You’re about to make your first decision on what your university life is gonna look like. Anxious, confused, and bombarded with way too many choices, all while wondering how reading Goldilocks can be a course in university… we’ve been there. The PBSN VP team is here to break it all down for you. From our personal experiences, our insider tricks to the #TaylorLibraryorDie life, to the course-picking best practices, we’ll give you a run-down on (almost) everything you need to know.

Victor

Module: Political Science

Courses taken:

• Political Science 1020
• Business 1220
• Math 1225
• Computer Science 1026
• Microeconomics 1021
• Macroeconomics 1022
• Scholar’s Electives
• French 1910

Favourite course: Business 1220

Why?

Business 1220 uses the Ivey Case Method, and in my opinion, this made the class more engaging, entertaining, and frankly educational than any of my other lecture-based courses. Analyzing a real-world business problem, proposing solutions, and then learning what the business actually did ensured that there was never a dull moment in class. If you’re thinking of going on to study at Ivey, I would definitely recommend this course – it’s not a must, but it will show you what the average class at Ivey will look like!

At the beginning of the year, you were set on pursuing Economics. In the middle of September though, you decided to go with Poli Sci instead – what convinced you?

I came to Western thinking of doing a dual degree between Economics and Ivey, but after learning about the requirements for a career in consulting, I realized that it would be more beneficial to just go for my HBA! With that in my mind, I wanted to make sure that I enjoyed what I studied in my first two years. After seeing the class structure of Economics compared to Political Science, I immediately knew that the more interactive, tutorial-based Poli Sci course was just a better fit for me. I made the switch, and haven’t looked back since!

Tony

Module: First Year General Engineering

Courses taken:

• Linear Algebra with Numerical Analysis for Engineers – APPLMATH 1411
• Applied Math for Engineers 1 – APPLMATH 1413
• Chemistry – CHEM 1302
• Microecon – ECONOMIC 1021
• Macroecon – ECONOMIC 1022
• Properties of Materials – ES 1021
• Engineering Statics – ES 1022Y
• Programming Fundamentals for Engineers – ES 1036A
• Introductory Engineering Design and Innovation Studio – ES 1050
• Physics I – 1401
• Physics II – 1402

Favourite course: Introductory Engineering Design and Innovation Studio – ES 1050

Why?

While many engineers might disagree with my choice, I have to say that Engineering Design was one of my favorite courses I’ve taken this year, definitely a different type of course compared to the other more numerical and analytical heavy courses that we engineers are usually accustomed. Its project based curriculum allowed for many fun and creative moments, truly letting the creative spirit of engineering fly freely while the presentations and reports, while at times tedious, allowed for exposure to some essential communication skills. While many of the courses are taught with focus on a specific subject, Engineering Design specifically flies against that concept and tries to draw together every course you take, filling in the nooks and crannies of what the engineering discipline is and what engineers do.

Engineering has a notoriously tough workload – you guys get around 30 hours of class time, whereas the rest of us average around 20. How do you handle it?

I was talking to the Professor Bartlett, the Associate Dean of Engineering, and he had a great quote (which I will try to paraphrase), “Engineering is mainly a test of your time management abilities”. As the year went on, that phrase became more and more true. It is a very challenging program that requires you to balance your extra curriculars, social life and a large academic workload. But you probably already know that. Or think that you have great time management skills already. So let me give you something a bit more concrete. Go study in the Undergraduate Engineering Society (UES) lounge in the Spencer Engineering building (SEB). Seriously, go do it! You might find it intimidating at first with all the upper years hanging around but go introduce yourself and say hi! They won’t bite, I promise. It’s not only a great space to study and chill with friends, you’ll meet a lot of upper years that will give you great advice on courses, professors and tips. Engineering is a team sport and while it is possible to complete the courses on your own, it’ll be a whole lot easier with the advice and knowledge of upper years.

Fina

Module: Computer Science

Courses taken:

• Business – BUSINESS1220E
• Computer Science – COMPSCI1026
• Computer Science – COMPSCI1027
• Information Systems and Design – COMPSCI1032
• Intro to Multimedia and Communications – COMPSCI1033
• Calculus – CALC1000
• Calculus – CALC1301
• Principle of Microeconomics – ECONOMIC 1021A
• Principle of Macroeconomics – ECONOMIC 1022B

Favourite course: Calc 1301

Why?

Because math is interesting when you have a lit teacher and my teacher was lit (shoutout to Kapulkin). Class was fun, and the material was not too hard but also not too easy so it was in an enjoyable middle ground and I liked that.

You took quite a few computer science courses this semester – could you tell us a bit about what typically goes down in a computer science lab?

For Computer Science courses that deal with coding (like 1026 and 1027), you’re given a task to complete and you have to fill in the code to perform that task. Sometimes the computer will check if it’s correct or not for you, and other times the TAs will come check it themselves. The TAs are very helpful during the labs and you are more than welcome to ask them for help.

For Computer Science 1033, which dealt with multimedia (like Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Flash, and Audacity), you are provided with a set of detailed instructions for each lab that walk you through exactly what to do step-by-step. The best way to learn is by doing, and so these instructions are very helpful in teaching you how to use each of the applications, because you get to play around with the software.

Katie

Module: Psychology + Scholar’s Electives

Courses taken:

• Introduction to Linguistics – ANTHRO1027
• Business – BUSINESS1220E
• Python – COMPSCI1026
• Microeconomics – ECON1021
• Macroeconomics – ECON1022
• French – FRENCH1910
• Industrial/Organizational Psychology – PSYCH2660
• Scholars’ Electives Seminar – SCHOLARS1100
• Intro to Statistics – STATS1024

Favourite Course: Business 1220

Why?

Totally loved the relevance of the cases we did in class – a lot of the businesses were brands we interacted with or have heard of in the news, and each case gave me insight into a new industry (whether it was food, transportation, or military apparel manufacturing.) I also really enjoyed the interactivity of each session and learning from my peers through discussion rather than a dictated lecture!

Most Business 1220 classes are structured into three 1-hour sessions, on Monday, Wednesday, Friday. You, however, took the night class section that occurs once a week for 3 hours – what was your experience like with that unconventional choice?

In 1220, you learn through case studies, and being in night class meant that I could completely prepare for a case and then cover it from start to finish in one class, giving me a more immersive experience than the day class students. It also meant that I didn’t have to worry about 1220 every other day of the week. The night class is generally more chill, which also means that there are more opportunities to participate (which is key since participation is 10% of your grade). That being said, there are also several disadvantages. Although there is a 10-15 minute break halfway during the class, some people found it difficult to stay concentrated and engaged for 3 hours. There’s also a greater learning curve with night class, because you don’t get the luxury of slowly being introduced to a new topic over a span of shorter, more frequent classes – everything sort of gets thrown at you during one evening session. The decision really depends on your learning style, but if you’re a night owl and can learn quickly, I’d definitely recommend the 1220 evening course!

Andro

Module: Consumer Behaviour – MOS

Courses taken:

• CompSci 1033 – Intro to Multimedia and Communications
• MATH 1228 – Methods of Finite Math
• MATH 1229 – Methods of Matrix Algebra
• MOS 1021 – Intro to Consumer Behaviour and HR
• MOS 1023 – Intro to Accounting and Finance
• MUSIC 1122 – Fundamentals of Music Theory
• PSYCH 1000 – Intro to Psych
• SOC 1020 – Intro to Sociology

My fave course: SOC 1020

Why?

While I got annihilated with Luton’s exams, I think SOC 1020 was one of the only courses that made going to lectures something to look forward to. It is undeniably hard, but truth be told, I learned so much about my own thoughts on society- it’s one of the only few courses that aren’t “pump and dump” (aka: learn, repeat long enough for the exam, then forget). I think university is ultimately about challenging your existing thought patterns, and while some of these courses may not give you the best grades, I think you can’t really call yourself a university student until you take a course that is outside your comfort zone.

We all know that as a foodie from Vancouver, Andro knows the best spots to hit up for a yummy meal. What are your favourite spots to grab a bite in between your classes?

Usually I make an effort to go to a nearby res for food. While food at UCC is convenient, it is unreasonably pricey (because you can’t apply your res-discount), and the food doesn’t change. Stick around long enough, and you’ll find yourself having tried every single thing available in UCC. With res, you always get variations, especially when you jump around, and it’s a lot more friendly on your meal plan. It’s also nice to have an excuse to make some friends in every residence Ontario Hall and Delaware Hall has some of the best res food in my opinion. That aside, I’m always game for some Bento Sushi Udon… it’s one of the only fixes to my lack of Asian food!!

Grant

Module: Accounting – BMOS

Courses I took:

• Business 1220E
• Microeconomics 1021
• Macroeconomics 1022
• MOS 1021
• MOS 1023
• Political Science 1020E
• Math 1229
• Math 1225

My fave course: Political Science 1020E

Why?

In all honesty, I hated polisci in first semester. It was a bunch of history, and I wasn’t interested. However, the course does a complete 180°in second semester, and spends more time focusing on current events. I think this course is great because you get a chance to see two different “sides” to political science in first and second semester, so you can decide what you’d like to pursue in later years. Plus, it’s a mix of both essays and multiple choice, which can help to stabilize your mark if you’re better/worse at either of those.

Sometimes, you have classes back to back, from one end of the campus to the other. As the tallest guy on our team, how feasible was it for you to make the trek?

As somebody who is 6’4″, I find I’m able to book it from one side of campus to the other in about 14 minutes… However, I don’t recommend this approach. What I did was have my first two classes of the day back-to-back (they were about a 2 minute walk from each other), and then a 1 hour break for lunch, and then my last class. Obviously classes won’t always work out this way, but sometimes it’s nice to have a bit of a break to eat! At the same time, watch out for “wasted” time if you have uneven breaks in your schedule – having a number of 90 minute breaks makes it hard to get any work done during them because just as you find a spot in the library, you have to go to your next class.

Andrew

Module: English & Global Studies (Huron)

Courses I took:

• Business – Business 1220E
• Microeconomics 1021
• Macroeconomics 1022
• Children’s Literature 2033E
• Poetics 2230
• CGS1021, 1022, 1023

My fave course: Poetics 2230G

Why?

I had a great professor who was incredibly engaging.

I found the course to be one that had great content just like a lot of my others, but having Dr. Pero just made it an amazing experience. I’m purposefully choosing courses based on the fact that he’s teaching them this coming year!

You took a pretty good blend of Huron and Main campus courses this year – what were some differences that you noticed between them?

Main campus courses tend to have less help from professors. I find that at Huron and other affiliates there’s no “escape” from getting to know your teacher. Everyone knows eachother and it’s really weird if you don’t participate in class. For that reason, I like to get to know my professors (no matter the campus) really well, as I find that it makes it a lot easier to enjoy the classes themselves. At an affiliate, you are able to take main campus courses unless they are offered at your campus, in which case you are required to take them there, and the same goes coming from main campus to an affiliate college. I love being at an affiliate, but main campus courses are just as engaging!

Edwina

Module: Economics

Courses I took:

• Intro to Business – BUSINESS1220E
• Information Systems and Design – COMPSCI1032
• Intro to Stats – STATS1024
• Introductory Psychology – PSYCH1000
• Calculus I – CALC1000
• Calculus II – CALC1301
• Principles of Microeconomics – ECONOMIC 1021
• Principles of Macroeconomics – ECONOMIC 1022

My fave course: Psych 1000

Why?

Psych 1000 with Dr. Mike was really engaging! The curriculum was relevant, allowed for self reflection, and was well-balanced between the biological and behavioral aspects of psychology. It was a huge class (800 ish kids) and the lecture hall would almost always be packed; something about Dr. Mike’s delivery of the material made you want to come everytime.The occasional interactive example of the phenomenon being taught was also always fun to take part in!

Eddie always has exam time under control. What are some of your tips on studying during #examszn? Do you have any prime study spots to suggest?

Exams: You truly don’t get a break during the week of a midterm; you still have classes to go to, quizzes to take, and extracurricular events to attend/organize. That’s why it is so important to start studying early! Lay out your exam and homework schedule and stick to it, and concentrate on the sections that you struggle with the most. In my opinion, the best way to study for midterms is to DO PRACTICE/PREVIOUS EXAMS. Usually, your professor will upload at least one onto OWL. If not, you can ask your peers and older students for their past exams/test banks. The previous exams are oftentimes very comparable (sometimes questions are even repeated!).

Study Spots: Both Taylor and Weldon Library are great places to study; there’s a lot of space and you can always find silent zones! However, both libraries close before midnight. For late night grinds, check out the UCC. The Mustang Lounge and empty classrooms in the basement are great for group projects. There’s also a cubicle section on the third floor, the “Fireplace” Lounge on the second floor. Also, take a look around the buildings you have classes in as there’s usually tables in random nooks on upper floors. These hidden gems are usually quiet, unoccupied, and feel more personal.

Katherine

Module: Psychology + Scholar’s Electives

Courses I took:

• Business – BUSINESS1220E
• French – FRENCH1910
• Computer Science – COMPSCI1026
• Intro to Stats – STATS1024
• Business Ethics – PHIL2074
• Scholar’s Electives Seminar – SCHOLARS1100
• Intro to Psychology – PSYCH1000
• Calculus – CALC1000

My fave course: French 1910

Why?

French has always been one of my interests in high school, and I was really happy to continue the journey in university. I found it to be much more engaging than high school – I was immersed in the language four times a week in a very tight-knit class, I had an awesome prof, and it felt pretty awesome to be able to understand the teacher when she’s talking fully in another language!

You took IB in high school and had the option of taking some transfer credits – how did you make your decision?

I was eligible for transfer credits in Econ, English, and Bio, and I decided to take them all! It helped me fill out my “breadth” requirements pretty easily (Western requires you take all courses in diff subject areas in order to graduate), so I didn’t have to worry about that at all. Also, I thought that university, and especially first year, was a time for me to take courses in subjects that I may not pursue in the future, but would like to learn about. So, taking those transfer credits really gave me more elective space and let me explore stuff I would never have elsewhere, like philosophy in business ethics and coding Python! But, there are also some pretty compelling arguments for retaking those courses – not everything in those university courses were necessarily covered in AP/IB, so it could set you up with a better foundation for higher level courses, and it could help you get a higher GPA! Like so many other decisions regarding university, it all comes down for personal preference – and I think that’s totally a blessing.

