Lorissa Chan leads a double life

Lorissa ChanWorking in the financial industry by day and teaching pilates at night; it’s not a common combination of careers, but it allows Lorissa Chan, BA’99, to stay involved in two worlds that are important to her.

Chan grew up dancing competitively, and she thought it might have been a possible career until an injury made the decision for her. But as the saying goes, when one door closes, another opens: part of her rehabilitation was taking pilates courses. From the first class, she was hooked. After finishing her French degree, she decided to become a teacher in the growing fitness trend. It’s not a trend to Chan, however.

“Pilates is a natural fitness regimen for a dancer, for anyone really,” she explains. “I like the focus it provides for practitioners to become more body aware. Because Pilates trains muscle systems rather than individual muscles, it’s a great way to achieve total body health.”

In between earning a degree in French and becoming a highly trained certified pilates instructor, Chan also worked towards a degree in management from the University of Lethbridge. So her day job pulls that from that education; Chan is an investment banking associate at Northern Securities. She helps junior oil and gas companies raise funds—works with them to determine their financial needs, deals with lawyers to get things off the ground, and even tag-teams with brokers. Despite the long hours the job sometimes requires, Chan says it actually offers her more balance than teaching pilates full time.

“The hours for teaching pilates full time almost always fall after regular work hours and on weekends,” says Chan. “That doesn’t leave me much time to actually see my family and friends.”

So Chan teaches pilates whenever time allows; she’s found doing workshops or creating personal training programs for clients from her home works the best. While it can be difficult to balance the two careers at times, Chan says she really enjoys both. The finance industry may be what pays the bills, but the connection she has with people through teaching is something she wants to keep as well.

“I’ve been teaching dance and pilates for over 10 years now, so it’s become a part of me.”

 

By Leslie Strudwick