The BASS Banquet is an annual event that brings together undergraduate students, alumni, faculty members, and corporate representatives to highlight the breadth of activities, initiatives and successes at the Beedie School of Business. Students also have the opportunity to network with representatives from Vancouver’s top companies.
The BASS Banquet incorporates a different theme each year, and this year ‘s theme was easy to determine , as it is ubiquitous in the Beedie community. The theme was “Giving Back”.
“Giving Back” is embedded in the lives of anyone associated with the Beedie School of Business. Whether its students volunteering their time in clubs and initiatives, alumni coming back to coach and mentor students, industry partners making time to share their resources and experiences or faculty who teach and support students in their endeavors, giving back is a large part of the Beedie community.
To recognize some of these individuals, the Student Impact Award is given annually to a student who not only excels in their academics and extracurricular involvement, but also in their dedication to humanitarian work. Ravneet Dhaliwal was the recipient for this year’s award, who founded a low-cost tutoring service called Math4me, for elementary and high school students, which has impacted over 3500 students since opening in 2010.
This year’s BASS Banquet also included the inauguration of the Alumni Impact Award, which awarded an alumnus for their exceptional contributions that inspire and benefit both current Beedie students, and the alumni community. Jasmine Cumberland became the first recipient of the award, who was recognized for her ongoing work in supporting numerous student initiatives, as well as developing Target Canada’s first nationwide co-op program that employed Beedie students in its inaugural year.
In addition, parents of the BASS Executive Team attended the event as special guests. In line with the evening’s theme, it was an opportunity to give back and thank the individuals who have provided us with countless opportunities through their love and support.
Furthermore, being part of the BASS team that organized the event was truly an experience of its own. There’s something to be said about witnessing your five months of planning coming to fruition in the form of smiles and laughter from attendees all throughout the night. But the most valuable memories and experiences don’t come from seeing your event through, it comes from the struggles and challenges in the months of hard work leading up to the event.
Be it the intricacies in organizing an evening banquet for over 200 attendees, the pressure in knowing there are multiple distinguished guests attending, or the difficulty in coordinating with 25 team members is through this journey of teamwork and persistence that makes getting involved rewarding.
Being part of BASS for the past year has meant making a difference in the lives of Beedie students, but also opening many doors for personal development and new experiences. One of the best pieces of advice I’ve received is that success comes with luck, but you have to put yourself in a position to be lucky. To all prospective and current students, there is no time like the present to put yourself in that position. Get involved, and be amazed by how your story unfolds.
From the Beedie Newsroom: BBA Ravneet Dhaliwal receives BASS Student Impact Award
Jeremy is a 4th year student who is highly engaged in the Beedie community. Over the years, he has held leadership positions with a variety of student clubs and organizations, including being the VP Marketing & Communications for BASS. His current challenge is leading the SFU JDC West team as Co-Captain, as the team is shooting for nothing short of 2015 School of the Year. Jeremy is also part of the co-op program, where he has worked in marketing communications for a tech startup called OneClass (formerly Notesolution), as well as in corporate communications for the software giant SAP.