Final Thoughts

On June 11, you get to start enrolling in your courses. But, you’re not “locking in” your courses by any means on that day – you can switch everything around, provided that there is space in the class, right up until classes begin (which means you can play with second semester classes until January!)!

Have fun. First year is the best time to take risks and enroll in some challenging or even wacky courses you never thought you would try. Who knows, you might even fall in love with it! Don’t let the thought of keeping up a GPA deter you from taking the courses you love – work hard, and do you.

Resources That Will Bless Your Life

What do all these acronyms mean? Here’s your resource hub: http://www.westerncalendar.uwo.ca/2016/pg1327.html

Know your prerequisites so you know you’re on the right track: http://www.westerncalendar.uwo.ca/2016/pg161.html

Check out all the courses available to you (click through all the categories – you never know what gem you dig up):http://www.westerncalendar.uwo.ca/2016/pg882.html

Play around with your courses: https://www.timetablegenerator.io

Then, lock in your courses here:https://student.uwo.ca/psp/heprdweb/EMPLOYEE/HRMS/c/UWO_WISG.WSA_STDNT_CENTER.GBL&languageCd=ENG

With our year kicking off with the Fall Social this Tuesday, you’ve probably started thinking about what to wear. We know the dress code “business casual” can be daunting – how can one be business and casual all at once? Exactly how casual is casual? Is there any acceptable way to wear sweatpants? Don’t worry, we got your back. After some heavy deliberation and major OOTD stalking, we hope that you never have to google business casual outfit ideas again.

Spicing up the Classic Look

If you’re feeling some dress pants or dark jeans, pairing a dress shirt is the easiest route. To spice up your look, try layering a colourful sweater overtop your dress shirt with a popped out collar and khakis. It’s the perfect outfit to stay warm in the Fall, but also looks classy for all business casual events. You can mix and match printed sweaters with plain shirts, or plain sweaters with printed shirts. This is a classic look which will never be out of style, so don’t be afraid to invest in some pieces you really enjoy.

If you tend to feel warm easily, another style option is a plain and crisp polo shirt, tucked into a nice pair of trousers. With many colors, from dark to bright, to choose from, there’s one out there to match exactly what you’re looking for. Pair a sports coat overtop to dress it up.

Flowy Alternatives

If you want to escape the world of dress pants, try something a little more daring with fun dresses and skirts. Pair colours or patterns with a solid print for a unified look, and you can always throw a blazer, cardigan, or scarf overtop to add texture. Make sure your look isn’t too revealing, though – use arm’s-length for good measure.

Accessorizing for a Unique Touch

Accessories bring your outfits to life. Try pairing a statement necklace with a plain top, or tucking in a playful tie into your sweater. A classic watch or a belt would also be an awesome touch. Or, our personal favourite –  show off your sense of humour with some cool printed socks! They’re always a conversation starter. Make sure not to go overboard, though – always try to balance out patterns with solids to tie things together.

Stay Versatile

If you still aren’t sure whether or not your outfit will pass as business casual, just play it safe and dress on the more formal side. You can always bring an extra sports or suits jacket, and take it off if you find that everyone else is more casual. No matter what you wear, though, the important part is wearing something that makes you happy. Business casual is your chance to experiment beyond the usual black and white. PBSN’s Fall Social lets you do just that – step outside your comfort zone, check out other people’s OOTNs, and connect beyond the wardrobe.

– We can’t wait to see you there!

Photo from Fall Social 2015 (This could be you)

With the Accounting and Finance Panel coming up, we got the exclusive opportunity to sit down with Hunter Corcoran and learn more about the finance world. Hunter is currently in his last year of Ivey dual degree with Economics. He is the President of the Western Forex Association, and he worked at RBC in Sales and Trading (S&T) over the summer.

Can you tell us a bit about the main streams in finance?

Investment banks are the intermediary between the buy-side (so people like you and me, who are looking to invest our money, or bigger hedge funds), and the sell-side (for example, corporations who want to issue stocks). Bankers are people who sell all the services of the investment bank, while S&T executes those transactions.  On the other side, there’s accounting. It’s very different and not as much associated with the investment bank, but they make financial statements that are released and audited if the company is public.  The other really big aspect is research, which I think is underestimated. Researchers focus on a sector or a few stocks, and essentially sell those insights to clients. It’s a highly intellectual exercise and extremely detailed. While they maybe cover only 5 or 6 companies, they know those companies extremely well. There’s also offshoots of the buy-side, like private equity, where they are not in the actual capital markets, but they are doing private deals, and hedge funds, where an asset manager is taking more riskier trades. 

What interested you the most about finance?

It really started with my grandfather, who was a futures trader. I would walk into the office that had all the screens buzzing with numbers, and I always wanted to learn more about it. I fell in love with the S&T side as opposed to the investment banking side because I like the market execution and flow of information. It’s addictive just being in that zone, where people are calling you constantly asking you what’s going on in the market. It’s fast-paced, and sobers you up even if you are tired.

Is finance really as gruelling as other people say it is, with long hours and little sleep?

It really depends. Investment banking definitely has longer hours – some of the time, you just have to be there, even if work is not needed to be done. For S&T, I was working maybe 60-65 hours a week. Keep in mind that I was in a pretty junior position, so for a full-time position, people generally work around 50-55 hours a week. People get in at 6am, and leave by 4pm. That may seem like long, but if you like it, then who cares, right?

What did a day in the life look like for you over the summer? 
I would get in by about 5:30 in the morning, skim the news, and write a synopsis of what happened in the markets. I compile all the research for equity essentials, look for any earning releases, update the industry trades, and sent it out to clients. This would take me to around 10am. Then I would go for a coffee run – those are always fun. At noon, I do a mid-day update, looking at any major movers and why they are moving. The afternoon was a bit quieter. From noon till 3pm, I do my own projects – coming up with ideas, pitches, and shadowing people on the trading floor getting to know people. Around 4-5, I write an end-of-day report, do a block trade analysis to see what the market share was for that day. Afterwards, I’d usually go out with my coworkers! It’s a pretty packed day but it was fun. 

How may your experience differ from an investment banker, or someone in private equity?

I may not be the best person to ask, since I’ve never worked in those roles. But, from my knowledge, investment banking is not as fast paced, the hours are a bit longer, and some aspects can be a bit more analytical. For S&T, even though I was in a junior role, I got client-facing time. I’ve had opportunities to sit down with CEOs, which was really unique.

Besides the hard skills, which soft skills would you say someone needs to excel in finance? 

The trading floor is all about communication. Trading floors are completely open. Sometimes, people would yell two rows over, and you would have to pick up what they wanted. You knew what everyone was working on, and while people would call out what their clients wanted, it was important for me to hear the information and process it. 

What are some things a first or second year student can do right now to discover their interest in finance?

Talking to people, that’s all it is. Get to know as many people as you can, not to get jobs or anything, but just to understand if you even want a career in finance.  Follow the news and see if you’re interested. Jobs in finance are very different: some are fast-paced, some are analytical, some are slower, while others are client-facing. So, just talk to people, read as much as you can, and you’ll develop relationships that will really help you.

Which websites would you recommend following? 

Bloomberg is good if you want to see what’s going on in the short-term, but if you want some more long-term articles about what’s going on, I use the Financial Times. If you like more economic ideas, The Economist is also a good choice.

We hope that our conversation gives you a helpful intro to finance! If you’re interested in learning more about finance and accounting, be sure to come out to PBSN’s Accounting and Finance Panel on Monday Oct 24th at 6pm in UCC60.

With Halloween in full swing, our Finance and Operations portfolios wants to treat you all with some of their best and worst Halloween memories. These two portfolios are the skeleton of the PBSN body – they help with maintaining a strong backbone in order to present the external opportunities to members all year long.

Edwina Liu, Vice President of Finance
Program: Second Year Economics
Hometown: Edmonton, Alberta
First Year Res: Med-Syd; If you’re looking for a quiet study place and everything is full or noisy, head to the laundry room! It can really only accommodate one person with one table and no one ever thinks to go there LOL
Homemade or Store Bought Costume: Homemade! More fun and cheaper #costcutting #finance

Srijan Walia, Executive of Finance
Program: First Year Economics
Hometown: Ottawa, Ontario
First Year Res: Deli! We are also really close to EVERYTHING so you can wake up 5 mins before class and manage to get to class on time. X marks the spot!
Do You Like Haunted Houses: I love them….now. I’ll keep this short so it’s as less memorable as possible; I was young and we went to a haunted house, after exiting the house my pants [underneath my belt] were a tad too wet.

Teddy Kassa, Executive of Finance
Program: First Year BMOS
Hometown: Scarborough, Ontario
First Year Res: Saugeen “the zoo” Saugeen is like living in a safer, happier, and marginally more spacious prison. And years later, much like actual prison, you’ll wonder how in the heck you ever survived.
Trick or Treat: I had a neighbour that used to give out raw potatoes, but unfortunately his wife recently made him stop. So I’m inclined to ask for both, as a tribute to Robert and his sack of soil-covered taters.
Favourite Halloween Movie: “It’s Beginning to look a lot like Christmas”, because Halloween is just a reminder that the better holidays are right around the corner.

Fina Pang, Vice President of Operations
Program: Second Year Computer Science
Hometown: Toronto, Ontario
First Year Res: Ohall – the lounges and the caf are your best friends (you’ll miss them when they’re gone)
Something No One Knows: I can touch my nose with my tongue
Favourite Halloween Song: Trick or treat, smell my feet, Give me something good to eat, Not too big, not too small, Just the size of Montreal!

Ivan Ye, Executive of Operations

Program: First Year Economics
Hometown: Markham, Ontario
First Year Res: Ohall is the Only Hall
Something No One Knows: I own more than 30 pairs of shoes and I can flip water bottles!
What are you Dressing up as this Year: The guy from the PPAP song http://bit.ly/2diTt3f
Trick or Treat: Smell my feet
Favourite Candy: MARS BARS!

Harleen Arora, Executive of Operations
Program: First Year BMOS
Hometown: Woodbridge, Ontario
First Year Res: Delaware! THE SHOWERS ARE SO NICE OMG!
Something No One Knows: I can crack 6 bones in my body (gross but so relieving you don’t even know)
Favourite Halloween Movie/Song: Halloweentown High, for sure. And for a song, Thriller, because who doesn’t love a classic?
Favourite Candy: Anything chocolate.

Divyansh Ojha, Executive of Operations
Program: First Year BMOS
Hometown: Sydney, Australia
First Year Res: Proudly Off-Campus!! Food is always top-notch, doing the laundry is optional and my great big bed! You very rarely get to morning class on time because traffic is a pain so a) embrace it or b) wake up at like 6
Dream Halloween Costume: Probably Batman! I’ve seen so many people try it but none of them compare to the “WOW” that Christian Bale or Ben Affleck could force out of you!
Trick or Treat: Trick (the more exciting = the better it is)
Something No One Knows: Secret Talent – CAPITAL CITIES OF THE WORLD. I did a talent show back in the day and got people from the crowd to throw random countries at me and I would spit out the Capital Cities right then and there!

This is your chance to eat all the candy you want without judgement – we hope you all have a spooky and safe Halloween!

With our annual Case Competition just a few days away, many of you must be busy trying to put teams together and figuring out how you can win up to $600 in prizes! We figured we would lend a hand and sat down with our winners from last year – Helen He, Angela He, Rosie Fan, and Sherry Lu – to give us an insiders perspective on how they achieved the first place title and what advice they had to pass down to this year’s participants.

Did you do any preparation beforehand?
It was actually the first time we all four met one another. Prior to the day of we made a Facebook group and just read up on some general business terms as there wasn’t much we could do without knowing the case beforehand. Some of us actually went out the night before and the morning of the event we walked there together and talked through each other’s strengths and weaknesses.

What were your initial thoughts when you got the case?
For some of us, this was the first time we had ever done a four hour case so at first, we were a bit overwhelmed, but as we read through the case, we became more confident. The company presented to us was very similar to Uber so we were able to use some of our own knowledge throughout the analysis.
 
What was your strategy going into the case?
We didn’t have a real strategy as such, we just kept coming up with things as went along. We divided things up based on our strengths. The biggest advantage as to why we did well was because of our presentation, we created a story in which the judges could consistently follow and it made it easier to understand.

How did you divide up the work?
We divided up tasks based on our personal strengths and weaknesses as well as our past experiences. We had two people handle the marketing decisions, one person make the powerpoint, and one person to crunch the numbers to make it feasible.  You are able to be a lot faster when everyone does what they are good at.

How did you break up the time you were given?
At the beginning we came together and discussed our big overall ideas, and marketing strategies. We then broke up and did our own thing while also creating a loose timeline with goals for every hour to keep track of time.  Halfway through we started building content on the slides. We then wrote the script and divided up the speaking parts based on who made what portion since they would know it the best. We did a first run through and realized we were 10 mins over time, and that is when we got in a small time crunch but we went over it again while waiting to present and made sure to manage our presentation time.

What did you do to stand out from the rest of the teams?
As everyone was given the same case, everyone’s analysis was similar, so our presentation was what made us really stand out. The powerpoint itself was visually appealing and formatted as a timeline which kept the presentation easy to follow. We started with a strong hook, which told the story of a Western student and how our marketing campaign would affect his daily life. This helped the judges understand each aspect of our campaign and we referred to the story throughout the presentation to help keep the audience connected. We understood the importance of keeping the audience engaged so we tried to keep our presentation balanced and had some funny one liners that helped to break up some of the more formal parts.

What do you think is more important: the content or presentation?
There has to definitely be a balance between the content and the presentation. Every case is different. Some cases may require more standout content and good analysis, but at the same time, you are only given 10 minutes to impress a judge. Given they only see each slide for maybe 20-30 seconds, the way you present both verbally and visually is very important. Charisma goes far,  and helps to convince the judges more than if you don’t know what you’re saying. Many teams had great content but we stood out on our presentation.

If you were to do it again, what would you differently?
There are a couple of things we would work to improve upon. Firstly, we would format universally.  We had some technical errors during the presentation as we created our slide deck on a MAC and had to present on a PC, which altered the format on a couple of our slides. Another issue we had was not analyzing our ideas all the way through. We would be working on a concept and then hit a roadblock and have to redirect ourselves.  You don’t want to get too deep into your implementation plan and realize something doesn’t work so by coming up with more ideas and forming a detailed thesis, you can analyze problems in the brainstorming process instead of getting stuck later on like we did.

