Beyond just business

Richard Shapka, ‘69 BCom, realizes that students today face different challenges than he did when he attended the University of Alberta.

Shapka’s parents moved away from Edmonton when he first started his studies, and so at the age of 18, he experienced his first taste of significant independence as he managed life on his own. During this time, he lived on campus, made lifelong friends and attended many social events, while working hard both at school and various part-time and summer jobs. He cleaned carpets, worked on survey crews and worked on construction sites all over Alberta. 

“As much as I had to work going through [school], I didn’t come out with a lot of debt. Now, with the tuition fees, and the debt some are coming out with, they are challenged because of that. And so again it’s different today,” says Shapka. He also acknowledges there were many jobs available for recent graduates of 1969; it’s a reality he says is not necessarily the case today. 

Shapka’s career took him from Edmonton to Toronto, then Calgary, Vancouver and eventually England. He’s worked for many high-profile companies including Northern Telecom Limited, Finning Canada and Finning UK. While working in Toronto, he completed an executive MBA and then taught at the University of Toronto. His work involved human resources components, finance, business strategy development and dealing with acquisitions and mergers. 

During the mid-80s, Shapka was experiencing success and wanted to give back to the U of A, acknowledging the role it played in that success. He continued to donate in various capacities until 2020 when Shapka created the Richard B. Shapka Bursary, a scholarship to support business students in financial need, including those who may have come to U of A as refugees. Shapka liked the idea of having specific funds to allocate for those who could use it most.

Iman Migane, received the bursary last year and says the finances made a huge difference in her life as a student. She plans to obtain a masters in business administration in the future. 

“I found that life was very, very expensive. So before the bursary, it was very stressful. I was always worrying about bills,” she says. “I think that the funds really help students like me to really focus on school and be the best that we can at school.”

Dima Razluchnyi agrees. When the war in Ukraine started, Canada offered a special Visa for Ukrainians and Razluchnyi was among them. He’s now in his third year at the Alberta School of Business. Razluchnyi had some savings to help cover his first year, but he did not know whether he’d be able to stay for a second year as those savings dwindled. He spent a lot of time searching for financial resources or finding alternative options for basic needs.

Receiving the Richard B. Shapka Bursary meant he could stay and continue his studies without worrying about his living expenses. 

“I didn’t have a sense of certainty in my tomorrow, and that’s why [this bursary] was really helpful,” says Razluchnyi. “It was not just about the money; it’s about the inner feeling and confidence that you don’t have to look for a job to cover these fees.”

Now, he could just focus on studying. And it paid off — his GPA rose from a 3.1 in his first year to a 3.8 in the second.

It’s not the first time Shapka’s helped those from other countries—when the war in Ukraine first started, he got involved with Help Ukraine Vancouver Island (HUVI), a volunteer-led organization helping displaced Ukrainians. With HUVI, he connected Ukrainian individuals and families with host families in Victoria and Vancouver Island. 

“People in my view who want an education and need help… the private sector should step up. I worked in the private sector and feel an obligation to give people a hand up,” he says. “This bursary along with Help Ukraine Vancouver Island helps to accomplish that.” He also plans to leave an ongoing gift in his will to the U of A’s School of Business. 

After his retirement, Shapka moved to Victoria, BC, where he is pursuing a life-long interest in art and photography. He completed diploma programs in photography (Focal Point) and art history (UBC), was a board member of the Canadian Association for Photographic Art (CAPA) for many years and now acts as a CAPA-certified judge. 

His wife, Donna, is also a photographer and their work has appeared at the ArtSea Gallery in Sidney, BC. Over a four-year period, they completed a stunning project capturing the images of hummingbirds that travel to Cranbrook from Mexico and southern U.S. each spring to breed. And over the past six years, Shapka’s been working on a photography project with grizzly bears. 

Shapka has experienced the joy that comes with exploring his passions in both the business and art worlds, and he hopes that providing financial assistance to current students will give them the chance to focus on and fulfill their own dreams and eventually give back as well.