At orientation, the hashtag #GoodmanSpirit hit a Twitter milestone: it trended Canada-wide for over three hours.
Business and accounting students Allison McConnell, Megan Wilson and Kristina Reyes haven’t thought about anything except #GoodmanSpirit since May.
That’s when the three students, all team members of the Business Students’ Association (BSA) at the Goodman School of Business, began planning for orientation and #GoodmanSpirit Week.
They had a vision of an expanded orientation that would provide first-year students with a comprehensive introduction to Goodman’s student clubs, academic advising, Goodman Career, Goodman exchanges and BioLinc.
The Sept. 2 Orientation Day would be complemented with #GoodmanSpirit Week, which, beginning on Sept. 8, would offer a full week of workshops, activities and social events.
The trio expected a positive response from students – what happened surpassed their expectations.
At orientation, the hashtag #GoodmanSpirit hit a Twitter milestone: it trended Canada-wide for over three hours. The new undergraduate students learned the Goodman cheer in seconds. During the inaugural #GoodmanSpirit Week, more than 600 students took part in the activities and events.
For McConnell, who along with Wilson, was the director of events behind #GoodmanSpirit Week, this year’s upswing in school pride was both “overwhelming” and inspiring.
“The real focus of this week has just been on spirit. Obviously, there has always been spirit and a positive response among the [students]. This year it really felt like a family.
“The whole week was about that lifestyle, getting the community spirit out there, getting the group together. All the stuff we’ve done, all of the initiatives of the BSA and all the various programs under the Goodman name have been really focused on making the first years and the current students feel that they are part of something bigger than just school and classes.”
That “something bigger” includes nine Goodman student clubs, peer mentors, case competitions, business clothing and business cards. The student groups are so active that BSA president Aqib Zia anticipates a BSA event every week in this upcoming year.
“#GoodmanSpirit Week is just the start. Over the course of the year there will be over 100 events organized for Goodman students. We just want everyone to have the opportunity to get involved and make their experience at Goodman that much better.”
Although the excitement surrounding the start of school is over, that doesn’t mean that Wilson, Reyes or McConnell have more free time. McConnell will be running the BSA’s Competitor Development Program, spending her Sundays prepping students for case competitions. And Wilson and Reyes are already focused on the next few events.
“O-Week is just the beginning,” Reyes said. “Megan and I are already planning Business Formal [to be held in March]. We’re doing Winter Mixer in November, then we have Recognition Night [to plan for]. It’s just an ongoing thing for us to keep #GoodmanSpirit alive.”