What were some challenges you faced?
The biggest challenge was our time management. Unfortunately, that is something that unavoidable because no matter how much time you are given you will always wish for more to make it better. It was also the first time for all of us doing a four hour case competition, we didn’t have much knowledge about how to do it, how to structure the powerpoint, what to address, what level of quality is our work – being completely new to this we had to test the waters. One thing we didn’t realize was we had the powerpoint made on one person’s laptop and when we all wanted to work on it we couldn’t, so use a shared platform like Google slides to avoid that.

What advice would you give to participants this year?
Have fun with it and don’t stress too much. Before going in, look at frameworks to use in terms of analytics. Make sure you get to know your team members and figure out each other’s strength and weaknesses beforehand to help divide up tasks. Draft a timeline for yourselves to help keep on task and manage your time wisely. Brush up on skills you might not be too strong in. Have lots of charisma and energy during your presentation. Go in with a humble mindset, don’t expect too much, and keep checking the clock!!

With only a few days before the big event, come sign up outside the Somerville cafeteria all week till 3pm. Brushing up on skills and knowledge will take you far, but also take care of yourself by eating healthy and resting well! Enjoy yourself and celebrate at the end whether you got that W or didn’t.

The leaves have changed colour, Starbucks has brought back the PSL and red cups, midterms are (almost) over, and the fashion levels went from 0-100 real quick. Fall is here my friends. We wanted to share a little about our Careers Portfolio with you all and hope you FALL in love with them this season.

Tony Jiang, Vice President of Careers
Program: 2nd Year Engineering
Hometown: Mississauga
First Year Res: Saugeen – Some idiot on your floor breaks your microwave making mac and cheese? Don’t worry just steal one from another floor when everyone goes out on Saturday! Pro-tip blame it on another floor to start floor beefs
Favourite Fall Fashion: Hoodies
Music for this Season: I am a very competitive person so I’d have to say those 19 hour study playlist on Youtube. I like to see what ends first, my will to study or those videos. Yay midterms!
Halloween or Thanksgiving: When I was younger, it was definitely Halloween because nothing beats trick or treating with your friends but now it’s still Halloween but for a very different reason

Micah Hansen, Careers Portfolio Executive
Program: 2nd Year Economics
Hometown: Sherwood Park, Alberta
First Year Res: Deli! To throw a successful party in Deli, you need to coordinate with other people on your floor: the more rooms the better!
Something No One Knows: I was a competitive trampolinist for 5 years!
Halloween or Thanksgiving: Thanksgiving because Turkey>candy
Favourite Fall Activity: Biking and enjoying the beautiful weather
Music for this Season: Sleeping at Last- Atlas: Year One

Gary Wu, Careers Portfolio Executive
Program: 1st Year Engineering
Hometown: North York
First Year Res: Delaware (Favourite: how close it is to all my classes. Secret Tip: There’s a hidden washroom behind the elevator on the second floor that is always clean.)
Something No One Knows: I’m trying to learn how to play the piano this year (only 10 years late to the party).
Halloween or Thanksgiving: Halloween because candy goes on sale.
Is Fall Your Favourite Season: Nope, gets dark too early.
Music for the Season: That cover of Hallelujah that Pentatonix sang.

Lisa Chen, Careers Portfolio Executive 
Program: 1st Year BMOS
Hometown: Mississauga, ON
First Year Res: I’m currently living at Delaware and loving every moment! The building is newly renovated, we definitely have the nicest showers, but also the nicest people. I love it so much that I’m actually returning back to Deli next year!
Something No One Knows: I’ve been figure skating since I was 4 even though I’m really inflexible. (Like very very inflexible) Half of the time I’m in the air, and the other half, I’m sitting on the ice from a fall. Also, people usually find it surprising when they learn that I listen to a lot of rap/R&B. (Check out Location by Khalid!)

Jane Wang, Careers Portfolio Executive 
Program: 1st Year Computer Science
Hometown: Toronto, ON
First Year Res: Perth – you can’t beat having your own bathroom and the storage rooms make great study rooms
Something No One Knows: I finished 76 episodes of Suits in two weeks
Favourite Fall Fashion: Blanket Scarves!
Favourite Fall Activity: Apple Picking
Favourite Season: Summer all the way – beaches are the best way to relax
Music for the Season: Photograph – Ed Sheeran

If you enjoyed getting to know these beautiful faces, come take advantage of what they have put together for you! Come learn more from some industry experts at PBSN’s Business Job Series: Sales/Marketing on Monday, November 17th. Learn from the pros themselves, College Pro Window Cleaning Service, network with other panelists and learn how you can take the Sales/Marketing industry by storm!

Picture This: You’ve just come out of your first 1220 exam, sweating,  hands cramped, and dehydrated. You just completed a four hour long case. Four hours! It’s the longest you’ve ever concentrated in your life. You feel a sense of accomplishment run through you. Then you hear it, “just wait till you have to do the 48 hour reports”. You panic. What’s a 48 report? Is it hard? Why do you do it? FORTY EIGHT HOURS???   

Have no fear, PBSN is here. We sat down with Tony Ma and Raghav Srikanth, two HBA 1 students, to get an inside scoop on how to crack the 48.  

How would you explain the Ivey 48 to someone who’s never heard of it before?

A 48 hour report is essentially a big case study. You’re given a complex problem and you have to create a report from scratch outlining how you plan to solve it within a 48 hour time period. You come together with a group of five to seven other students from your section and work through the process together.

What’s the real purpose of doing these 48 hour reports?

The 48 hour cases are used as a part of our evaluation system. Ivey is graded on 3 distinct scales used to measure different skills;

1. Exams (Used to measure your communication skills and problem solving skills through a written medium)
2. Contribution (Measures the value you add to class, how well you are able to convey ideas in the moment, and your oral communication skills)
3. 48 Hour Report (Measures your ability to work on a team and provides you with real life experience)

It’s definitely a unique evaluation method. You do cases every single day but with the 48, you have a very specific time constraint. Sometimes we’re given live cases, where facts or circumstances change throughout the period and we have to adjust. It provides you with a great opportunity to gain experience working in situations that mirror the real world. You learn not only course materials, but team dynamics, how to work under pressure, how to work out disagreements and keep your sanity. Most classes at Ivey have a 48 hour report, so you get to experience a diverse range of fields as well.

How many do you do at your time in Ivey?
The reports are only done in HBA1 and typically one 48 hour case is assigned per course, unless the course decides to hold a midterm instead. You complete approximately three in first semester and three to four in your second semester.

How are the groups picked?
Groups are chosen at random by the professor and change for each case so you get the opportunity to work with multiple people in your section. You learn a lot through the process of working on a team. You have to recognize that everyone has a different working style. Some prefer to work alone, others love to discuss ideas frequently, some are organized, and some prefer creativity, so you have to learn to adapt and find a system that works for everyone. Merging these styles into an efficient unit is always very interesting, but you learn to find a balance between pushing your own ideas and taking into account the ideas of others. You also just get an opportunity to get to know your classmates better. Sure you interact with others during class, but with the report, you get significantly closer to your classmates. You get a better understanding of who they are on a professionals and personal level. For a full 48 hours you eat, sleep, work, and cry together so it becomes a real bonding experience.

Can you explain the difference you felt from doing your first 48 hr to your most recent one? What changes have occurred?

With the first report you dive in blind and don’t understand how to structure the process. It’s very “go, go, go”. You definitely feel the time constraint a lot more because you don’t know how long to spend on each part or how to divide up roles. As you do more reports you get a better understanding of which actions to take to be efficient.You realize it’s important to get to know your team and learn each member’s strengths and weaknesses. You also learn how to properly analyze the case and it’s circumstances. By the time the third report comes around, everyone has a better idea of how to approach problem. You get more comfortable with the time constraint and the process becomes more systematic and organized.

What advice would you give to incoming Ivey students regarding the 48 hr report?

Don’t worry too much about it. Focus on getting comfortable working on teams by joining different clubs and organizations around campus. Try and get involved in as many case competitions as possible because many components parallel between the two activities – working with new people, tackling problems, communicating solutions.

Have you ever had any problems with group members not doing their part in the report? If so, how have you dealt with that?

You will always have people who excel more in certain things than others. Some people may not be pulling their weight because they have other stuff on their mind so it’s important to maintain open communication with your team. It’s important to play to each person’s strengths. We also have peer evaluations at the end of each case, so if there were any issues you can address them there. However, for the most part, there aren’t too many problems. Most Ivey students are strong and competitive leaders, and being a competitive program, everyone strives to do their best.

What is the most challenging part of the report?

There are a lot of small hurdles throughout the 48 hours. Initially, it’s important to understand and define the problem and based on that, create a project timeline, and outline your team’s goals. You also have to remember you’re competing with 10-20 other group who all have the same information as you, so it’s important to think of a unique and creative, but still logical solutions. Researching and developing a solid idea tends to be the most challenging aspect of the report as each member brings a different perspective onto the table and sometimes, ideas clash.

How can you prepare for the report? Are there steps you can take prior to the report to help you succeed in it?

There really isn’t any secret or steps to prepare. The report and questions are in line with what we do in class, so keep up with your classes, do the readings, communicate with your group members to plan everything in advance (where you want to meet, when, etc), The more structure the better. Competing in case competitions will help provide you with experiences that you can apply to the report, so that is always a good idea.  Also make sure you get a good night’s rest!

What is your favourite part about the report?

It’s definitely got to be the opportunity to work with new people and establish those connections. Ivey is very fast paced and you’re always busy, so in those two days you get the chance to get to know the people in your section on a deeper level and build stronger friendships, especially with students who may not be as vocal in class or don’t put themselves out there as much.

And there you have it – what seems like an impossible report is actually just an awesome opportunity to get to know your classmates and develop your skills. Case Cracked!

Our PBSN Finance Directors sat down with HBA2 student Michael Yuan to get exclusive  details on what finance is really like. Michael is in his last year here at Western completing his HBA at Ivey. Throughout his time Michael has been heavily involved in a variety of things at Western from being a previous VP Communications of PBSN to now, the Co-President of the Western Investment Club. Read more to find out what he has to say about his time here.

How did you get involved with the Western Investment Club?
I joined WIC in first year – it was pretty intimidating as everything just flew over my head, something  I am sure lot of other first years can relate to. In my second year I gave it another try. I thought I would just dedicate myself to going to at least one meeting every week; you eventually find that the material becomes less and less intimidating. I learned a lot in second year, not just the technical skills, but about the mindset of an investor. It helped me land an internship the summer after my second year where I used my WIC application stock pitch for cold-emailing and subsequently in the interview. Afterwards, I used what I had learned in the summer to apply as a WIC analyst in my third year and I was lucky enough to become part of the team.  Since then, I have been more involved with a leadership role in the organization.

You said you developed the finance mindset more in second year. What kind of mindset did you have before that?
I was kind of on a back and forth route with finance. Out of high school I thought I wanted to go into finance, and to be totally honest, it was just for the superficial reason of the attractiveness and prestige that comes with working on Wall Street. I slowly discovered different fields such as Consulting, Entrepreneurship, and Technology through PBSN Panels and university events, so I gradually started moving towards that. What I believe really pulled me back to finance was my second year internship. I was looking at different stocks every day, thinking as an investor, and I realized that I was excited to go to work every day. That’s when I discovered that finance was something I liked doing, and was passionate about continuing.

What was the largest misconception you had that changed after your first day of work?
The biggest misconception was related to the people, and going off the thought that it’s Wall Street – people are very cutthroat, intense, and motivated primarily by personal goals . You very soon realize the people are similar to you; one or two years out of college with the same values as you. Especially Goldman, because at Goldman they focus specifically on how supportive the people they hire are. For example, every summer intern would be assigned a big buddy and mentor that would formally check in with you over the summer to make sure you were getting the most out of the experience. There is also an informal coffee culture where you can grab coffee with anyone in the organization no matter how senior they are, within reasonable limits, and just sit-down with them for a half hour to chat. I was pleasantly surprised with how supportive and relatable the people at the firm were.

Is it important to be different, or diversify yourself, for recruiting in order to be noticed?
I think it’s important to be different in anything that you’re talking about. Regardless if it’s finance or any other industry, originality is appreciated. Elon Musk, Steve Jobs: these are the role models we look up to, and they’re all highly original. The perception in finance is that it’s very traditional, conservative, and it’s true to an extent, but it’s important to be different within certain constraints. The industry is changing now that millennials are entering. It’s very important to stand out as a candidate. When I was going through the recruiting process for example, I would always try to insert my opinion into my answers. If someone asked me “Tell me about a sample mergers and acquisitions deal that you found interesting” I’d always give them the facts, but also my opinion, often a contrarian one. Rather than being upset, they really enjoyed it because they could see that you were interested in the field, able to think on your feet, and be critical.

Going back to thinking on your feet, what was the most left field question you ever experienced at an interview?
It’s pretty ironic, but I think the question I struggled with the most was when someone asked me: What do investment bankers do? It’s a simple question, but I just didn’t prep for it, so I stumbled to give him an answer. I think it shows the danger of people developing tunnel vision when preparing for interviews. It’s important to step back and ask yourself why exactly you want to go into a certain industry. I’ve noticed that a lot of my peers automatically gravitate towards finance or consulting because they are prestigious industries, but they don’t understand what they’re all about. The question threw me off guard because I was so caught up in prepping for the interview guides and getting the job that I hadn’t reflected on what it would mean to work in the industry.

You mentioned that doing a volunteer-ship abroad in Singapore in the summer of first year was an eye-opening experience for you. Do you want to talk about that job in Singapore a little bit?
It was a volunteering program through an organization called AIESEC, something I recommend PBSN members to consider for something to do this summer. This opportunity was specifically a social entrepreneurship internship in Singapore that combined volunteering with a business aspect. In Singapore, the culture is to eat out very frequently and almost every single time the containers they use are made of Styrofoam which is harmful to the environment. So, the business we were working with made these eco-friendly paper takeaway boxes, and then they combined the business aspect by selling advertising space on these boxes, to achieve a social mission while sustaining themselves. As interns we were asked to help with the basement initiatives.

