We’re always hearing that young people are fleeing New Brunswick in search of jobs and opportunities elsewhere. And that’s true – but only to a point. Many of our “best and brightest”are determined to stay in New Brunswick to build careers and make things better.

Here are just a few of those smart young New Brunswickers to keep an eye out for:

Kjeld Conyers-Steede

Kjeld Conyers-Steede is a self-proclaimed dreamer, but he’s determined to make his dreams a reality.

The UNB Saint John political science/business student has a passion for youth empowerment and encouraging younger generations to be a voice for change in their communities. He’s currently working on creating a program that focuses on motivating high schools to think of solutions to key issues that affect Saint John youth.

Though the 20-year-old is from Smith’s Parish, Bermuda, Conyers-Steede quickly adopted Saint John as his new home. He says since moving to the city, his plans for the future changed.

“When I first started my education at UNB Saint John, I solely wanted to finish my Business Degree and work for a company,” he says. “Since being a part of UNB Students’ Representative Council and observing the New Brunswick Student Alliance, it has motivated me to change my degree to politics so I can have a better understanding of how I can change policies to ensure that citizens can have a productive life.”

So when he wraps up his degree in 2018, you can expect Conyers-Steede to stick around and do some pretty cool stuff.

“I have a saying that watch out for Saint John because in the next 15 years it will be making big strides for the province,” he says. “So my future plans are to help Saint John become that.

Nicola MacLeod

Nicola MacLeod is all about community development and telling good stories.

It’s a passion she discovered when she was hired as a summer intern at Ignite Fredericton after graduating from St. Thomas University’s journalism and communications program.

“Something kind of clicked when I was there and it was a bit of a lightbulb moment for me, realizing I could apply my skills to a compatible field I had never really considered,” she says. “Most liberal arts grads don’t go running for the door on graduation day deciding they’re going to go into business, but I was totally dazzled by the startups and all the great people I was meeting every day, and I wanted to just keep learning.”

Working with Ignite led her to become a lead organizer of Startup Weekend New Brunswick. She also sits on Fredericton’s Natural Resources and Startup Task Forces and does work with the Fredericton Chamber of Commerce and the STU Alumni Association. On top of that, she also just attended the first National Youth Leadership and Innovation Strategy Summit in Toronto.

“It feels great to ditch that defeatist attitude, pop it up on the shelf and tell our stories proudly,” she says. “I just want to be involved in everything where I can have a positive impact on our community, and I feel so lucky to be surrounded by so many great Maritimers who see things like I do.”

In March, MacLeod took her stellar storytelling abilities to a new marketing role with Remsoft Inc., where she says they have some interesting plans in the works.

“I’m so excited to be joining the Remsoft team to share the stories of all the incredible things they’ve been doing over the past decades,” she says. “They were a startup before startups were even a thing!”

Allie Beckwith

Allie Beckwith has a career many photographers dream of– and she’s only 22-years-old.

Beckwith has done features and editorials for publications like Vogue.it PhotoVogue, Tiffany & Co Online, FASHION.com and Buzzfeed, just to name a few. Her growing client list includes Allstate Insurance, Wear Your Label, Strong & Free Apparel, Howard Johnson, and many others. Safe to say, this girl is always on the go.

“I’m always working on a zillion different things, small and big,” she says. “I am primarily a fashion photographer and work away on different things with that every single day. I work with brands, designers and stores to help create content, look books & product shots. It’s a lot of fun and keeps me really busy.”

Beckwith recently joined forces with her cousin Katie Bell to create AKA DÉCOR, a line of interior decor that combines art, photography, poetry and design. The company just launched a line at Saint John’s TUCK Studio called “These Very Waters.” Beckwith says they hope to take AKA international.

“We can’t wait to be working with stores across the globe on artistic projects and production,” she says. “Right now, seeing what were once ideas come to life and into a retail space has been so inspiring. People are really open to exclusive lines and it helps us to stay inspired and constantly coming up with new ideas & visions.”

