Carol Sam is en route to becoming a clinical psychologist. She’s been working as a market research interviewer with Blue Ocean Contact Centers while balancing the demands of a full course load, playing two sports, and committing several volunteer hours a week to her community group. Carol, it turns out, is pretty typical of a Blue Ocean agent.
Over the 17-year history of the company, Blue Ocean has awarded annual bursaries to agents like Carol Sam. This year the company received an exceptionally high number of applications from within the employee base.
“It was very difficult to select the winners,” reports Jayne Corey, a recruiting specialist with Blue Ocean and a member of the selection committee. “I believe all of us on the committee were humbled by the accomplishments, the ambitions, and the dedication to both their education and to Blue Ocean that each one of the applicants demonstrated. Choosing just five from that group was definitely a challenge.”
While the company has long awarded annual bursaries to their best and brightest, this was the first year that five bursaries were presented. The financial awards are given in memory of Blue Ocean employees who left a lasting mark on the company. Carol Sam, for instance, is continuing her studies this year as the first recipient of the Guillaume LaRoche Memorial Bursary presented by Blue Ocean. The bursary honors Guillaume, a bilingual technical support agent, who is remembered not only for his professional skill and knowledge, but also for his unfailing optimism, ever-present smile, and tremendous zest for life.
With the presentation of these five memorial bursaries, Blue Ocean continues to invest in one of the company’s core strengths – a deep, well-educated employee-base.
The complete roster of 2011 Bursary Winners includes:
Kristopher Amon: Karen Mitchell Memorial Bursary
Niamh Bermingham: Beth Kirby Memorial Bursary
Sadie Ghosn: Sheri Madison Memorial Bursary
Gabriel Rosconi-Robertson: Alicia Little Memorial Bursary
Carol Sam: Guillaume LaRoche Memorial Bursary