It was a good opportunity to learn about social impact and live abroad, but mainly a way to occupy yourself in first year summer and make sure you’re doing something. A lot of people I’ve been talking to are stressed about finding those summer internships after first year. I think it’s good that you stressed, but it’s more about the experience rather than getting the name. In Ivey, when you’re recruiting in third year, employers don’t care what you did in your first year summer as long as you did something. It’s just a check in the box; they’re not going to evaluate the brand name of who you worked for, because they understand how difficult it is as a first year to find a job, and they also understand a lot of opportunities are through family connections. So, we tell everyone this, but of course everyone being very ambitious and keen no one believes it. Don’t stress about not finding an internship in your first year summer. Realistically what you’re going to do is going to be a volunteering opportunity or some sort of program, like a government program, and that’s totally fine.

Do you have any advice on putting maximum effort into work and club involvement, but not spreading yourself too thin?
I think that comes with experience, over time you get a lot better at that balance in university. What my prof said in Ivey when we first came was “I promise you what you can achieve in a day will double by the time November comes around”. A part of that is overcoming that steep learning curve that you face when you get to university and it gets a lot easier over time. Having said that, I don’t know if this is a bit of a tangent, but if I could say some key pieces of advice for younger students it’s:

1. Never forget about the kind of work that got you to where you are today. Everyone worked incredibly hard to get here, but what you’ll see is that a lot of people lose that ambition as time goes on. I would encourage everyone to remember what they did to get them here today, and to not let go of that.
2. Don’t forget the other side of the coin, you only go to university one time! It’s four years of your life, so make the most out of it. Enjoy yourself, explore lasting friendships, and don’t get too bogged down into stressing out about what job you’ll get, or what sort of industry you’ll go into.
   

Before we end the conversation, opposed to WIC, what would help our readers build that investor’s mindset?
A guest speaker, Matt Hall, said something that really resonated with me, “a good investor will be able to make up his mind before he touches a valuation”. Additionally, Warren Buffet says “beware of geeks bearing formulas”, essentially it’s the mindset that matters more than anything. In terms of resources, I recommend reading the news regularly; it immerses you in world events and  lets you borrow someone else’s mind for a few minutes while reading the article. Read up on some investment theses that other people post online, and read a lot of books. The Intelligent Investor is a great one. That’s the way you get better – surround yourself with intelligent people and expose yourself to intelligent resources.

If you enjoyed this interview and want to learn more about finance, come out to PBSN’s upcoming events the Stock Pitch Competition on Sunday March 19th and Inside the Industry: BMO Capital Markets on March 21st to get some hands on experience and hear from some more great people on if finance is the right fit for you!

Welcome to PBSN’s first Insights blog post of the academic year! With course selection opening tomorrow, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed with questions. Are 8:30am classes a good idea? What if I’m not sure which electives I want to take yet? How do I even select courses? The PBSN VP team wants to make your course selection process as easy and stress-free as possible, so we’re listing our first year courses and answering the most common questions surrounding course selection. Enjoy!

Jessica

Module: Specialization in Economics

First Year Courses:

What was your favourite course in first year?

Surprisingly, Spanish 1030 ended up being my favourite course last year. I was actually originally enrolled in French, but I accidentally put myself in the beginner level even though I’ve taken 7 years of French (look into all of the French options very carefully!). Since I needed to take a language credit in case I wanted to pursue Honours Specialization in Global Economics and the correct level of French didn’t fit my schedule, I sort of randomly switched into Spanish one week into classes. However, the huge similarities between French and Spanish made the course really interesting and not too difficult. As well, the small class sizes and young TAs make the course really engaging and fun. If you enjoy languages, consider taking it!

How did you approach the course selection process last year?

Course selection can seem overwhelming but Western gives you some great resources to help you out. Firstly, draftmyschedule.uwo.ca is a great tool that lets you arrange your schedule and I highly recommend you make 2-3 drafts on here before selecting the right one for you. This tool will also alert you of any course conflicts and it lists all of the prerequisites and antirequisites for each course. Then, to actually enroll in your courses, you log onto student.uwo.ca and click on “Open enrollment dates” on the righthand side of the page. The most important thing to keep in mind is that every first year is just as confused as you are, so don’t stress if you decide to enroll in classes in a couple of weeks instead of right away. I switched classes all the way into the first week of school!

You took quite a variety of courses last year, what was your thought process towards choosing electives?

What I loved most about the courses I took first year is that I had a good variety with essay courses (Bus 1220 and Politics 1020), math-based courses (Calc 1000 and Stats 1024), theory-based courses (Econ 1021 & 1022), and even a language course (Spanish 1030). This allowed me to take a break from studying one type of course and switch to another without feeling mentally exhausted. Besides variety, I really tried to pursue my interests beyond economics which is why took Politics 1020. This course is a great introduction to political science and while you write two essays throughout the year, all of the midterms and finals are purely multiple choice so don’t be daunted by its classification as an essay course.

Medhavi

Module: Honours Specialization in Global Economics

First Year Courses:

What was your favourite course in first year?

Business 1220 was by far my favourite course in first year! Although the content and workload can be challenging at times, you learn so much, make amazing friends, and are able to participate in class discussions as much as you want. There is such a great sense of community inside the classroom and it’s one that I genuinely looked forward to going to every day (even though mine was at 9:30AM, yikes). The professors are all recent Ivey graduates so not only are they able to give you a deep understanding of what life at Ivey will look like if you choose that route, but because they have office hours every week, there are so many opportunities to sit down one-on-one with your professor to go over class content, hear advice from them, and connect with them on a personal level. Check out this video to see what this year’s Business 1220 and 2257 professors were like (they could be yours next year!): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhXNT5HWDFk

How was your experience taking a university level English course?

I decided to take courses in second semester that pertained more to my interests, and one course that I really enjoyed was English 1028. Professor Keep is one of the best professors on campus and really makes those 9:30AM lectures with upwards of 300 students feel like a one-on-one conversation. I was genuinely shocked at how difficult the course was simply because essay writing is something that requires a lot of sophistication and a thorough understanding of the marker, but I learned more about computer science and technology in this course than I did in any compsci course. The lectures cover current events, technological innovation, gender rights, and the progression of literature throughout history with reference to politics, societal constructs, and religion (among others). Keep has a way of very theatrically bringing lectures full circle in a way that will blow your mind (think something along the lines of being in a How to Get Away With Murder class). If you’re looking for a challenge and are willing to build a different set of skills, I highly recommend taking this course.

Lisa

Module: BMOS

First Year Courses:

What was your favourite course in first year?

My favourite course in first year was definitely business 1220. With participation being worth 10% of your overall grade, you’re really able to get to know your peers well, and the professors all care so much about their students (although I have no idea how they’re able to remember all of their student’s names). Moreover, you’ll learn with the Ivey “case method” which is a nice little precursor to whether you will like Ivey in your third/fourth years!

Many students try to take easy courses or “bird courses” as electives, what is your advice in regards to this?

The most important thing to keep in mind when choosing courses is that you select ones that you are genuinely interested in. Even if your peers say a course is very easy, I find that when you’re not interested in the topic you won’t be motivated to study or succeed in that course. However, a course I recommend for first years looking for an easier elective is Math 1228. It is essentially Grade 12 data with a bit more added onto it, and overall it was definitely relatively easy to understand and high marks were very achievable. Online quizzes were worth 10%, midterm 1 was 20%, midterm 2 was 20%, the final was 40%, and the last 10% was either Midterm 1, 2 or your final, depending on whichever one you scored highest on. I loved having professor Shahada too!

Srijan

Module: Specialization in Economics

First Year Courses:

What was your favourite course in first year?

I would have to say that my favourite class in first year was Speech 2001. Thanks to my high school credits I was allowed to take this second year course and it truly helped me become a better public speaker! The reason I liked it so much was because it was a rigorous course that challenged me to write, prepare and rehearse for a new speech every two weeks. I wasn’t a nervous speaker before, but the course’s content slowly helped me refine my speaking capabilities throughout the year. The class size was also fairly unique for university as it only had 25 people in it. This small class size paired with the fact that I was the only first year student registered in the course led to me gaining 25 new friends and mentors! I could say that the course was difficult and my professor was a hard marker but the amount I learned was invaluable and much more important than a mere mark.

What was the biggest adjustment you felt going from high school classes to university ones?

Adjustments are different for everyone but for me it was the added responsibility of being your own boss. It sounds great but it comes with it’s challenges and obstacles. You have to decide if it’s okay for you to skip that class or ask someone to take notes for you that lecture. Yes, the difficulty of the classes might be a bit tougher than high school, however, adjusting to the fact that you have to make your own decisions to study, go to club meetings, and see friends was what the biggest adjustment I had to make. A bit of advice I would give to all of you incoming students is that university is truly an exciting time and a totally different stage in your lives. Don’t be intimidated by all the freedom that you’re getting – the whole process is a big adjustment and everyone struggles with it in their own way but you’ll have your friends, family, and the entire Western community to help you out!

Justin

Module: Honours Specialization in Computer Science

First Year Courses:

What was your favourite course in first year?

Now that you are in University, it’s not about choosing courses that will get you a high mark anymore, it’s about choosing courses that you want to learn about. Ironically, my favourite course in first year was also my lowest mark. Computer Science Fundamentals I and II were my favourite courses and although they teach different levels of computer science in different languages, they both have the same theory and concept. As a student who has never taken any CompSci courses in high school, going into those classes was extremely challenging. You constantly feel behind and you have to spend that extra hour at home to catch up. But what I learned in that one school year made it completely worth it. If I were to describe this course in one sentences, it would be “challenging, but rewarding!”. The key takeaway from this is never stop trying new things – You never know, it might change your life

What tips do you have for beginners entering computer science?

As mentioned above, I didn’t take any CompSci courses in high school and so it was a very challenging transition. Don’t get me wrong- It’s challenging, but definitely doable! If you are in the same shoes as me here are a few things that you can do to better prepare yourself for it:

1- Read a handful of books or even articles about computer science. The last thing you want to do is to go into computer science and not knowing what it’s about. If you find the reading interesting, then you’re on the right path.

2- Learn the basics about the course language (Python, Java, C++…) First year professors always think that everyone in their classes has experience with the languages. I know it’s not fair, but sometimes you just have to deal with it. Search up online courses to learn basics notations/algorithms and theories. (Search up Derek Bananas on YouTube, he makes very clear videos!)

3- Put in the extra hours after class. It’s okay that you feel confused during the first few classes, it’s totally normal, but you have to find a way to adjust. If you just put in 1 hour every 2 days before you sleep and revise what you’ve learned in class, you will improve FOSHO!

Good Luck and Study hard!

Harshil

Module: BMOS

First Year Courses:

What was your favourite course in first year?

My favourite course this year was MOS 1023: Accounting and Finance. In addition to having practical and interesting course content, I think a large part of why I enjoyed it so much was because of the professor, Barry Hawn. Although some of the content can be tricky to comprehend, Barry teaches it in such a way where he uses an ongoing example for the entire class, to explain every important concept.  When it comes to the content specifically, I found both the accounting and finance portions very interesting and applicable.  This course makes you more financially literate, comfortable with key investment concepts, and can truly act as an indicator of whether accounting/finance is something you enjoy learning about.  The exam questions can be quite ambiguous, however,  if you work towards understanding the content, rather than just memorizing, you will do well! 

Western has a pretty big campus, is this something you should factor into your course selection?

Western is a very big campus and it can be especially inconvenient if you live in residences like Ontario Hall and Perth Hall.  That is why it is important to be smart with course selection, mainly, the structure of your schedule.  Firstly, if you are planning on scheduling back-to-back classes, keep in mind their distance from each other.  You are given 10 minutes to get from one class to another, but I would still recommend ensuring classes are close by. On another note, take into account when you usually eat lunch and plan your courses around that.  Although there are many food options around campus, most students eat at residence.  Therefore, either try to have the class before lunch be close to your residence or eat at Delaware Hall, the most central residence if you are on main campus.  

Harit

Module: Major in Economics

First Year Courses:

What was your favourite course in first year?

My favourite class in first year was Astronomy 2022: The Origin of the Universe. The course content was something that I found personally engaging, and that encouraged me to spend more time studying the course material and doing well in the class. The class is designed for people who have minimal knowledge of astronomy and physics, so it was perfect for someone like me who was interested in the topic but had no background in it. I enjoyed the way the class was set up; the professor described our lectures as being “story-time.” There were two writing assignments, one midterm, and a final exam. The two writing assignments were daunting at first, but the TA’s are available to go over the work with you and let you know how to improve your essays. Overall, I enjoyed this course very much and I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for an interesting elective.

What was the earliest class you took and what advice do you have in regards to selecting class times?

The earliest class I took was Calculus at 9:30am. In hindsight, that was maybe not the best decision haha. I woke up for school at 6:30 everyday so I thought a class at 9:30 would be perfect. However, in residence, especially during the first few weeks, it was rare for me to go to bed before 2am, and that made waking up in the morning extremely hard. However, choosing your earliest class time strictly depends on your personal preference. If you like for your day to start early and are most active in the morning, I would pick earlier class times. On the other hand, if you usually go to bed late and have trouble waking up in the morning, be warned. You may end up skipping your morning classes, or going to them very tired and unable to pay attention. If you’re unsure, experiment with the times first semester, and see which one suits your routine better and you can change the timings of the classes accordingly next semester and plan better for future years.

Jane

Module: Honours Specialization in Computer Science

First Year Courses:

What was your favourite course in first year?

My two favourite courses this year were definitely Computer Science Fundamentals I and II. These two courses really teach you how to think, and it’s more problem solving based rather than memorizing textbooks. Both of my profs were engaging and made the classes fun – definitely not the cliché computer science courses you think of. I’ve learned the most this year from these two courses, and while they were challenging, it was rewarding to know that you have gained and accomplished a lot after finishing them. What’s also great about these courses is that they’re designed for people who don’t have prior knowledge in computer science so the concepts and material is taught at a reasonable pace. These courses were also really fun because you get a lot of freedom – you learn the base concepts and aren’t forced to do anything a certain way, so you really develop your critical thinking skills and your own style of coding.

Your first university exam period can be pretty stressful, what tips do you have for conquering #finalsszn?

Exam season is nothing to be afraid of! Taking frequent breaks definitely helps to de-stress when you feel overwhelmed. If you’re not in the right mindset to study, it won’t be effective studying and you’ll find yourself spending more hours studying than if you studied when your mind was focused. It’s a good idea to pace yourself – give yourself breaks for every hour you study. Working out or even just getting out of your chair once in a while is a great way to get your mind off of things and refresh your head before going back to studying. Also make sure to eat in order to keep your brain fueled, and plan out a study schedule so you’re organized and not panicking last minute. Keep these things in mind and I’m sure you’ll all ace your finals!

