Are you a graduate student that wants to get involved and stand out from the crowd? Then you’ve probably talked to current MBA student Tashfin Bashar, current president of the Graduate Business Council (GBC). Tashfin, with the help of his fellow executives, has had a busy year, as the GBC has organized the teams for case competitions, held networking events and gotten involved in the local Niagara community. During our Q & A, Tashfin shared his thoughts about the GBC, his future plans and how to balance life and school.
Why did you decide to get involved with the GBC?
Our new Goodman brand is growing fast in the graduate education community in Ontario. As part of Goodman is it GBC’s obligation to help our students put their collaborated effort to further our school’s brand. I strongly believe that all of our Goodman students have the skill set necessary to be successful, however, they lack the time to get involved. By taking a leadership role through GBC I wanted to set an example and help students understand the extent of possibilities that they can all achieve through their collaborated efforts. I thus wanted to take the challenge and help my colleagues create a platform to establish the Goodman brand.
The MBA program is intense and you have also put a lot of time into your role as president. How do you balance your coursework, your job search and your extra-curricular activities?
I know that no matter what I must complete my tasks at hand and indeed I plan my schedules accordingly. There are times when things go out of hand with the course load , job search and of course my extracurricular involvements but there is one thing that I always helps me focus – it’s my never give up approach to do what I have to do despite the challenges involved.
What’s next for the GBC?
Like every year we are sending our graduate teams to the RITC competition. We already had a great success in the MBA Games 2014 and John Molson Business Case competition this year. For the first time we are also going to be sending a team of graduate students to compete in the P&G IT case challenge hosted by the Ted Rogers School of Business in March 01, 2014.
Our Speed Networking event is coming up soon and announcements will be made prior the event. For the first time GBC is collaborating with Brock’s Co-op office to organize a Microsoft Excel Training program to help our student develop their technical skills. I truly think it’s a great initiative and I can ensure that students will benefit from our program – details will be announced soon.
We are accepting applications for our Executive positions at the moment. The posting can be found in CareerZone and the deadline to apply is Feb 28, 2014.
Before attending a GBC activity, many of our international students have never attended a case competition or been involved in a student club. What’s a common reaction that you get from them?
Usually our international students are initially a bit reluctant to get involved and compete. As an International student myself I honestly understand their feeling. It is a new country and a new culture for most of them. However, interestingly enough there is almost always a boost of energy in almost all of the students when I see them come back from competitions. Their excitement in turn excites me and is my motivation to do more for them in upcoming events and competitions
You are graduating from the MBA this year. Do you think your involvement with the GBC will help you with your future career?
Without any doubt GBC has immensely helped get connected across Brock University, our Alumni and of course prospective employees. I was able to make connections that I could never have made without my involvement through GBC. I know that such connections will always stay with me even after my MBA. I now fully understand the capabilities of GBC and I truly wish I could continue my position.
