When Jason Sparaga (BBA ’93) addressed a room of Brock University’s top business students, he stressed that wisdom isn’t about what you know, it’s about how you grow.

Speaking during Goodman’s Beta Gamma Sigma (BGS) induction ceremony, the Co-founder and Managing Operating Partner of Red Jar Energy Partners told the crowd of students and supporters that wisdom is about both showing up with integrity and energy, and with a desire to do meaningful work.

“Learn from the world around you, lead with honour and passion, pursue with purpose, do something not because it’s easy but because it matters,” he said. “Because in the end, it’s not about the degree you started with, it’s about the impact that you leave behind.”

The event, held June 13 in the Goodman School of Business atrium following the School’s Convocation ceremony, saw 97 students inducted into Brock’s chapter. Membership in this society is described as the highest recognition a business student anywhere in the world can achieve. Sparaga was inducted as an honorary BGS member by Goodman in 2016.

The 2025 Beta Gamma Sigma inductees, both students and faculty, celebrate with Goodman Accreditations and Quality Assurance Manager Mohsen Alghazali (front left) and Goodman Dean Barry Wright (front right).

Beta Gamma Sigma recognizes the top 10 per cent of the undergraduate class and the top 20 per cent of graduate students at institutions accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). Earlier this year, Sparaga was recognized by AACSB as part of their International 2025 Class of Influential Leaders.

“Success is not determined by a number on a transcript,” he said. “It’s something deeper and more personal. I realized knowledge and studying is essential, but more importantly it’s persistence, flexibility, adaptability, perspective and ultimately, what your character is inside.”

While reflecting on the importance of meaningful work, Sparaga referenced his work with the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and encouraged the audience to spend time thinking about what economic reconciliation is about.

Among those listening intently was Zarin Nawal (MBA ’25), who has been moving with purpose since arriving at Brock from Bangladesh several years ago.

At that time, she was worried her undergraduate studies in pharmaceutical sciences would leave her at a disadvantage studying business for the first time.

She heard about BGS and applied herself in her coursework to try and achieve the milestone in her first year — but fell just short of the 2024 admissions average. As she began her second year, concentrating in business analytics, her focus became centred on reaching this academic goal.

Zarin Nawal (MBA ’25) was one of 97 students inducted into Brock’s Beta Gamma Sigma chapter Friday, June 13.

“All roads lead to BGS,” became her mantra, written around her house, in notebooks and each small goal she set contributed towards this ambition.

“Good things always come to people who work hard, which is what I did,” she said. “When I got the email that I received Beta Gamma Sigma, I was like, ‘Wow, that is one of the biggest validations that I’ve ever received,’ because I was not a traditional business student, and I did that.”

Now, after a successful co-op term with FedEx, where Nawal was recognized with one of their top internal employee awards, she is now working in a full-time corporate sales position with the company.

Finance lecturer Geoff Hoover and Associate Professor of Accounting Linda Stillabower were recognized as BGS Professors of the Year. Faculty members inducted into Goodman’s BGS chapter at this ceremony included Hoover, Magnus Hultman, Asma Zafar, Navjote Khara and staff member Mohsen Alghazali.