Harleen

Module: BMOS

First Year Courses:

What was your favourite course in first year?

My favourite course in first year was Human Geography! The professor was very nice and he really guides you through lectures with a lot of energy because he’s very passionate about what he teaches. This was actually a course that I was very close to dropping because I was intimidated by the fact that it was an essay course and I’ve never been a fantastic writer. However, there is only four short essays that you have to write for the course and it was never difficult for me to complete them because my TA was super helpful. Overall, it is a really fantastic course even if you only slightly liked Geography in high school like me – I would definitely recommend it!

What’s your fave study spot on campus for in between classes?

It’s tough to choose just one because there are a lot of great study spots on campus and it really depends on each person’s preference. I personally got a lot of studying done in my residence room or in the Academic Cafe of my residence during first year. While a lot of people will tell you to go to “Club Weldon” (aka Weldon Library) to study if you have a tough midterm coming up, I personally found some great quiet places to study in the Social Science building in between classes that were a lot less crowded. The location is prime because it’s quite central on campus, but it’s very underrated because it’s a bit old. Another popular study spot is Taylor Library as it’s a lot newer that Weldon and a little more aesthetically pleasing if that’s important to you. Overall, my advice is to really explore campus and find a study spot that works best for you!

Useful Resources

A breakdown of all of Western’s building acronyms: www.uwo.ca/westerndir/help/buildings.html

A map of Western’s campus! www.geography.uwo.ca/campusmaps/images/map/westernandaffiliates.pdf

Mark your calendars, because on November 25th, 2017 PBSN is hosting our annual Case Competition! Whether you’re new to case competitions or already an expert, keep reading to equip yourself with the tools to ace this competition and for an exclusive interview with last year’s winners.

What is a Case Competition?

In essence, a case competition is an event where teams of students receive a case study to prepare in four hours. The case will outline a problem a company is facing or an opportunity they are looking into, and teams must analyze the case information and develop a strategy to help the company achieve their goals. Case competitions are a great opportunity to mirror industry practices and apply technical knowledge to real life scenarios.

PBSN’s Case Competition will also be judged by HBA2s during the first round and Shopify representatives during the final round. Their questions are a chance to test your quick thinking, develop practical skills, and gain a greater insight into the business industry!

While this can all seem daunting, case competitions are not about what solution you choose but how you support your ideas. Don’t feel like you need to be a business expert to do well, PBSN’s Case Competition is intended to be a learning experience for interested students. We’re even hosting a Case Competition Educational in partnership with Ivey’s Case Competition Club on Wednesday, November 22nd from 5-7pm in Ivey Rm 1130 to go over basic structure and strategy!

Now for an inside look at what you can expect on November 25th, here’s an exclusive interview with Lisa Chen, Saad Afroz, and Lillie Sun; members of last year’s winning team!

1. How did you choose your team for PBSN’s Case Competition last year?

Lillie: I asked my friends, especially those in my business 1220 class or just anyone that I’d find easy to work with. It is so important to find someone that you’d genuinely want to be with and someone with strong interpersonal skills (and not just technical skills).

Lisa: We also made sure everyone had a different mix of skills, whether it be people that were stronger in finance or in marketing, overall it’s important to balance your team. However, the most important trait I looked for was how well someone could potentially execute our presentation. I think being able to delegate tasks and trust my team was vital in having having a strong sense of teamwork.

2. On the day of the competition, what was your first impression?

Saad: It was definitely fast paced. You start with a presentation on how to solve a case and you’re essentially thrown into the competition. Since no one is monitoring you, no one cares if you’re working hard, so it’s your responsibility to finish the case.

Lisa: It was definitely a lot to take in! Our group found our own little space to grind out the case but if it’s your first case competition you’ll definitely have moments where you don’t exactly know what you’re doing, and that’s fine.

3. What was the most challenging part of Case Competition?

Lillie: Realizing that while you have four hours to prepare, the most important thing is the ten minutes you present in. You need to make sure your team has a good flow and consistency; so at a certain point you need to stop working on the minor details of your solution and focus on creating a great presentation. Also, figuring out the solution as a team and integrating five people’s ideas was definitely tricky as well.

Saad: Though four hours may seem like a long time, collaborating with people itself took up much more time than we expected. Under the time constraint, we concluded that focusing on presenting and speaking was just as important as the content. Another challenge was recognizing what type of case we were solving. For example, last year we definitely had a marketing focussed case, which meant that it was more beneficial to create a well thought out marketing plan than stress too much about the financials. It’s important to target the most important goals of the company, because there isn’t time for everything.

4. What is one piece of advice you’d give competitors this year?

Lisa: Read through the case and understand what it’s asking, come to a unanimous decision at the beginning, and go from there.

Lillie: Don’t forget about the presentation, they only see what you do for the ten minutes!

Saad: Be confident and run with whatever you have. Even if you don’t think you have the greatest solution, present it as if you do.

5. Final question: If you could sum up the case competition in one word, what would it be?

Lisa: Rewarding.   Lillie: Hectic!    Saad: Good time?  

Now that you have all of the tools you need, make sure to sign-up to compete in this year’s PBSN Case Competition! You can register in person at Somerville House from November 20-21 from 12-5pm, or anytime before November 23rd at 11:59pm online by registering using this form, and paying using this form! The fee to compete is $5 for PBSN members and $10 for non-members. 

Congratulations! You’ve accepted your offer to Western and while the school year has yet to start, course enrolments are just around the corner. How do I pick which electives to take? Do I take that morning class? The PBSN VP team has prepared the ultimate course selection cheat sheet to help you conquer your first-year! We’ve given our personal experiences and answered the most common questions surrounding course selections. Enjoy!

Eileen

Module: BMOS

First Year Courses: 

What was your favourite course this year and why?
My favourite course last year was also the course I found most challenging. I took Introduction to Sociology (SOC1021E) on a whim during course selections and I’m so glad that I did. Since it is a survey course, the prof covered all facets of Sociology and I started to see where sociological concepts were applied in my everyday life, which was extremely interesting for me. Sociology was also a good break from the MOS and econ courses and to my advantage, the concepts in sociology helped me understand concepts in my other courses as well! Any sociology course has its difficulties and for me, I found that the exams were often ambiguous and no matter how much I thought I knew the content, the exams would still trip me up. Though it was difficult, I definitely learned the most through this course and it is one of the few courses where I apply the concepts learned in my everyday life.

You did not take Business 1220 last year, what was the thought process behind this?
Prior to university, I had taken every business course offered at my high school and I thought I had a good general understanding of the different topics in business. I was also pretty confident in my public speaking skills and decided that it (hopefully) wouldn’t hinder my participation later on in 2257. After talking with a couple of my friends who had taken the course, I decided not to take it so I could explore my interests outside of business. I was able to do this, especially with sociology! That being said, almost all of my friends said that bus 1220 was their favourite course in first-year and the one that they learned the most in.

Danilla

Module: Health Sciences

First Year Courses: 

What was your favourite course this year and why?
My favourite course this year was Business 1220 for so many reasons. Structure-wise, Business 1220 is taught using the case study method. Coming to university I knew what that meant but actually experiencing how engaging it is and its merits as a learning method was a very enjoyable experience and a fun change in tempo from my other courses. Regarding content, getting a good understanding of the main areas of business was something I really wanted to do in my first year. At the end of 1220, I truly felt like I was able to do so and even get a feel for what areas of business I wanted to pursue in the future, seeing as they interested me so much in class. Most importantly though, the atmosphere was the absolute best. Being surrounded by your peers from all different disciplines who are curious about business and being encouraged to share your thoughts and participate, is not only a great way to meet new friends, but also an experience that will help you grow as a person.

You took a variety of courses last year, what was your approach to enrolling in courses?
When picking courses, I really use my interest as my guiding principle! University is a fantastic opportunity to choose from so many exciting courses and I think the diversity of my courses simply reflected what I was curious about and wanted to explore.

What I think a lot of students don’t realize is that, when having a variety of courses, if you’re looking for it, you’ll actually be able to find a lot of fascinating connections between the courses – giving you a comprehensive, fluid and unique learning experience. With a diversity of courses, I was able to approach each course a little differently. Within my health studies classes, I could view concepts from a health studies lens, but also understand it from a geographic and economic standpoint. My knowledge in statistics really helped me interpret and evaluate the validity of academic studies used in geography and both my health studies courses. Collectively, all my courses worked together to deepen my understanding of each course on its own, allowing me to experience a lot of valuable synergies which was a rewarding experience.

Dea

Module: Health Sciences

First Year Courses: 

What was your favourite course this year and why?
While almost all my courses were science-based, the one that really stuck out for me was Health Sciences 1001 – Personal Determinants of Health! The course focused on various aspects of health and wellness, and delved deeper into mental health, chronic diseases, substance abuse, nutrition, fitness, etc. As someone who enjoys real-life applications when it comes to learning content, this was something I highly valued in contrast to my theory-heavy courses. I would 100% recommend this course to students in any faculty interested in learning more about the constructs of health from a personal perspective. P.S it’s also not difficult to do really well in if you take a bit of time to understand all the content!

Help! I created a schedule before my enrollment time and when it was time for me to enroll in them, the class(es) I planned for were already full. Do you have any advice in regards to this?
#1 tip to avoid this scenario completely is to make multiple drafts of your schedule! You don’t know your exact enrollment time until close to the date, and if you end up with a late time, your schedule could turn out entirely different than you had hoped. To make sure you that you don’t have to make a less than perfect schedule last minute, make multiple variations of your schedule that you are happy with beforehand.

But, if you still end up with a class or two that are full for the time you wanted, enroll for them in another time slot. For larger classes (speaking just for the science courses, in my case), the content is identical, so you can actually usually just go to whichever lecture is more convenient for you, or the time slot at which a professor you like is teaching.

If you’re like me, though, and like to go by your schedule, enroll in the less suitable times for the meanwhile. People routinely drop courses, especially in the first week of classes, so if you keep checking your Student Center, you should be able to get back into your planned time (fingers crossed!).

Bhapushon

Module: Astrophysics + Financial Economics

First Year Courses: 

What was your favourite course this year and why?
Spanish 1030 was by far the most fun and engaging course in first-year. I loved high school and the fact that there were only twenty students in my class made me feel like I was in grade ten again. Since language requires participation and involvement with your peers, you develop strong lasting relationships with the students you meet in this class. In fact, I made two of my closest friends through Spanish 1030! On top of that, I took French all four years of high school and a lot of the grammatical structure in Spanish is similar and easy to follow *cough* guess the right answer *cough*. Not only was the course fun and easy, but it was like a breath of fresh air, something that took me away from the fast-paced stressful life of university.

When picking your courses, did you have to factor in the times that you would be dedicating to extracurriculars and other endeavours you took part in during the school year?
One thing I would advise you about is to be wary of night classes. Oftentimes these will clash with meetings, events, or preferable intramural sports times! Be cognizant of this moving forward! I had three night classes first semester and I didn’t have any second semester allowing me to thoroughly pursue extracurricular activities! You don’t want to restrict yourself right off the bat because I assure you, you’ll regret the things you DON’T do, more so than the things you eventually take a leap of faith and decide to do. First-year is all about trying new things and getting to know yourself. Join that club, play that sport, go to that conference, cause you will ALWAYS get something out of it; you just may not know it at the time.

Jackson

Module: Specialization in Economics

First Year Courses: 

What was your favourite course this year and why?
Aside from finance, I am also very interested in politics and world affairs. That’s why I took Politics 1020: An Introduction to Political Theory. If you’re interested in politics and the theories, histories, and individuals that shape it, you will absolutely LOVE this course. It’s a great introduction to the major theories and thinkers of Western political philosophy, and it provides a great deal of insight into the history of political thought. Overall, it’s a stellar course that provides a great deal of insight into the way our world is structured and functions, as well as the archetypes and ideas that shape the ways in which we think.

On another note, the way you think about the concepts and structures presented in this course is very important. Politics is very thematic; each theory or perspective can often be summarized by a single word or phrase. Adopting a thematic mindset will allow you to better understand how the ideas of individual thinkers and sub-theories are connected and related to the overarching theme.

Lastly, tutorials are a blast. If you have a good section, everyone is engaged in the discussion and the classroom becomes a salon for the exchange of ideas and the development of arguments (the philosophical, not the verbal, kind—however, those can develop too).

What are your thoughts about taking a course twice a week for an hour each class versus taking that course once a week for a longer period of time?
In regard to the “one hour/two times a week vs. two hours/once a week” debate—completely dependent upon your preferences. You’ll also find that the “importance” of attending certain classes is dependent upon how well you understand the material and the insight your instructor provides into said material. You’ll find that, for some classes, your professor will merely repeat the information found in the textbook, and will not be much of a value-add to your learning experience. However, in some classes (1220 is the big one) where attendance is mandatory or the professor is very insightful (or gives out exam questions in class) you must make sure you attend every class, are attentive and pay attention to detail. That being said, I loved having a 3-hour block of econ once a week, and the class frequently ended early as well.

Kylie

Module: BMOS

First Year Courses: 

What was your favourite course this year and why?
My favourite course this year had to be Sociology 1020. To put some context into how I chose my courses, I based it a lot on my interests and what subjects I knew I would struggle to study well. Many social science electives weren’t offered at my high school and I was never the best at economics, so I really had no idea what I was getting into when I took sociology. Yes, there’s heaps of (convoluted) reading for this course, but it’s really taught me to think deeper about why things the way they are and should we accept them for the way that they are. I don’t think I realized how valuable and transferable this way of thinking was until I started writing my marketing report for BUS1220.

Where is your go-to study spot on campus?
When I really need to block out distractions for two or four hours of good productivity, I usually study at the Taylor Library lower ground cubicles. When it comes to finishing my readings, I need absolute silence so I can hear myself read and think. Sometimes, I’ll need a change of scenery, so I also really liked studying at the communal tables upstairs in the UCC. If anything, really nail down what your ideal study environment is when you come to university. For myself, I’ve come to understand that I’m someone who can’t study in her own room; I’m too tempted to take a nap in my bed when I study in my room.

