How Glendon Nurtured Emily Allen’s Entrepreneurial Dreams

“Do what’s important, not what’s urgent.”

When Emily Allen attended Glendon College, these words from Professor Jennifer Sipos-Smith helped her gain much-needed perspective.

“The advice was fitting for me because I spent so much time on school work, often ‘spinning my wheels’,” Emily recalls. “I needed to remember what was really important. More times than not, it was not the same as what was urgent.”

It’s advice that served her well as she navigated her undergraduate studies and the experiences that came with it. During her time at Glendon, she provided advice to incoming students as a JumpStart panelist. She participated in the planning, marketing, and unveiling of the Centre of Excellence. And she won second place in the Glendon Art Gallery Visual Arts Competition for her piece “la petite robe bleu.”

In 2018, she founded All Abstract Art Company, an event company that describes itself as “a mix between axe throwing and paint night.” Attendees throw paint-filled eggshells at canvases as a way to relieve stress and have fun – with the added benefit of a nice, self-made piece of art.

The idea for All Abstract came to Emily when she was approaching graduation and trying to figure out next steps. She recalled one summer when she was going through what she says was an “identity crisis” after ending her career as a competitive figure skater. An activity that helped her manage that transition was throwing paint-filled egg shells in her backyard.

“I have always enjoyed doing art and experimenting with different methods of creating unique pieces,” she explained. “I thought back to this moment I had in the backyard and how much it helped me. I made the connection that there is nothing else like this out there that people can easily experience.”

Entrepreneurship is a family affair. Both her parents are business owners whose work ethic she admired growing up. After leaving Glendon, she started a one-year post-graduate certificate program at George Brown in Small Business & Entrepreneurship where she turned her business vision into reality. In 2020, she plans to enter a two-year Graphic Design program at Seneca to further enhance All Abstract’s visual brand. She says her time at Glendon helped her with the personal foundation to become the entrepreneur she is today.

“The opportunities I gained from being at Glendon helped me understand my strengths and characteristics that would help lead me through navigating entrepreneurship. And through my studies in sociology, I learned about people and groups and interactions. This greatly helped my ability to understand what people want and the drivers behind various generations.”

Like most Glendon alumni, she fondly recalls the sense of community and inclusiveness on campus.

“Glendon, being a small school with a close-knit environment, allowed me the chance to learn, engage in social activities, make connections and network with peers and professors and grow up in a well-rounded and positive way.”

In addition to enriching her academic and professional life, Glendon also had a special impact on her personal life as well.

“I met my long-term boyfriend in a leadership class after doing a project together.”

As far as what the future holds, Emily’s not too concerned. She’s happy to find out when she gets there.

“I don’t know where life will take me but I am open to all opportunities that come my way. You could say, I’m excited about the unknown of the future because I know it’s full of amazing possibilities.”

 

Neya Abdi, BA’16 International Studies
Published in December 2019