands, eventually garnering a management position. “I always made a point to hire SIAST students for our summer positions,” he says. “Four of them came back full time and the summer students felt they learned valuable knowledge; gaining experience in a small office has helped them down the road. I have changed some lives; it’s a great feeling.” With Lorne Horning CA, Parchewsky flew to Vancouver every three months to work with one of the larger clients, Famous Wok Inc./Umi Sushi Express Inc. That business was