Brad

Module: Specialization in Economics

First Year Courses: 

What was your favourite course this year and why?
Business 1220 was hands down my favourite class. There are so many reasons I could list as to why its the best first year course, but to be brief I’ll keep it to two: class atmosphere and learning style. In terms of the atmosphere, 1220 is great because everyone within your class will end up knowing one another which makes coming to class much more enjoyable. Moreover, my unbelievable prof Raza would always make sure lessons were never dull by constantly throwing humour and even memes into our class’ slide decks. In short, the class is actually fun, and considering how many other dry courses exist, it’s really nice to know you’re in for an unbelievable lecture. Despite the great atmosphere, I believe the learning style is really what made 1220 for me. The case method really pushes you to actually think because no scenario you encounter is ever the same and no answer is necessarily wrong. For me this makes class, which is participation based, even better because everyone will constantly debate decisions facing companies which really allows you to actively understand the subject material and immediately apply it. Bus 1220 teaches you an incredible amount about business as whole and does so in a really engaging and enjoyable way. I would highly recommend taking it.

How did you manage to keep your cool when you had exams scheduled closely in a period of time?
It’s not uncommon at Western to have the majority of your exams scheduled in a really short period of time. My second semester featured four exams in just under a week. While this may sound fairly daunting, it can become significantly more manageable if you take a proactive approach to studying and start early. Leading up to exams, you’ll generally have two or three weeks of really light work. It is absolutely essential to use these weeks to study despite the seemingly distant date of exams. As for myself, I find it helps to set up daily goals on a schedule. This helps you take exam season day-by-day, which makes it much more manageable and considerably less stressful. It also keeps you on track so that you won’t have to stress about last minute cramming.

 
Bijan

Module: Specialization in Economics

First Year Courses: 

What was your favourite course this year and why?
Although Intro to Philosophy was one of my more difficult courses, it was still one of my favourites this year. I had taken a philosophy course in high school and, after enjoying this high school course, I decided I would take a university level philosophy course. Throughout the year, students taking Intro to Philosophy had to write four essays. Writing these essays could sometimes be very frustrating (as I’m sure one could imagine – this is philosophy we’re talking about here). It is important to note, though, that the process of writing these essays taught me how to ask the right questions and how to concisely write out my thoughts. This course helped me learn how to think and write more effectively, which is why I am very glad that I took it this year.

What is your opinion on back-to-back classes? Is this something I should factor in when creating my schedule?
Before I start, it’s important that students know that classes end 10 minutes earlier than scheduled. This usually gives students enough time to get from class to class if they have a back-to-back. Also, keep in mind that there is no right answer to this question. I would recommend that students see what works best for them once first semester is over.

To answer this question though, in my opinion, I think having back-to-back classes allows you to utilize your time more efficiently. If classes are one hour apart, for example, it’s probable that most students won’t use their time too efficiently in this small gap. For starters, it usually takes a bit of time (at least 15 minutes if you’re like myself) for students to get into a session of deep focus. What works best for me is having all of my classes in one or two chunks of the day. Following this scheduling strategy takes away the time that I would have spent not being productive between classes.

Shreya

Module: Specialization in Economics

First Year Courses: 

What was your favourite course this year and why?
My favourite course was, surprisingly enough, the one I had the least expectations from. Entering first-year my upper-year friends all told me that CS1032 was a bird course and therefore a must-take. I was surprised to find that not only did I enjoy the course, but it was also incredibly useful for my current internship. The course teaches students about Excel, Access, SQL, and E-R Diagrams at a beginner’s level – it’s known as “the computer science for business kids.” For someone who was entering the year with minimum knowledge of all of the above, it allowed me to broaden my horizon in a fun and captivating way. The best part was that it positioned me really well for my internship since I knew the basics of Excel and dealing with large databases.

The adjustment from high school to university is often difficult (and a long one!), what was most difficult for you, and how did you overcome it?
Entering a new stage of life while being away from home, your closest friends, and family can really put a person out of their element. I was lucky to have my best friend from high school along my side, but even then it was nerve-wracking in the months leading up to O-Week. I had no idea who my friends would be, where I’d find them, and most of all, if I’d find friends I genuinely connected with. But within my first week at Western, I realized that building a new support system isn’t as hard as it seems. I joined all the clubs I could think of, bonded with my floormates, and reconnected with some old friends. Before I knew it, Western was home. So since hindsight is 20-20, my one piece of advice would be to put yourselves out there. Whether it ’s joining that interesting club on campus (shameless PBSN plug) or befriending your next door neighbour, it never really hurts to meet new people!

Matt

Module: BMOS

First Year Courses: 

What was your favourite course this year and why?
Earth Science 1022 was probably my favourite course this year. Content wise it was very different, so it was a really nice break from my other classes. It was probably the only course where I had no prior knowledge about the material being taught, so I found lectures interesting as I was always learning something new. The prof was also super interesting and engaging, you could tell the topic was something she was really passionate about.

What was the earliest and latest class you took this year and how did you approach creating your schedule based on class times?
The earliest class I took was Math 1229, which started at 9:30 am and the latest class I took was Calc 1000, which ended at 9:00 pm. In terms of creating my schedule, I didn’t want to have too many morning classes or classes that were too late in the evening. It just so happened that the times for these 2 classes were the only ones the worked with my schedule, so I didn’t have much of a choice. I would recommend avoiding too many evening classes, a lot of clubs have meetings/event in the evenings so it might take some of those opportunities away.

Final Word

Course selections can be a little daunting at first but the entire VP team hopes that our experiences will help set you up for success in the upcoming year. First-year is an exciting time but don’t be afraid to take risks and enroll in a course you never knew thought you wanted to take. It might turn out to be your favourite course!

If you have any other questions about course selections or Western life in general, feel free to reach out to anyone on the VP team and we’d be happy to tell you more about our experiences. Good luck and go kill it!

Useful Resources

Can’t figure out which buildings SEB or NCB are? Refer to this list of all Western buildings and their associated acronyms: www.uwo.ca/westerndir/help/buildings.html

Draft My Schedule is the key to success when picking courses! Before officially enrolling in your courses, draft a schedule to visually plan out what your schedule can look like. It will also tell you about the prerequisites/antirequisites or course conflicts you may have: https://draftmyschedule.uwo.ca/login.cf

When your enrollment time comes, log onto Student Center and click “Open Enrollment dates” on the right-hand side of the page: https://.uwo.ca/psp/heprdweb/?cmd=login

Prepare in advance! Western’s campus is huge and may take more than the 10 minutes between a back-to-back class to get from one building to another. Use this campus map to help you plan wisely:  www.geography.uwo.ca/campusmaps/images/map/westernandaffiliates.pdf

As a general business club, PBSN boasts a large platform of events and initiatives that cater to many different industries. Ahead of clubs week, the current VP team would like to introduce the portfolio of events that aim to give you the opportunity to dive into the business community at Western. Irrespective of whether you plan on applying for an executive position or just getting involved by being a general member, these initiatives can help your personal development.

Internship Program

Breaking into a number of industries can be incredibly daunting, especially when one does not have any relevant work experience. To overcome this hurdle, the Internship Program aims to aid our members by providing them opportunities to intern for a number of organizations, including non-profits, across Ontario. This past year, students took on roles as Data Scientists, Marketing Coordinators and Business Development Analysts, which helped them gain critical exposure to the job market. Also, it allowed them to learn tangible skills that, in the future, can help them successfully recruit for positions in their areas of interest.

Participant Experience

“My experience with the PBSN Internship Program was incredible. I was fortunate enough to intern for an exceptional startup called North South Management. Through the program, I learned an exceptional amount about networking, interpersonal skills, and professionalism in a corporate environment. If I get the chance to participate in the Internship Program next year, I would definitely pursue the opportunity!”

– Zain Khan, AEO2

Pro-bono Consulting Program

PBSN’s Pro-Bono Consulting Program gives students the opportunity to experience consulting first-hand by working in teams to solve a current business challenge. Last year, we partnered with Airbnb, who challenged students to increase exposure to its “Airbnb for Work” platform, and LinkedIn, who tasked students to increase its monthly active users. Participants worked to take a deep dive into each company, and their respective industries to develop their own unique insights. To aid students in this process teams were paired with HBA2 mentors, with experience at prominent consulting companies, who reviewed their pitches and provided feedback.  At the conclusion of the program, students presented their final recommendations to company representatives.

Participant Experience

“Consulting on behalf of Airbnb provided me with valuable exposure to a unique and rewarding facet of the financial services industry. The experience facilitated my personal and professional development. It allowed me to improve my abilities to critically think, problem solve, and speak confidently, while reminding me of the importance of collaboration. Most importantly, I was able to share an incredible experience with other passionate students coming from various academic backgrounds.”

– Peter Akioyamen, AEO2

Interview Competition

The Scotiabank Interview Competition is one of  PBSN’s biggest events of the year. Taking place in the spring, it features 50 of the brightest PBSN members who compete for a chance to intern at Scotia Wealth Management. PBSN recognizes that being able to communicate and carry yourself effectively in an interview is an essential skill, however it can be difficult to develop. The Interview Competition consists of three rounds and gives members the chance to not only practice their interview skills, but also get feedback from distinguished Ivey HBAs. Throughout the day, competitors will also have the opportunity to speak to Scotiabank representatives and learn more about the company.

Participant Experience

“The Interview Competition gave me a great opportunity to face some tough interviewers and learn how to be calm and relaxed in a pretty stressful setting. The opportunity to work at Scotiabank for the summer was also something that I wouldn’t be able to get otherwise, and I got a ridiculous amount out of that summer. Overall, I think this is the can’t miss event for PBSN – in terms of both the experience and the potential prize, it was a huge help for me.”

– Victor Lal, HBA2 and 2017 Interview Competition Winner

Case Competition

The annual Case Competition is one of the largest events hosted by the Pre-Business Students’ Network. Taking place in November, it is often many students’ first case competition. With a focus on development, participants have the opportunity to present to distinguished Ivey HBA students, and receive personalized feedback and recommendations. After the first round of competition, finalists are able to present to industry professionals from the sponsoring company. Last year, the Case Competition was sponsored by Shopify, and the winning team had the opportunity to interview for a summer internship with them.

Participant Experience

“I remained in contact with one of the Shopify judges after the competition, who influenced me to pursue a summer internship at a company with a similar open-minded concept. It’s so important to leverage the kinds of connections and skills you learn at these competitions.”

– Deshna Kanesalingam, AEO2 and Case Competition Winner 2017

Stock Pitch Competition

The PBSN Stock Pitch Competition, offered in partnership with the Western Investment Club and Scotia Wealth Management, provides first- and second-year students with an opportunity to develop important technical skills and demonstrate their knowledge in the field of investing. This event consists of two educational “Superdays”, hour-long workshops where students learn the fundamentals of value investing and develop their investment thesis, and the competition itself, which is judged by WIC Analysts and Scotia Wealth Management representatives. The stock pitch competition strives to connect our members with upper-year students and professionals in the financial services industry, while also providing them with an opportunity to develop their knowledge in the field of investing.

Participant Experience

“Competing in PBSN’s Stock Pitch Competition proved to be an extremely valuable experience. The event increased my motivation to dig into public markets and search for value. With the help of several Western Investment Club Analysts, who volunteered as mentors, I learned a tremendous amount about screening, valuation, and the work ethic required to create a stock pitch. I highly recommend participating.”

– Brad Perez, VP Projects and 2018 Stock Pitch Champion

Firms Trip

The Firms Trip is a unique PBSN event that gives members the opportunity to visit prominent firms in the finance, consulting, marketing, and technology sectors. This event is different from other PBSN events as students have the opportunity to visit Downtown Toronto for the day. During these visits, students get to learn first hand what each career pathway looks like through conversations with employees and workshops offered by sponsoring companies. Participants also have the chance to meet and build lasting connections with industry professionals from the sponsor firms. Last year, the Firms Trip featured BMO Capital Markets, Accenture, and P&G.

Participant Experience

“The Toronto Firms’ Trip is a day catered towards networking and personal development. Through visiting firms in diverse fields, you gain industry and firm specific insight that can help you refine your career aspirations. This trip gives you the opportunity to meet recruiters, Ivey graduates, and other employees on a larger scale than local events to experience first-hand their firm culture and develop relationships.”

– Jane Wang, HBA1

Career Panels

The Career Panel Series takes place in October and November and are PBSN’s first events of the year. Coming into university, it can be difficult to understand the various career pathways that are available to students. As such, the career panels give members the opportunity to learn and explore various industries and see what interests them most. The panels feature prominent HBAs in the fields of finance, technology, marketing/sales, and consulting. By hearing about experiences firsthand and being able to ask any questions that attendees may have, the career panels give members a more complete picture of popular industries.

Participant Experience

Coming into first year, trying to learn about potential careers and finding possibilities that interest you can be daunting, but the career panels provided me great, honest insight and advice from students who’ve entered those fields. Prior to the consulting panel, I didn’t know what exactly consulting was. Now I’m open to an entirely new career possibility.

–  Shree Ghandhi, AEO2

Connect Conference

 The Connect Conference is an event that provides students with an all-encompassing view of the consulting world. At Connect, students have the opportunity to network with industry professionals (from Recruiting Managers to Consultants), participate in workshops that teach them how to approach cases like a professional consultant would, and compete in a case competition for a chance to win office tours and dinners with recruiters and consultants from respected firms! Last year’s Connect Conference was sponsored by McKinsey and Company, The Boston Consulting Group, and Bain and Company. This year’s conference will have all of last year’s amazing features, and more!

Participant Experience

“As a second-year student, my view of the consulting industry was quite blurry. Attending Connect provided me with the lens to clearly see what happens behind the scenes in the industry. Personally, I loved interacting with consultants at these coveted firms and learn how their time is actually spent to bring about solutions for their clients – it was nothing like I had imagined. I would highly encourage anyone wanting to learn more about consulting to attend!”

– Neel Patel, Connect Conference Case Competition Winner 2018

Stay Connected

Class of 2022 Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/pbsn2022/ 

The first month of University can be a mix of overwhelming, exciting, nerve-wracking, while simultaneously being the best month ever. The VP team wants to answer any questions about the events during the first month as well give you our best tips! Here is a breakdown of what to expect during the first month and how you can make the most of it.

O-Week kicks off the next four years at Western and it is the best way to immerse yourself into the Western community. Having just moved into residence or off-campus, this is your opportunity to push beyond your comfort zone. Throughout the week, there are many events planned with your residence or your faculty to familiarize yourself with your community and academic resources available to you at Western.

