To Accounting professors Kareen Brown and Anamitra Shome, who have been honoured as this year’s recipients of the student-voted Goodman School of Business teaching awards, the admiration from their students is mutual.

In a school year that was anything but typical, Brown, the recipient of the Graduate Teaching award, and her colleagues who were teaching first-year MBA courses, became the face of Brock University for students who had yet to step onto campus. They had to find new ways to connect with students across countries and time zones.

Anamitra Shome, Goodman Undergraduate Teaching Award recipient for 2020-21.

“The Teams meetings we did gave my days purpose,” Brown said. “We shared what life was like outside our windows. Whether it was in Canada, China, India, Ukraine or Vietnam, the students were simply amazing.”

Shome, the Undergraduate Teaching award recipient, echoed those sentiments as he thanked his students for continuously challenging and inspiring him to be a better instructor.

“In short, I dedicate this award to my beloved students,” Shome said.

The awards were handed out at the annual Goodman Student Success Celebration held virtually on Tuesday, April 27. The event also highlighted the significant accomplishments of the School’s student leaders who pivoted their clubs, competitions and activities online this year.

Goodman Dean Andrew Gaudes recognized that despite the time or distance and remote ways of working and learning, the School is just as connected in spirit as it was before the pandemic.

“We did it without being in a room at the same time and that wasn’t easy,” Gaudes said. “It took a lot of your passion, perseverance and a high degree of professionalism in order to make this happen and for that I’m extremely proud of all our students, faculty and staff.”

With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Business Students’ Association (BSA) saw first-hand the pivotal role small businesses play in local communities. To support these business owners, the BSA collaborated on projects with more than 15 Ontario small businesses this year, said President Kaley Vu.

The BSA also launched the Goodman Gives Back initiative, which raised more than $6,500 in support of local organizations such as Community Care St. Catharines and Thorold and global movements including Black Lives Matter and the Yemen and Lebanon crisis.

“As Goodman students, we all recognize our privilege with amazing facilities, opportunities and fellow students. With privilege should come the acknowledgement of those in need, which is exactly what the Goodman Gives Back initiative was designed for,” Vu said.

The BSA also created 20 bursaries of $500 as part of the Goodman COVID-19 Student Emergency Fund to support students struggling financially because of the pandemic.