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Those employed in the insolvency and restructuring industry know how fortunate they are to be working in such a vibrant field, one that offers great potential for personal and career growth through daily interactions with the public, creditors, government authorities and lawyers – just to mention a few. But a career in insolvency and restructuring is not for the faint at heart. Insolvency Practitioners wear many hats, often all at once. My story (and my career) began in late 1997 when I joined a boutique firm of Trustees in Bankruptcy. As a newly minted graduate of the University of Toronto, I had just returned to Canada after a two-year teaching stint in Greece. I was desperate for a paycheque and extremely fortunate to have an offer of employment with a Trustee firm, albeit at the lowest level imaginable. Yet, I was very grateful. It wasn't the job title that mattered to me, but rather the opportunity to engage myself in a new, exciting – and at times intimidating – industry about which I knew absolutely nothing. I recall moments of humour, such as the time I was asked by the Trustee to call the “OR”.  Being a new recruit and not knowing the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (BIA), nor its terminology, I panicked. My response? “Which hospital am I calling and who’s in the operating room?” Thankfully, there was no surgery involved – the “OR” in question was the Official Receiver at Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy. Throughout my career, I have been fortunate to have worked with brilliant-minded insolvency practitioners who truly care about the work they do in helping and educating the public at large. They taught me that it's not what you know in getting to the top that's important – it’s what you do with that knowledge when you get there. They inspired me to think outside the box, embrace challenges and to do good for society.  These same practitioners later became my mentors in the CAIRP National Insolvency Qualification Program. Having more than a decade of first-hand experience in administering hundreds of consumer bankruptcy estates (and a few corporate files), I can say that I have encountered and learned a tremendous amount about the responsibilities and importance of the work of an insolvency practitioner. From conversations with both consumer and corporate debtors about the causes and challenges of their financial distress, I've seen that we cannot underestimate nor take for granted the great degree of confidence and trust that debtors (and creditors) place in Canada's insolvency practitioners. In 2014, it was once again time for a new challenge. I embarked on the LLM program in Bankruptcy and Insolvency Law at Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto. I look forward to being educated by Osgoode's world renowned professors on the workings of the BIA and the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) and in some cases, the much needed reform of the two Acts. Please join me here on CAIRPblog, where I will periodically share my experiences in the fascinating world of insolvency law! Mary Plahouras has been with MNP’s Insolvency & Restructuring Group in Toronto for more than 14 years. She is currently completing her LLM in Bankruptcy and Insolvency Law at Osgoode Hall Law School, York University.