Giving Back...

Graduation is less than three months away and I’m getting excited. I feel very privileged to have had the opportunity to attend Ivey. Not only has it been an incredible academic and professional skill builder, but it has also been a builder on the personal front as well.

When you attend Ivey, there are a number of key buzzwords that seem to revolve around you day in and day both inside and outside the classroom: ‘alumni power’, ‘cross-enterprise leadership’,'leadership’, ‘integrity’, 'case-based method', ‘corporate social responsibility’ to name a few. These buzzwords are probably common in many schools, but at Ivey they are really engrained in you. You realize that these buzzwords form the foundation of all past and present Ivey graduates and that this foundation is a primary reason of why the alumni network is so strong, and why the Ivey brand is reputable.

As graduation is around the corner, I found it fitting to have come across a video narrated by Larry Rosen, CEO of Harry Rosen (a long standing Canadian menswear retailer). Mr. Rosen is an Ivey MBA grad and prominent spokesperson for the Ivey Alumni Society. Watching this video made me think about what it means to be apart of the Ivey Alumni society and how the school’s success has been largely based on a set of common qualities exhibited by most Ivey grads; that we share a common interest in being Ivey ambassadors for life, that we strive to be ethical leaders, and that we understand the importance of giving back to the school that has given us so much. If you have a minute watch the video.

I recently found out about an Ivey tradition called the “Ivey Class Gift Campaign.” In 2001, the MBA and HBA students at the time decided that they wanted to do something to give back to the school and show support for incoming students. They wanted to leave a legacy - Well they succeeded! That initiative has continued ever since and has been hugely successful. What inspires me most about it is the fact that it is completely student-driven, and that despite mountainous debt loads students still want to give back. Since 2001, outgoing MBA and HBA classes have given back over $180k and have initiated a number of improvement programs; setting up new scholarships for incoming students, improving the school’s furnishing, and constructing new lockers to name few. I find that inspirational.

As graduation is around the corner, I’m excited about graduating, I’m excited about taking the Ivey pledge and earning my Ivey Ring, I’m excited about becoming an Ivey alumnus and Ambassador for life, and I’m excited about taking part in the Ivey Gift Campaign and doing my part to continue this legacy of giving back to the school and to future students.