Former Enactus president wins top prize in national competition | St. Clair College
Tuesday, June 2, 2020
Sierra Scott, the president of St. Clair’s Enactus team, recently emerged as the winner of the award, beating students from across Canada for the top prize, which comes with a $2,500 grant to pursue future goals and $5,000 for the school’s Enactus team.
Sierra Scott

A St. Clair College business graduate has been awarded the prestigious HSBC Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership Award in recognition of her work with Enactus, the global organization affiliated with college and university campuses throughout the world.

Sierra Scott, the president of St. Clair’s Enactus team, recently emerged as the winner of the award, beating students from across Canada for the top prize, which comes with a $2,500 grant to pursue future goals and $5,000 for the school’s Enactus team.

Scott, 21, just completed her final year in Business Finance and has been a member of St. Clair College’s Enactus team since the group was first established three years ago. The Enactus organization mobilizes post-secondary students from across the globe to make a difference in their communities while developing skills to become socially responsible business leaders.

The list of top applicants for the HSBC award was whittled down to 50 and then further to six. Five of the six were runners up and Scott won the top award for her vision, leadership and the use of business concepts to improve the quality of life and standard of living for others.

“It just shows how outstanding she is in a field of dynamic leaders in our country,” said Michael Spadotto, St. Clair Enactus’s faculty advisor. “These are up and coming stars and she’s at the top of it.”

During her tenure with St. Clair’s Enactus team, Scott was instrumental in leading projects that helped inspire others to “embark on their own journeys,” she said.

She helped establish a project called InterAct, which provides employment and financial literacy opportunities to international students. She collaborated with Fashion Design students and a second-hand resale store to “upcycle” textile waste that was being discarded by fast fashion to  create fidget blankets for people with Alzheimer’s Disease. She spent three months volunteering in Indonesia with a non-profit group, teaching business and leadership skills. Closer to home, she helped organize an entrepreneurship day for high school students and got them thinking about sustainable business practices, leading to 18 product ideas from the secondary school participants.

In her letter to the HSBC judges, Scott said she believes “that on anyone’s journey to create change or start their own venture it is not what you do but what you can do for others. It’s the relationships and partners that you gain and nurture that push you forward.

“It’s this mentality that shapes who I am and my vision for the future.”

Spadotto described Scott as a “genuine leader.”

“She is a young woman who is always thinking about others, who is always looking to try something new, to engage others, to build new things and to build on new ideas. She has that drive to grow projects and to achieve success.”

Scott will also be mentored for one year by an HSBC leader, who will provide guidance and direction as she embarks on her future goals.

Scott hopes to develop a start-up that helps other companies brand themselves. She calls it Branded On Purpose, and the idea is to help companies find a meaningful purpose that will drive them to succeed in business and increase their impact in the community.

“I really want to focus on helping in terms of strategy when it comes to branding and marketing and design,” Scott said. “But I also want to help social enterprises that want to create environmental change or help people figure out how they can adjust their business model.”