Alumna Shannon Pestun brings down barriers through a gifting circle bursary
Mount Royal alumna Shannon Pestun knows firsthand that the generosity of others has the power to change lives.
That’s why it was particularly meaningful for Pestun to create the Gifting Circle Bursary for Indigenous Women in Entrepreneurship, aimed at supporting Indigenous women students studying business and entrepreneurship at MRU.
A Business Administration Diploma — Marketing Management graduate, Pestun is a proud Métis woman, advocate and entrepreneur who has dedicated her career and volunteer activities to advancing women’s entrepreneurship in Canada. Founder and CEO of Pestun Consulting Inc, she was previously the director of Women’s Entrepreneurship at ATB Financial and is a member of the Government of Canada’s Expert Panel for Women’s Entrepreneurship Strategy. The alumni representative on Mount Royal University’s Board of Governors (she is also a former employee), Pestun is also an advisory board member for the Women’s Entrepreneurship Day Organization (WEDO) in Canada and was instrumental in the planning of the first-ever, Canadian-based Women’s Entrepreneurship Day event, which MRU was selected to host in 2019.
Pestun’s passion is working to address the systemic barriers Indigenous women entrepreneurs face and uncovering sustainable economic opportunities where Indigenous women and entrepreneurs can thrive.
Facing obstacles is something Pestun knows a thing or two about. At age 16, Pestun’s life took a hard turn. She left home, dropped out of school and was working 15 hours a day to keep a roof over her head. When she looks back, she recounts the number of people who helped her get back on a better path, including her family and a boss who helped her go back to school to complete her high school education. “My life was influenced — maybe even saved — by the kindness and gifting of others; 30 years later, I continue to benefit from these gifts,” Pestun says.
“I’m grateful to be in a position now to pay that forward.”
Pestun worked closely with MRU to create the Gifting Circle Bursary. She says, “It was important to me that we used the concept of the gifting circle — an acknowledgment that it will be a community of people coming together to support the dreams and journeys of the Indigenous women who receive the bursary.”
With MRU students who receive a bursary being twice as likely to graduate, Pestun’s act will have a ripple effect for generations to come. “I'm excited to see the ways we can continue to change lives, together,” Pestun says.
Learn more about the Gifting Circle Bursary for Indigenous Women in Entrepreneurship.