Breaking barriers: How two DeGroote students are transforming business and social change

Nicole Rakowski and Julia Vo are two exceptional individuals whose groundbreaking work is transforming the worlds of business, health and advocacy. Nicole, a distinguished doctoral candidate in Health Management at the DeGroote School of Business and co-founder of Fitsentive, is changing the fitness landscape with her free app that offers accessible, personalized wellness solutions. Recognized as one of NYC Journal’s Top 40 Under 40 in 2024, Nicole’s passion for bodybuilding and her commitment to helping others overcome both physical and mental obstacles have solidified her as a global leader. She was recently nominated for the 2025 YWCA Women of Distinction Award in the Innovation in Business category.

Similarly, Julia, now in her third year at McMaster’s Integrated Business and Humanities program, is a powerful advocate for social change and student leadership. Nominated for the 2025 YWCA Women of Distinction Award in the Young Trailblazer category, she is driving essential conversations around mental health and homelessness as vice president of advocacy for the DeGroote Commerce Society. Alongside her advocacy work, Julia serves as a marketing coordinator for the Canadian Marketing League, which is Canada’s largest marketing case competition.

Together, these two inspiring women are shattering barriers in their industries, leading by example with their dedication to creating a healthier, more inclusive world. They recently came together to discuss their nominations for the 2025 YWCA Women of Distinction Awards, share their career insights and offer advice to aspiring women looking to make their mark and achieve success in their fields.

Here are some key excerpts from their conversation. To hear the full interview, check it out on YouTube:

Julia: You’ve talked about how you have these different interests and been on different career paths. Could you share a little bit about your journey, and how you got to where you are today?

Nicole: So, with my journey, I’ll talk about the fitness industry because, with this YWCA award that we’re both nominated for, my personal category is business and innovation. Within that, there’s the actual fitness app and some other different fitness challenges that I’ve helped individuals overcome that’s sort of created this nomination.

My journey in the fitness industry has been both challenging and rewarding. The biggest spike, I would say, all began with a life changing accident that I had in Iceland in 2017, where I sustained severe burns. This traumatic experience really forced me to reevaluate my approach to health and wellness. It was during this recovery that I realized the importance of physical fitness and mental resilience, which became the foundation of my passion for the fitness industry. I was determined to turn my experience into something positive. So, I became a co-founder of Fitsentive.

But, really, it’s Zack Magerman, who’s the massive brainchild behind this. I’ve helped him work towards this platform that’s designed to transform users with their fitness journeys and empower trainers to be able to host videos on the app.

Julia: What a beautiful and inspiring story! I like hearing that story and the amount of resilience you have.

Nicole: Well, thank you so much! I’d be curious to know, looking back, what has been your proudest achievement so far? I know you’ve accomplished so much at such a young age, and you’re so driven yourself. What would you say has been your proudest achievement so far?

Julia: A lot of my passion lies within EDI (equity, diversity and inclusion), and understanding how important it is to see yourself represented, while also giving back to the community. My proudest achievement so far is when I recently hosted an event in collaboration with another student club here at McMaster called ‘Her Campus’. We packaged 100 boxes of essential feminine hygiene products and hidden notes and donated them to the Interval House and Native Women’s Centre shelter.

It was for a campaign to raise awareness about homelessness. A lot of these campaigns have a lot of [call-to-action for] non-perishable food items, which again, are amazing. But what often gets overlooked are the feminine hygiene products that women need at these shelters.

Julia: It’s Women’s History Month. You’re an incredible and inspiring woman. What do you think is the importance of recognizing women and celebrating women’s achievements? And how does International Women’s Day play into that conversation?

Nicole: I think there’s a lot in terms of believing in yourself, embracing challenges, empowering women to have this strong support network. Confidence is really key. Many women and men lack confidence. I always try and tell individuals that they need to trust in their abilities and the unique perspectives they bring to the table. Self-doubt can be a significant barrier. But believing in oneself is really an empowering tool that individuals can take on to challenge and seize any opportunity. It’s important to remember that you are capable and deserving of success.

The statistics are still shocking sometimes, in terms of knowing how many women are still not in parliamentary positions; how different areas around the world value women as less than dirt, for a lack of a better term. So, I think it’s [important] to continue to have those conversations, empowering those women who have achieved amazing milestones, but also those who may not have, just empowering them as humans at the end of the day.

Julia: I do completely agree. Also, recognizing women’s achievement provides that visibility. When we highlight the success of women, we’re not just acknowledging their work, but we’re paving the way to show other people what is possible. I think it’s so powerful when you see a woman up there—in a place that you’ve been told that is not possible to do so. It’s really a great way to show that anything is possible.

Nicole: One hundred per cent! Is there any advice that you would give to others in similar roles, especially within female or women leadership?

Julia: I’d say a big issue I’ve experienced as a woman in these leadership positions is that sometimes people do not think I am credible, or my opinions aren’t as valid.

Nicole: Yeah, I think that’s incredible and very strong to say, for sure.

Julia: How do you think we can create more opportunities for women in business?

Nicole: I think creating more opportunities for women in business really involves fostering inclusive workplaces, providing different mentorship programs and advocating for specific policies that really drive and support work-life balance. It’s also important to celebrate and promote the achievements of women to inspire others and drive that change. We sometimes still have those associations between women and male roles within community and society. It’s really about how do we sometimes change that paradigm to shift the focus to having that work life balance, while understanding how far it is that we’ve come.

Also, a lot of individuals do not understand that women only hold about 29 per cent of senior management roles worldwide; in Fortune 500 companies, only around eight per cent of CEOs are women. That still speaks volumes and what still needs to happen.

Julia: I love the idea of being able to celebrate how far we’ve come but also recognizing how much work we’re able to do, especially, what you mentioned with the stats. I think it’s great to see women in leadership, but absolutely in the future, I hope we can double or even triple that number.