Throughout my university career, I’ve always strived to become the best person I can be. That’s why I believed that entering the Schulich RISE competition would not only help me work towards this goal but also provide me with learning opportunities and a great experience.
I think that participating in and winning the Schulich RISE business strategies case competition has showed me the benefits of pushing myself outside of my comfort zone and being confident in my abilities!
…What a wild ride!
The RISE competition is Schulich's multi-disciplinary case competition, in which delegates compete in a case simulation in a discipline of their choice and present it to industry professionals. The 5 disciplines that teams competed in were: Accounting, Corporate Social Responsibility, Entrepreneurship, Marketing, and Strategy. My team participated in the corporate social responsibility discipline.
This year’s Accounting and Finance Orientation Week (AFOW) was the most difficult one we’ve hosted, but, with the combined effort from all of our 17 members, we successfully overcame many challenges.
This year, one of my favorite segments of Co-op Ready was Nailing the Interview with Dinesh Balakrishnan. Not only did he have some amazing tips, but he made sure to keep the audience engaged throughout the segment. As a very informed professional, he provided us with great insights, as most of us work hard on our applications but rarely do we think ahead about the interview process.
Making a lasting impression during the interview is key!
Attending this workshop was helpful because I was able to analyze my character traits more in-depth and establish what my strengths are. Coming out of Steps to a Successful Co-op I feel that I have a better grasp on how I work best, what my strengths are, and how I can be successful in my co-op work term!
Shortly after graduating from the University of Waterloo, I began my full-time career in the investment banking group at TD Securities. I obtained this opportunity thanks to the University of Waterloo’s fantastic co-op program,
The most important lesson I learned, however, was not that teamwork leads to winning, but that teamwork leads to progress. I am very happy to have won the competition but am even more ecstatic to have done so alongside my hard-working team members.