A First Year’s Perspective: 14th Annual BASS Banquet

Despite feeling comfortable after a networking and business etiquette workshop only weeks before, I arrived at the Sheraton Wall Centre anxious for my first networking event: the 14th Annual BASS Banquet. The BASS Banquet is a signature event that brings industry professionals, faculty members, alumni, and undergraduate students together to recognize the impact of influential members of the community and their contributions to the Beedie School of Business. Furthermore, networking with potential employers and interacting with staff and other BBA candidates are opportunities provided at the event.

There was initial intimidation being a first year surrounded not only by more experienced students but also recruiters and Canadian business leaders. Due to this nervousness, I found one of the first items of the night, a brief period of stand-up networking, scary. Thus, I mainly stuck with friends who were apprehensive and excited like me. Although I was unproductive during the reception, once I began connecting with corporate representatives, I felt aspects of my professional life developing and slowly gained confidence to approach others first.

Along with their professional network, undergraduates had a chance to expand their social network. Within the following day, I received and sent a number of messages on social media sites including LinkedIn and Facebook. By doing this, I familiarized myself with colleagues I may work with on future projects. Because everyone who participated in the BASS Banquet is in the same field, attendees are likely to affiliate with each other again in their life at Beedie.

What I took away from the event was advice senior students gave on what they have learned throughout their academic and professional career. A conversation I had with a fourth year club executive stands out to me, I asked what suggestion they had for a leader in a team project where group members were passive and inefficient. What I interpreted from their answer was that as a leader, giving direction along with a “push” is required to get things going, which must be accepted even if things do not go the way one personally envisions them to. Conversing with fellow undergrads also helped me obtain insight on different career paths, advantages and disadvantages of certain programs, and personal feedback on past experiences.

In addition, experiencing what a networking reception was like gave me an idea of what to expect for future events involving externals. A common paradox among my peers is that experience is needed to get a job, and a job is needed to get experience. This reminds me that building networking skills for events comes from going to events to practice networking. The BASS Banquet is one of the many opportunities students may take advantage of to further their personal development.

Distinguishing oneself amongst a body of three-thousand four-hundred business students may seem difficult. I encourage going out there and doing something outside one’s comfort zone, as this can lead to finding the stepping stone in one’s career. Being a more quiet and inactive kid in high school, I can attest that I have learned there really is more to just being a university student that attends class and goes home. I now appreciate getting involved to give back to oneself and one’s community, and hope prospective and current students may recognize the value of experiencing more at the Beedie School of Business as well.

Madeleine is a first year student with an intended concentration in Accounting, she is taking on roles in ASA as an Internal Events Coordinator and a CRA CVITP Project Manager. With back-to-back course loads, leadership development programs/workshops, and the desire to go on exchange, she is looking forward to living out the “BEMore” motto in her upcoming terms. She enjoys reading and having movie marathons aside from juggling school, work, and everything else in between. Connect with Madeleine on LinkedIn or at mrcruz@sfu.ca.