A natural leader

Kendrea Sicotte’s impact spreads far and wide across the Alberta School of Business. 

Over her busy four-year journey majoring in human resource management and contributing to countless clubs, case competitions, panels and mentorship opportunities, her proudest legacy lies in helping women across the university discover their leadership potential. 

We reached out to Sicotte and had the opportunity to hear her reflections on her undergraduate experience and learn about women who helped shape it.

Your list of extracurriculars is one to be admired. Where do you feel like you’ve made the biggest impact?

Definitely Women in Leadership (WiL), the student club I co-founded with two other amazing women while I was in the Peter Lougheed Leadership College. It’s a space for women and their allies to share their experiences in leadership through a host of events, including roundtable discussions, speaker panels and workshops.  

Our hope is to help women across the university unleash their leadership potential — it's incredible what can happen when you put a group of powerful, creative women in a room. 

I’m particularly proud of the $5,000 scholarship we raised this year. It wasn’t easy and took a lot of fundraising and sponsorship work. 

What inspired you to start WiL?

As part of a class assignment, I had to conduct gender gap research in leadership roles across the U of A’s faculties of Business, Science and Engineering. The disparity really stood out to me. For example, there’s never been a female dean in the Faculty of Business or Engineering. It eventually sparked my curiosity to see how these inequities translated to the student level. 

I also have to thank Cristina Stasia, one of my professors in the Peter Lougheed Leadership College. She saw how mine and Sammy Gardner’s (my WiL co-founder and co-chair) passions aligned and encouraged us to build something together.  

What quality stands out to you in a leader?      

Vulnerability. You need to be able to admit to your mistakes or when you’re not feeling 100%. It creates a space with honest and open communication and allows your team to feel comfortable coming to you. 

Who is a leader you look up to?

Sarah Chan, my mentor from the Peter Lougheed Leadership College. She’s supported me throughout the entire WiL process and even sits on our advisory board. She gives the most truthful, raw advice, and I’m thankful for everything she’s done for me. 

What’s next for you?

I just started a new role as a Student Engagement & Community Coordinator back at the School of Business — it feels like home! I’m looking forward to continuing doing what I love most: community building with students.

Sammy and I often joke about starting a business since we work so well together. We still need to get some work experience under our belts but I’m excited by the idea of entrepreneurship. I completed the Innovation & Entrepreneurship Certificate, so I’d like to put some of those skills into practice. Eventually, I’d also love to get my masters. Preferably, somewhere internationally, so I can travel too.