If you want to see Beckwith in action, you can catch her at the Art Battle regionals on June 11 in Saint John. You can also see what she’s up to on her blog.

Cameron Arsenault

Recent geological engineering graduate Cameron Arsenault wants to help people get places, and he’s getting places along the way.

Arsenault founded CanCross as a group project through the TME program at UNB with Scott Allen, Joshua White, Casey Glenen and Thomas Bird. The project was a reusable, modular bridge that is quick and easy to deploy. Since the product could have huge potential in markets such as disaster relief and forestry, the team went all-in to turn the idea into a reality.

CanCross went on to win the Impact Award at the TME Student Pitch Competition and first place at the National Bank Pitch Competition at YES Atlantic. CanCross is now participating in the Summer Institute program at UNB.

“I envision us taking our product across North America, while keeping close ties here in New Brunswick and Atlantic Canada,” Arsenault said. “We believe there is a better way to deal with issues such as road washouts and I see CanCross as the solution … we also see great potential for job creation here in New Brunswick to keep skilled labour in the province.”

Arsenault is passionate about being active and solving problems. He says he finds satisfaction in taking complex problems and not only solving them but automating the process to make similar problems easier to solve in the future.

“Through this startup journey with CanCross, I’ve realized how much I love the process of taking a vision and figuring out how to make it a reality … I can definitely see myself becoming a serial entrepreneur starting multiple businesses to solve multiple problems.”

Joanna Nickerson

Joanna Nickerson cares about work and businesses that make a difference in the community.

As social innovation manager at the Pond-Deshpande Centre (PDC), Nickerson works with entrepreneurs in the centre’s B4C Social Venture Accelerator. She first learned about the PDC in graduate school and was interested in what she saw as a better way to approach business.

“As my degree was coming to an end, I learned of a position available with PDC focusing on designing and building this social venture accelerator and it felt like fate,” Nickerson said. “I applied immediately and ended up getting the job. It was the only job I applied for after graduation. I recognized the importance of investing my time into a meaningful career and I wasn’t willing to settle for anything less.”

Nickerson is equally passionate about women in leadership. She is an advocate for equity and wants to encourage young women to pursue their dreams.

While working on her MBA at UNB, Nickerson was involved with Fredericton startup Doctor’s Orders and worked with Brilliant Labs and The Gaia Project. She says these experiences helped shape her perspective on experiential education and opportunity in New Brunswick.

Nickerson wants to continue to build B4C as one of the flagship social venture accelerators in Canada. She also wants to see New Brunswick establish itself as a world leader in social entrepreneurship.

“Overall I aspire to help people around me grow into their full potential. I believe New Brunswick is a special place and there are many opportunities here that are unique to our region. I love helping entrepreneurs who feel stuck or lost connect into our ecosystem and get the support they need.”

Jeff Morehouse

Jeff Morehouse describes rayZen, his new fundraising site exclusively for nonprofits, as his first legitimate business idea.

Morehouse came up with the idea after noticing local 50/50 draws having great success but wondered if there was a more efficient way to go about. He imagined that bringing all the work of running the draws, selling tickets, collecting tickets and advertising online would save time and effort for organizers.

With this idea, Morehouse got Rivers Corbett on board. Corbett then connected Morehouse with others who could make the dream a reality.

Once the online platform goes live, it will allow nonprofits of any size to host fundraising campaigns that center around games of chance.

“I have a great passion for helping others,” Morehouse said. “I guess helping others and entrepreneurship are in my blood. My mother has built a very successful hearing aid business that’s been going strong for over 30 years. I’ve had the opportunity to see hearing aids give people real happiness and quality of life.”

“I’ve been working for my mother’s company for a few years now but have always wanted to do something of my own. People call me crazy for leaving an established family business, but it just wasn’t for me.”

Morehouse hopes to make rayZen the number one gaming fundraising platform for nonprofits across the globe.

“If they need money and need it fast, they come to us and we take care of the rest.”