VP Projects Brad Perez’s Advice

“In my opinion, O-Week was one of the best weeks of first year. My main piece of advice is to make sure you attend all of the Western organized O-Week events. This may seem obvious but once you’re up at school you may be tempted to hang out with friends you came to Western knowing. However, I would stress that you make the most of Western’s O-Week as it’s something you’ll only truly be able to experience once.

One of my best memories of O-Week was when most of my floor randomly ended up in my room before the first night. We just left the door open and more and more people began to come. It gave me the chance to meet a number of amazing people who stayed friends throughout the year!”

VP Communications Bhapushon Thayalan

“O-Week is the ONLY time of the year where you will be on campus and NOT be stressed about school. Take advantage of the opportunity to explore your surroundings with people you’ve never met before. I later realized that I never regretted attending an  O-Week event I was reluctant of, but I do regret not attending some of them. University WILL push you out of your comfort zone. You might as well start trying new things as soon as you can!

 During O-Week you’ll have the chance to do cool things that you would usually have to pay for otherwise! I remember rock-climbing with my friends on top of UC Hill and got a $20 Just Eat food voucher for doing so!” 

For the week of September 17-21, the Mustang Lounge inside of the UCC is turned into an array of booths all the clubs Western has to offer.  Clubs will tell you a little bit about their executive position recruiting process, what events they hold throughout the year, and then you can pay the membership fee to stay involved within that club.

VP Careers Matt Pereira

“Clubs week is a phenomenal way to find different clubs that really interest you. That being said, make sure you really take time to see what certain clubs do and the initiatives they have before becoming a member. In my first year I think I ended up paying to be a member of six or seven clubs, and in the end, I was only really involved with three of them.

There is no rush to pay for club memberships, so take your time and make sure that what you are signing up for is something that really interests you. After clubs week take the time to attend the AGMs of the clubs you are interested in, and after getting a better look some clubs, then decide which ones you are going to pay to be a member of.”

VP Media Kylie To

“O-week itself probably gave you a hint of how diverse your fellow classmates are, but it doesn’t stop there. Clubs Week features all the diverse student-led organizations that Western has to offer – there’s something for everybody! This week showcases an environment that goes hand in hand with encouraging you to try something new.

Personally, I found my first-year experience to be more wholesome when I joined clubs that aligned with my personal and career interests. University isn’t just about studying about your courses – it’s the people you meet and the experiences you share throughout your four years. And if you don’t know where to start, come drop by the PBSN booth during Clubs Week, we’d be more than happy to help you and talk about Western life, school, business, or just be your icebreaker to start your Clubs Week off.”

PBSN kicks off our year of events with the Fall Social. You will be joining likeminded students, the VP team, our alumni, and company representatives in this evening of networking. Last year, we had over 200 people in attendance – this year’s social is going to be bigger and better than ever.

VP Student Affairs Eileen Jiao

“The Fall Social is the introduction of the year that allows you to meet new friends, chat with the VP team, as well as expand your network with the alumni’s and company representatives that will be present. To top it off, free food from the Wave and an opportunity to step into the business community at Western.

I might be biased because the Fall Social is an event Student Affairs hosts, but I truly think that it’s a great way to like-minded individuals in the business community who have similar interests to you. The event has a very casual feel which makes it super easy to talk to people, which could lead to new friendships and mentors.” 

The first introduction to an inside look into what each portfolio’s role is and exactly how the VP team strives to create opportunities for all our members. Each respective VP will also talk about the qualities that they look for in their executives. Right after the meeting, our executive applications will go live.

President Danilla Xing

“Our AGM is the best opportunity to learn more about what the club can do for you. My advice for the AGM is, don’t be afraid to attend the meeting solo! Even if your friends aren’t attending, don’t feel like you can’t attend or be afraid of going it alone. While this isn’t an example about the AGM, during the summer before first year, I attended a PBSN summer dinner and truly didn’t know anyone. I was literally in a new city. Little did I know, that night I met one of my closest friends to this day. The AGM is mostly the VP team giving our presentation so I can’t stress enough that you don’t have to feel nervous about not knowing anyone in the room. Relax and come to see what PBSN has to offer!”

Coffee Chat Week is an opportunity to chat one-on-one with anyone on the VP/President Team. Whether you want to know a little more about one portfolio’s events or get to know one of us, this is your opportunity! The VP team is super excited to get to meet all of you and give you any advice we can offer.

Co-VP Development Shreya Singh

“PBSN’s coffee chats are an ideal way to learn more about PBSN, discover each portfolio, and meet some of the VP team. When I was in first-year, I used this time to get some insider perspective on PBSN as a club, but also just tips for first-year as a whole. I realized really early on that the team always loves to meet enthusiastic people and offer help in any shape or form.  I chatted with the past president, and some VPs, and got a really great look at PBSN as a whole and the in-depth perspectives on certain portfolios! Most importantly, my coffee chats were the first step to building some great friendships and mentorships, and to this day, I’m really grateful for that opportunity.”

The PBSN x PepsiCo Case Competition is coming up on Saturday, November 24th, 2018 9:30 AM to 6:30 PM! Before you compete, last year’s winners and finalists have some tips and tricks on how to crush your first university case competition.

WHAT IS THE PEPSICO CASE COMPETITION?

A case competition is a challenge where you and your team try to remedy a solution for issues a company is facing by suggesting strategy changes. You will have four hours to read the “case”, devise a solution, and prepare a coherent presentation.

This year, PBSN’s PepsiCo Case Competition features two divisions – a first-year division and a second-year division. For the first years, a case competition may seem quite scary. No need to worry, as Ivey’s Case Competition Club is hosting an educational on Monday, November 19th from 6:45 PM-8:30 PM in Ivey Room 1310 to give a comprehensive overview.

Before November 24th comes, here’s an exclusive interview with last year’s winners and finalists, Charlie, Shangbing, and Harrison, to get some insight!

1. WHAT MAKES A GOOD CASE COMPETITION TEAM? 

Charlie: One word – balance. The core to any competition is the team itself, and even more so in the tight time and team size constraints of a case competition. It’s important to find the right balance of attributes between team members and to designate tasks accordingly. For example, my team last year had diverse specialties in marketing, finance and the underlying technologies powering the business.

2. WHAT WAS ONE THING YOU WISH YOU KNEW ABOUT CASE COMPETITIONS BEFORE YOU WENT INTO LAST YEAR’S PBSN COMPETITION?

Harrison: No case competition is perfect. No one has a perfect presentation, so you shouldn’t expect yourself to either. Focus on the big picture and feel confident in your solution because everyone is in the exact same boat.

Charlie: Depending on when you are scheduled to pitch, you could have less than 15 minutes between slide deck submission and presentation which means you need to start rehearsing well before the 4-hour slot ends. If I could go back, I’d do a better job at assigning tasks and coordinating what is to be done to ensure my team could squeeze out every minute allotted.

3. WHAT WAS THE LARGEST CHALLENGE YOU FACED LAST YEAR WHILE PREPARING? HOW SHOULD COMPETITORS TACKLE THAT CHALLENGE? 

Shangbing: It definitely is a time crunch, so we had to put our slides together very quickly last year. To save as much time as possible, I would suggest you meet with your team members before the case competition and try to have a general outline of slides that you want in the presentation. Also, I suggest having a conversation about what everyone’s strengths and weaknesses are so on the day of the competition it is much easier to delegate tasks

4. A CASE COMPETITION IS VERY TIME-RESTRAINED. DO YOU HAVE ANY TIPS FOR THE FIRST YEARS REGARDING TIME MANAGEMENT? 

Shangbing: Make an agenda when you get the case, break down how you guys want to split your time between all the different components such as reading the case, research, making the slides etc. Follow the agenda you make; it is never going to feel like you have enough time!

5. WHAT WOULD BE ONE TIP REGARDING PRESENTATION? 

Harrison: In case competitions, the way you communicate your ideas is almost as important as the ideas themselves. The biggest factor in improving presentation is structure. Knowing what you want to say and being concise will help save time. This also applies to the Q&A session. Before answering a question, make sure to keep it simple and avoid rambling.

6. WHY DID YOU FIND LAST YEAR’S CASE COMPETITION VALUABLE? 

Charlie: It was a test of my nerves and ability to speak in front of a larger audience. I met a lot of new friends and like-minded people. I’d definitely encourage any first years to try it out for themselves!  

Shangbing: Presenting in front of so many different people is nerve-racking so it really pushes you out of your comfort zone. Also, just having the opportunity to watch how other groups present teaches you a lot about what is effective!

Harrison: For me, it was a great opportunity to get my feet wet in a relaxed environment. PBSN always partners with interesting companies that students may not get to interact with otherwise. The upcoming PBSN x Pepsi Case Competition is an amazing opportunity, and I would highly recommend that everyone participates!

There you have it! All the insider tips on how to tackle your first case competition!

Make sure to apply by sending your resume here. Tickets are $10 for PBSN members and $15 for non-members. See you on November 24th!

With finals just around the corner, we begin to ask, how can I successfully ace my upcoming exams and how do I keep my cool under all the stress? PBSN is here to supply you with some answers by providing tips and tricks which will result in you surviving and thriving this exam season!

December marks not only the end of classes but also the beginning of exam season. For students at Western, the upcoming weeks are seemingly to be filled with stress, anxiety, coffee, late night cramming sessions, and exhaustion. Finals is, notably, the most difficult aspect of university, with poorly scheduled exams and the sheer amount of studying required, makes conquering finals is no easy feat. In attempts to survive exam season, you can be found focusing all your efforts on your next exam sacrificing your mental well-being for that coveted grade. With effective studying habits and proper mental health care, your first exam season can be a successful one. PBSN is here to introduce you to a variety of tips and insight from upper years to help you conquer exam season!

Prioritize Your Mental Health!

Exams can be an extremely stressful time, and as a result your mental health can be negatively affected. Ironically, students put their mental health on the back burner, in hopes of putting more effort and resources into studying, when in reality this system more than likely hinders you from getting the best mark possible. Being stressed while studying has proven to have many negative impacts like impeding your memory and results in poor performance on your exam. Prioritizing your mental health during finals WILL make a difference with your success this exam season, which can be done through effective studying techniques.

Take Breaks

Give your brain time to rest and relax this exam season! Taking breaks decreases stress and increases focus when returning to your studies. This is one of Bhapushon Thayalan’s, VP Communications, favourite technique during exam season to deal with stress.

“Take time to do the things you love and make you feel better about yourself, whether it be working out, going out for dinner, or facetiming your parents. These positive experiences are what make exam season bearable and will motivate you to keep going.”

Exercising, watching a youtube video or an episode on Netflix, baking, hanging out with friends, or even taking a minute to take three deep breaths are all possible ways to include breaks this exam season! Each individual is different, so pick what works best for you!

Create A Schedule/Following A Timeline

Horrific exam schedules? Two exams in the same day? Three consecutive days of exams? It appears to be impossible to conquer exam season with finals seemingly scheduled to induce stress. To combat this difficult exam season, creating schedules and timelines will be your lifesaver. Setting an agenda for what needs to be accomplished for the next few days can ensure productivity and once completed, it can provide a sense of accomplishment and relief. This method prevents you from being overwhelmed the night before your exam and can ensure preparedness for your next exam. For Matt Pereira, VP of Careers, this is his go-to finals hack. He creates schedules but never forgets to incorporate breaks!

“Make a study schedule that outlines when you are going to study for each of your courses, and build in time for activities you enjoy (like Netflix). This way you don’t feel lost or overwhelmed, and still take time to do things you enjoy”

Creating a schedule will prove to be beneficial this exam season, so take out that agenda and begin planning out your exam season!

Get A Good Night’s Sleep

It is extremely easy to fall into the routine of staying up late, cramming as much information as you possibly can the night before your exam, but this can have negative effects on both your mental health and your performance on your exam. Eileen Jiao, VP of Student Affairs, never forgets to get a enough rest during exam season in order to mitigate her stress!

“No matter how stressed I get, I really like to get at least 6-7 hours of sleep each night so that I feel rejuvenated the next time and motivated to study again. It really has helped me stay effective and productive!”

If you find yourself not getting enough sleep try to take naps during the day so your brain can get the rest it deserves!

Healthy Eating

Your brain is under a tremendous amount of stress during exam season and as such, it needs fuel to meet the demands of exam season! Skipping meals is detrimental to your mental health and hinders your ability to study effectively. Eating three well-balanced meals throughout the day will prove to have positive impacts and both your physical and mental health. Grabbing a piece of fruit or eating healthy snacks throughout the day will make the biggest difference this exam season!

Get Rid of Distractions

As we all know, distractions are our number one enemy this exam season. We have all accidentally found ourselves scrolling through Twitter for 20 minutes, when originally we meant to search up notes online. Getting rid of distractions can help improve your productivity and your time can be used more efficiently. Deactivating social media during exam season, or downloading apps like Freedom, which blocks access to social media for a certain number of hours, are just some ways of getting rid of those distractions. For Shreya Singh, Co-VP of Projects, this is one of her favourite finals hack.

“Delete distractions and turn your phone to grayscale so you never want to look at it!”

If you know what distracts you the most, whether it be the internet, a video game, or even your friends, make sure to place yourself away from these distractions (Weldon is open 24 hours during exam season) to ensure you are focused during exam season!

Exams are, no doubt, a difficult time. It requires a tremendous amount of time and effort but don’t forget to take care of yourself! With these suggestions, you CAN be successful this exam season and maintain a healthy mental well-being! Remember, there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and PBSN wishes you luck this exam season!

BY AREEB ATHAR

With the new year comes new resolutions. Generally, we find these idealistic goals pretty easy to set out. Turns out, it can be a lot more difficult to actually fulfill them.

Despite the challenge, one resolution which you should persevere to accomplish is to start reading. Time and time again, we hear this same advice from mentors, teachers, and business leaders. Reading can develop our understanding of the world, strengthen our grasp of language, and provide mental stimulation – all of which contribute to holistic self-development. Admittedly, however, it can be intimidating to initially break into the habit or to know where exactly to start.

To help, we compiled a list of books recommended by several Western and Ivey students, which they claim had significant impacts on their professional, educational, and personal lives. Over the course of their university tenures, these books have been the source of their fundamental knowledge, invaluable insight, and personal empowerment – all while stimulating genuine interest.

