Ciaran McGovern

Before starting my journey at Ivey, I finished my undergraduate degree at University of Calgary in Greek and Roman Studies. After that, I travelled all over the world as a professional volleyball player. I represented Canada for a total of eight years and played professionally overseas. With our national team, I played in major multi-sport games including FISU games and Pan-American games in 2011. Professionally, I played most of my seasons in the German Bundesliga and finished in 3rd place with the SWD Powervolley’s in my final season.

During my final season I started working for a fitness/tech startup called Fitset doing business development and marketing. It was a small, yet dynamic, team working closely together. That experience opened my eyes to the business world and I decided that when I finished playing I wanted to pursue an MBA.

I chose Ivey for three key reasons that are important to me. Teamwork, practicality, and leadership. At Ivey, it feels like you are working in one big team. I have been a teammate my entire life and I wanted to continue to make the people around me better. There is a wealth of different backgrounds and highly motivated people all in a competitive, yet cooperative, environment. From the support staff to the alumni, Ivey’s brand and process is unmatched. The Case-Method of Learning was the most practical way that I could intake all of the information. The Ivey Case-Method uses scenario-based learning (often based on real companies) for students to assess and make strategic decisions. This empowers students to take charge, make decisions, and gives students the tools to lead.