Portrait of Céline Vincent, Administrative Officer

Tell us a little about yourself.

After obtaining a Diploma of Collegial Studies in Administrative Techniques, I landed my first job with a stockbroker.

I then went on to work for Fruits & Passion, a manufacturer of body care and ambiance products that expanded significantly both in Québec and abroad.

Following the sale of the company, I chose Polytechnique Montréal for its international reputation as a French-speaking engineering school, and to support students in their academic careers.

I also took advantage of an opportunity to work in sustainable development when I landed a job as a treasury technician at Boralex, a developer and operator of wind farms.

When the administrative officer position came up at Institut TransMedTech, I rediscovered my sense of belonging to Polytechnique.

What is your mission/role at iTMT?

My role is to contribute to the smooth day-to-day running of financial operations and to support students in the management of their grants (study, mobility and start-up funds).

Describe a day when you have just had the best working day of your life. What was it about that day that made you so happy?

Among other things, it was my first day at Fruits & Passion, where I sent in my unsolicited application. And for 17 years, it brought me great happiness at a time when I had my two children and because the company was located some 5 minutes from my home.

I was also delighted when I got my employee card from Polytechnique Montréal! Rubbing shoulders with mechanical and aerospace engineering students and professors reminded me of the passion my dad had passed on to me for these two fields.

At TransMedTech, every day is a good day at work. That’s when I take on my role within this ambitious structure that orchestrates an innovation ecosystem where medical technologies are developed to improve people’s health.

What are your values at work and in life in general?

There’s one that’s more important than the others. It keeps me from going overboard, it calms my mental health, it contributes to my concentration and good decision-making, and it helps me balance my physical training – it’s BALANCE. It provides me with reading time during commuting to and from work, and it gives me opportunities to learn about condominium management, life cycle analysis or the principles of airplane flight (MOOC online training).

There are different ways of looking at success. What would that be for you?

It’s certainly not measurable or attributable to an amount of money or a quantity of material stuff. It’s having passed on the values of voluntary simplicity to my children, along with my partner of 40 years. They made life choices in their own image when they settled in the region.

Catherine is a new market-gardener entrepreneur on an innovative, small-scale organic farm. She is proving her ability to work in a tough and physically demanding field. She is well supported by her husband and by ambitious women who are working to strengthen this type of farming in Québec. Mathieu is a passionate brewer at a much-visited microbrewery, where he can showcase his talents as a “creator of tastes”. He rubs shoulders with the founders of the province’s microbrewery movement.

We’re always thrilled to support them in their projects; they’re proof of our success.

What did you dream of doing as a child?

I remember that I loved playing “in a store” and operating a cash register. It was during my high school years that my aptitude and passion for mathematics and computers made me realize that I could have a career in both fields. I’m constantly impressed by the ability of computer systems to manage our banking transactions, online mapping data or real-time air traffic tracking.

Who inspires you and why?

Not just one person, but many. They are the ones who give us hope and optimism, the ones who have ambitions and influence equal to the challenges facing our society. They are the scientists in the energy transition environment who guide us on our environmental priorities, or those who have so much to teach us about health solutions. They are entrepreneurs who take risks and hire people who will grow and bring new ideas to the table.

To my husband and I, they are our parents and grandparents, as they have shown us the way: justice, respect and mutual aid, the entrepreneurial spirit. They enabled the women in our respective families, each in their own time, to blossom and become pioneers in their own way.

What reading(s) would you recommend?

When on vacation: Tout le bleu du ciel – Mélissa Da Costa Living in a Condominium: Le Condo: tout ce qu’il faut savoir, 2e éd. – Yves Joli-cœur / Yves Papineau To interpret the state of the world: Factfulness: why the world is better than you think / Hans Rosling

Source :
Géraldine Dumesnil
Communication Services, Institut TransMedTech
geraldine.dumesnil@polymtl.ca