A Magazine for Alumni and Friends
Photography by Jordan Jocius
In addition to working as a partner at Bateman MacKay LLP, an accounting firm in Burlington, Ont., John Doma (BBA ’84) holds a special position with the Slovenian Consulate in Toronto. As Honorary Consul General for the Republic of Slovenia, Doma, the son of Slovenian immigrants, pays tribute to his heritage and gives back to a community in which he takes great pride. A former Golden Hawk soccer player, Doma also takes great pride in being a Laurier alumnus, something that runs deep in his family with his wife Margaret (BA ’86) and two of their four kids — Alex (BBA ’10) and Elena (BA ’12), along with Alex’s wife Monique DaSilva (BBA ’10) — also graduating from the university.
My official role is dictated by the Vienna Convention on Consuls. In Canada I am responsible for the interests of Slovenians. I also work on furthering commercial and economic relations between Slovenia and Canada. While I’m not a diplomat I work out of the shared premises with the Ambassadors Office in Toronto, as well as developing cultural and scientific relations. How did you end up in that position? I was selected by Canadian Slovenians and then approved by the Slovenian government. The process took six months. It was a long process requiring police checks and financial assessment.
It is my way of giving back to the community and the country my parents came from. I owe my success in my personal, family and business life to the exposure I received in the community. My parents instilled their values, which were learned in Slovenia, and passed them on to me.
Slovenian culture has been derived from years of occupation where they had to adapt to the ways and environment of the occupiers. This has promoted the importance of family and a sense of belonging. However, Slovenians are entrepreneurial and hard working.
The friendships and the lifelong lessons attained during my time at the school. In the business program we learned the importance of working in a team environment. We also learned to prioritize when we had numerous assignments with deadlines and exams within days of one another. Multi-tasking and organizing yourself was the only way to survive and this is part of my everyday life today.
The excellent business school and athletic spirit! The size was also important. I did not care for the larger school environment.
We were very pleased when they chose Laurier. We really felt the school is a great educational institution and a place for personal and life development.
I started late in life at 12 years old. I had a German-born neighbor who was a very passionate soccer supporter. I learned to enjoy the sport and developed fairly quickly and enjoyed all the relationships I developed through the years in the soccer community. I’ve been lucky to attend the (2004) Euro Cup in Portugal and the (2014) World Cup in Brazil.
I coached all four of our kids at one time or another and they all played at a rep level. My sons also played rep hockey and my daughters danced competitively. I played in a men’s league up to my mid-forties but had to give it up due to family and sport commitments.
Our team spirit and the support from the school and our fellow students, especially the other athletic teams, was inspirational. We had a real family feeling among the students and faculty.
It brought back memories as we were not expected to win the provincial title and neither was the 2008 team. His team came together under the guidance of a great coach, Mario Halapir, similar to our circumstances with Barry Lyons. Although, I will have to admit Alex had more of an impact on the 2008 team than I did in my year.
I was extremely nervous for the team and have to say it was nerve-racking to be the father of a player. Being passionate, it was tough for me to see the play, wanting at times to get on the field. Although I’ve tried playing with the kids in an old-timers’ game, I was quickly reminded my place was better suited in the stands.