StFX students Sydney Grant and Nicole Ferguson says it's been a deeply rewarding and fulfilling experience to pursue academic passions and work on independent research that directly relates to their future aspirations, all thanks to receiving the 2025 Schwartz Business School Research Internship Award.
The $9,000 awards provide opportunity for students from StFX's Gerald Schwartz School of Business to conduct business-related summer research work under the supervision of a faculty member.
L-r, Nicole Ferguson and Sydney Grant, 2025 Schwartz Business School Research Internship Award recipients
Ms. Grant of Fredericton, NB, a fourth year honours finance student, worked closely with her supervisor Dr. Bhavik Parikh on a research project that looks at how quantitative tightening affects stock market liquidity.
Ms. Ferguson, also of Fredericton, NB, and supervised by Dr. Jonathan Hood, began her honours research project on women in sport leadership, with a particular focus on mothers and how motherhood affects their career trajectories. She is a fourth year honours management and leadership major, also completing a minor in sports management.
DIRECTLY CORRELATES TO MY FUTURE ASPIRATIONS
"What I find most special about this project is that it directly correlates to my future aspirations. Ever since I was younger, my life has been centred around sport. I was a full-time competitive athlete, as were my two older brothers, so having a career in this field has been my dream. I want to contribute to the sports industry in a meaningful way, with the hope that I can pave a path and show aspiring women that our gender should not have a negative impact on our goals," says Ms. Ferguson.
This project has given her a clearer sense of the kind of leader she wants to become.
"It is preparing me to enter a masculine-dominated field with a deeper awareness of the challenges women face, as well as strategies for navigating them. Overall, this research will help me represent myself as a thoughtful, qualified candidate who wants to contribute to lasting change in sport."
Leadership in the context of her work can be defined by any executive position in the sports industry, such as coaches, general managers, team owners, presidents and vice presidents of sports organizations, she says.
"Conducting research and exploring various articles ignited something in me that I hadn't felt before. I am incredibly grateful to have been given the chance to explore an industry that I care deeply about and that I hope to better understand so that I can spread awareness."
~ 2025 Schwartz Business School Research Internship Award recipient Nicole Ferguson
Over the last few months, she's read relevant articles and reviewed a wide range of academic literature that explored the pathways women take into leadership, the barriers they face, and how gendered expectations shape their experiences. Her primary goal was to learn how to effectively read scientific articles to gather information to begin research in the fall and winter terms, and to better understand why women, especially mothers, are so underrepresented in leadership positions in sport, and to explore the cultural and structural changes that are needed to address these inequities.
"Ultimately, I want my research to highlight not only the challenges but also potential strategies to create a more inclusive environment for future generations of women leaders in sport."
DIVE DEEPER INTO MOTHERHOOD AND SPORT
After reading articles structured in a touching, storytelling format, she says she immediately wanted to dive deeper into motherhood and how the demands of being a mother affect women's careers in sport.
So far, one key insight from her research is that motherhood is often treated as incompatible with leadership in sport organizations. "The literature shows that mothers are frequently seen as less committed, due to their responsibilities both at work and at home. They also possess more nurturing, caregiving qualities that are perceived as not aligning with the leader' prototype. These findings reinforce the idea that sport leadership is still built around a male norm that favours authoritative qualities over caregiving qualities."
Something that stood out was how consistent the stories are across different countries and sports. Whether in New Zealand, North America, or the UK, women in leadership describe the same kinds of challenges, she says. "It made me realize that these are not individual problems, but systemic ones that reflect gender biases in sport leadership."
The next steps in her project will dig deeper into these issues by reviewing more literature and conducting interviews with women leaders in sport to capture their lived experiences.
"This experience was unique for me, because I had felt so disconnected from StFX after my semester abroad in Lyon, France, from January to April 2025. I felt like this research journey helped me transition back to StFX student life, and it made me excited to go back to Antigonish. Conducting research and exploring various articles ignited something in me that I hadn't felt before. I am incredibly grateful to have been given the chance to explore an industry that I care deeply about and that I hope to better understand so that I can spread awareness."
Ms. Ferguson says this research has been particularly meaningful as it connects to her personal identity as an athlete and her career aspirations. "This project has given me the opportunity to learn from women who have already broken barriers and to analyze the structures that hold others back. It feels like both an academic pursuit and a personal mission to make sport leadership more equitable."
PUSHED ME TO GROW, INCREDIBLY MEANINGFUL
Ms. Grant says this opportunity has truly pushed her to grow and step outside of her comfort zone. "It has been incredibly meaningful to take ownership of a project that reflects my interests, and it's something I can be proud of and potentially build on in the future.
"It has been a demanding but fulfilling experience, and I would absolutely encourage other students to consider doing honours. It is a chance to push yourself, explore a topic you care about, and create something that is truly your own."
~ 2025 Schwartz Business School Research Internship Award recipient Sydney Grant
"Contributing to academic literature at this stage in my education is not only rare but also deeply rewarding. Throughout the process, I've gained skills that will stay with me both academically and professionally, and I've grown more confident in my ability to take on complex challenges. It has been a demanding but fulfilling experience, and I would absolutely encourage other students to consider doing honours. It is a chance to push yourself, explore a topic you care about, and create something that is truly your own."
With support from the award, she was able to dedicate the summer to collecting and analyzing data. Using the school's Refinitiv DataStream platform, she gathered a large dataset covering U.S. and Canadian equities.
"From there, we spent a lot of time coding and cleaning the data to make sure it was accurate and exactly what we needed. Alongside the data work, I continued expanding my literature review to better understand the current academic conversation around my topic. It's been a rewarding experience, and I'm proud of the progress I've made. The research is still ongoing, but I'm very satisfied with how far it's come this summer."
Most of the data has been processed and the next step is to interpret it and draw meaningful conclusions. "Once we complete the full analysis, we'll have a clearer picture of how quantitative tightening impacts stock market liquidity. I'm looking forward to seeing the final results and presenting them later in the year," she says.
"It was exciting to see academic concepts come to life through real-world data. I also learned a great deal from working alongside my advisor. He challenged me to think more critically and helped guide me through my first hands-on experience with financial data. His mentorship has been a key part of my growth during this project."
Whether she chooses to pursue graduate school or a career in finance, she says this project has given her a competitive edge, especially as opportunities like this are rare at the undergraduate level. "I'm incredibly grateful for the experience, as it has shown me what I'm truly capable of and will stand out to future employers."