Take the leap. Pick up one of the recommendations that appeals to you, and kickstart the new year with a new book.

Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow, Yuval Noah Harari

Recommended by Kathy Hu, HBA1

“I’ve always had relatively radical views of humankind, society, and political and economic organization, constantly questioning traditional assumptions. However, Homo Deus disrupted my most basic assumptions of humankind, breaking down ideas of individualism, liberalism, and humanism. Harari took these schools of thought that I have always taken for granted and illustrated how their demise will be a result of the value of data surpassing the value of humankind.”

Harari’s follow-up to Sapiens, which explored the origins and development of our species throughout history, Homo Deus alternatively serves to explore the future that we face. It offers a holistic, interdisciplinary outlook into the different ways humanity will continue to progress, and raises questions regarding the challenges we may come to face – how long will humanity continue its dominance of the world, and at what point will the intersection with technology and data surpass our control?

Also be sure to check out the aforementioned Sapiens, and Harari’s newest release 21 lessons for the 21st century.

The Happiness Advantage, Shawn Achor

Recommended by Victor Lal, HBA2

“It was just a book that helped a lot with thinking positively about a lot of different situations”

In The Happiness Advantage, Achor examines the essential relation between positivity, happiness, and success. He disregards the commonly held belief that hard work creates success, which ultimately leads to personal happiness. Conversely, he argues that it is a reversed reality; happiness is the element which fuels success. Using his research, Achor explains how we can reprogram our brains to become more positive in order to gain a competitive edge at work.

Lean In, Sheryl Sandberg

Recommended by Katherine Tang, HBA2

“I found Lean In to be unique from all the other women empowerment books because of the perspective Sheryl Sandburg brings. She talks about her journey, lessons, and mistakes as she navigated up the corporate ladder, and now, as she has “made it” as a senior leader. Despite all that is going on with Facebook right now, her advice is honest and practical, and gave me an inside look into how a senior mentor thinks.”

Sandburg’s Lean In offers invaluable guidance and experience from one of the most successful women in business, inspiring ambition and leadership throughout. Using her own experiences to help paint the picture, she seeks to inform on many of the challenges women may face in their professional careers, and what they can do to overcome them. Her advice has been met with resounding positivity and inspiration.

Deep Work, Cal Newport

Recommended by Bijan Mirshahi, 2nd Year Student (Economics)

“With the rising presence of technology in our daily lives, it has become increasingly difficult to stay focused on a task (such as studying) for an extended period of time. Deep Work, written by Cal Newport, taught me multiple strategies I can implement into my daily life to strengthen my focus and, as a result, become more productive. Personally, I found the suggestions offered in this book to be incredibly useful for studying. If you’d like to improve your focus and become more productive, I’d highly suggest giving this book a read!”

Newport’s Deep Work presents an especially relevant message to many of us who struggle with an increasingly distraction-filled environment. It presents several stories with subsequent lessons, and actionable advice to help instill habits of deep work – the ability to focus without distraction on a cognitively demanding task. Deep Work puts many of our daily routines into perspective, and can ultimately result in more effective results, greater efficiency, and overall personal fulfillment.

The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho

Recommended By Saad Afroz, HBA1

“If you find yourself having a difficult time finishing a book, I’d highly recommend trying The Alchemist. The book is an easy read that is packed with memorable lines which all help you better understand the importance of pursuing your passion, a topic that is highly relevant throughout undergrad. The journey of the protagonist forces one to realize that you can’t really escape the feelings you have within your heart, so it’s better to just listen to them. The messages highlighted within The Alchemist have helped guide me through HBA 1.”

Who says that fiction can’t prove to be meaningful? Coelho’s international bestseller, originally written in Portuguese, recounts the story of Santiago, a young Andalusian shepherd boy, in search of an eternal treasure. Underlying the story is the fundamental wisdom of following our dreams, and using one’s heart to guide their path. These lessons of introspection, love, happiness, and truth through a captivating tale make The Alchemist a must-read.

Give and Take, Adam Grant

Recommended By Srijan Walia, HBA1

“Give and Take highlights the benefits of being a part of the rare breed of people who help others without expecting anything in return. I think this is a great book that truly drives home the importance of relationships, selflessness, and community and even though it’s hard to always be a giver, this book will surely motivate you to be one.”

Give and Take by Adam Grant delves into the increasing importance of our interactions with others, highlighting the distinction of “givers” in our society – people who primarily seek to give to others, expecting nothing in return. Through in-depth research combined with captivating stories, Grant provides an essential guide to our interpersonal engagements, in several applicable situations.

Competition Demystified, Bruce Greenwald & Judd Kahn

Recommended By Brad Perez, 2nd Year Student (Economics)

“I would highly recommend reading Competition Demystified if you have any interest in business! Before I read this book I had a really flawed understanding of what makes a great business in the long run. This books helps remove a lot of the buzz surrounding a number of businesses and breaks down the few competitive advantages a business could potentially posses.”

Competition Demystified has evolved into a fundamental resource for business strategy, establishing a modern guide to competitive advantages. Greenwald breaks down competition among businesses, arguing that barriers to entry are the primary determining factor. He then draws on a wide variety of examples, helping clearly communicate the potential of, then the capacity to capitalize on, competitive advantages. If you’re looking to build your fundamental business understanding, Competition Demystified should definitely be added to your list.

Creativity, Inc., Edwin Catmull & Amy Wallace

Recommended By Amaara Dhanji, HBA2

“The reason why this book impacted me is because it taught me about managing and growing a creative company, the insights that the founders of Pixar had and some of the super interesting background on how some of their most popular films were created. It was a very inspiring read and reminded me that my personal creative goals are attainable”

Creativity, Inc. recounts Pixar co-founder Ed Catmull’s perspective on managing the studio behind some of the most groundbreaking films of all time. He draws from his own experience some of the essentials of fostering creativity through management, explaining how to best establish a creative work culture. For anyone seeking advice in creativity and originality, and an insight into one of the most fascinating companies around, Creativity, Inc. will surely be a captivating read.

The Confidence Code, Katty Kay & Claire Shipman

Recommended By Jessica Myles, HBA1

“Claire Shipman and Katty Kay’s self-help book for women is a New York Times Bestseller and a part of a genre of books published post-financial crisis that encourage women to be less self-doubting and more ambitious. Is the reason women earn less and get promoted less really due to our own lack of self-confidence? Is the secret to success in business to simply act more like men? Whether you agree with Shipman and Kay’s points or not, I think this book is a great starting point to reflect on the current state of feminism in the business world.”

In what has become a go-to book for women empowerment, Shipman and Kay explain the key role of confidence, and how to maximally achieve it, for women of all ages and career paths. They combine research in diverse fields such as genetics, gender, behavior, and cognition, while recounting stories of successful women in the world and workplace. Collectively, they strive to provide helpful advice with inspiration for women to set out and achieve what they desire.

Some other books that students loved:

• Shoe Dog, Phil Knight
• The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature, Steven Pinker
• When Breath Becomes Air, Paul Kalanithi
• Blink, Malcolm Gladwell
• Grit, Angela Duckworth
• Steve Jobs, Walter Isaacson 

BY: AHALYA RAVIESHANKER

With summer quickly approaching, one question typically comes to mind – how am I going to spend my time for the next four months? For many first-years, the answer to that question is an internship. However, acquiring an internship and getting value out of it is quite difficult.

Where do I start? Who do I talk to? Which firms are hiring first years? Is my resume good enough? Do I need a corporate job? What are the day-to-day duties of a first-year intern? These are just a few of many questions first-years have regarding internships, making approaching job hunting an intimidating and confusing task.

To provide some answers to your questions and to give you a look into first-year internships, PBSN has decided to speak to some HBAs to describe and reflect on their experience as first-year interns.

Colin Yip HBA2 – Canopy Lab, Customer Success Intern

Colin Yip was a Customer Success Intern at Canopy Labs which he was able to obtain by searching for start-ups that sparked his interests and handing out his resume. Canopy contacted Colin for an interview, and he was, later, offered the job. His role as a Customer Success Intern included running a number of accounts relatively independent of his manager, executing analytics strategy for Canopy’s clients, and bringing actionable recommendations for product or process improvements. Colin’s internship didn’t come without its challenges; he needed to overcome the initial learning curve of a fast-paced work environment.

“Learning to manage both my time and other people (including my manager) was essential to being able to execute consistently. I think the most important skill to address both of these in a startup environment is to learn to push back, even as an intern, which doesn’t necessarily entail saying no but rather involves setting realistic expectations.”

After his internship was completed, Colin gained valuable advice regarding first-year internships, specifically how to be successful during your internship and how to benefit from it.

“As a first year, it’s hard to bring skills or experience to the table, so it’s really a game of attitude. Of course, it greatly helps to learn skills in the industry you’re looking for (e.g. programming, modelling, etc.) so that you can speak to it, but most employers understand that you’d be coming in in a partial learning capacity. Be aggressive, understand that you’re going to get a lot of no’s at first, and be flexible with the opportunities that you’re looking for.”

Shehryar Mansoor, HBA2 – BlackBerry, Summer Analyst

In Shehrayr’s first year, he attended a career fair and spoke with a firm representative regarding available positions for students. He later applied through a portal and received a job offer. His position as Summer Analyst entailed numerous roles, including revenue management for the BBM platform, managing advertising campaigns, monitoring the P&L for different campaigns, and helping transition to a new advertising management platform. Shehryar’s internship was challenging, specifically regarding finding a balance between asking questions and figuring things out on his own.

“I was eager to prove myself but naturally had situations where I needed help with a task. In some instances, I wasted time trying to do things on my own, whereas asking a senior would have been far more efficient. With time, I tried to balance this with asking questions, so that I would still be able to think critically and get help when I needed it. This was very helpful in shaping my experience at the firm and building strong relationships with seniors.”

After a successful summer as an intern, Shehryar has gained valuable insights towards first-year internships. He specifically speaks towards how to be successful in obtaining an internship.

“When job hunting, it is very important to cast a wide net. Although you might be interested in a specific industry, the only goal for your first internship should be to get some experience working in a corporate/office environment. Upper year students are also a tremendously useful resource – a quick LinkedIn search can help you find people who have worked internships in previous years, and they can certainly guide you on how to approach firm-specific application and interview processes. Finally, it is very important to be proactive. Sending out applications is good, but successful candidates almost always make an effort to reach out to people at the firm directly to make a stronger impression.”

Erinna Ma, HBA2 – M.F Consultants, Sales & Marketing Intern

Erinna Ma began searching for a job on Indeed, a site with hundreds of job postings/listings, and sent in her resume. She received an offer to be a Sales & Marketing Intern for M.F Consultants. Her internship required her to conduct sales calls which promoted the firm’s collection of hotels and resorts to the travel industry, assist with the content creation, design, and distribution of materials for email campaigns, and train new hires. Erinna ran into some obstacles during her experience as an intern, especially dealing with failure.

“I had to set my dejection aside, maintain a professional attitude, and work harder at achieving my daily targets. I expressed my desire to improve and learn to my employer, who was kind enough to guide me through the process. As a result, I was able to develop more resilience and positivity in my attitude towards challenges in the future.”

As Erinna reflects on her first-year internship, she has many recommendations regarding how to obtain a job offer.

“Keep applying – even if it takes over a hundred emails – because you’ll never know whether your next attempt could have been successful unless you try. Be professional and do your research before you apply and interview at a firm. It’s only a natural sign of respect, especially if you expect them to invest their time and energy in you.”
—

Although each HBA worked at different companies and held a unique position, each experienced a similar first-year internship. Their proactiveness and perseverance enabled them to be successful in obtaining an internship and, later on, to be successful within the position itself.

Navigating your first-year internship can be very daunting, but with the aid of these HBAs experience and advice and through your diligence and hard work, a truly valuable first-year internship can be obtained.

Future Mustang – congratulations on accepting your Western offer!

While you’ve hardly had the time to soak in the end of your high-school journey, the time has come to start planning your next chapter. With so many courses to offer, planning out your schedule can be daunting; to try and help, the PBSN team thought we’d share some of our own experiences.  From our personal favourite courses, to miscellaneous tips and tidbits that may clarify this entire process, we’ve got you covered.

While this can seem like an intimidating process, try not to worry too much. No matter your choices, we’re all sure that you’ll be able to make the most of your first year experience. Don’t be afraid about enrolling in unconventional courses – you never know which may turn out to be your favourite!

Every one of us is here to help – If you see a course that you were potentially interested in, or have any questions or inquiries regarding Western or first-year in general, reach out!  Through Facebook or email, we’d all love to discuss our experience in more detail 

Finally, be sure to join the 2023 PBSN group for updates and more exciting things to come this summer. Happy planning!

Our Courses

Areeb                                                                                                                     Favourite Course

Like what seems to be the case for many, I didn’t foresee my favourite course. I don’t really know what I expected for MIT1020, but I never thought that a university course could immediately change the way I critically analyzed so many things around me – from the societal effect of power structures, how and why things are represented in specific ways in the media, or why technology changes the way we think. Combined with the dynamic lectures, with countless media pieces and examples, the course offered many different aspects which kept it engaging throughout the year (i.e. – when part of an exam was based on a Black Mirror episode).

As a result, I would definitely attest that everyone tries courses that tests your thinking in different ways – not necessarily just what may seem “helpful” or “applicable” on the surface. Also, along with a variety of courses, is a variety of testing styles. When exam season comes around, you probably won’t have the best time having to exclusively either cram for multiple choice, or repeatedly write 10 page essays.

Brian                                                                                                                     Favourite Course

I had a love hate relationship with Business 1220, but it was still by far my favourite course. To be fully transparent, the course was hard. I spent more time doing homework for this class than all my other classes combined. Tests are four hours long and the averages are ~70%. However, the smaller class size gives you an opportunity to make 30-40 friends also interested in business. You develop an actual relationship with your professor, an Ivey alumni that can speak to you about their experiences. The teaching style is quick and interactive, allowing you to truly learn so much about business and the case method. Overall it’s an amazing experience that shows you what Ivey is like and whether it’s right for you.

Sunny                                                                                                                                   Favourite Course

Out of all of my courses, History of Business was definitely my favourite. You’ll be surprised by how much you can learn about an event or phenomenon by reverting back to its origin; this course was incredible both in terms of the depth of its content and the caliber of its lecturers. Each week, we explored and debated relevant events such as the 2008 Financial Crisis and the rise of corporations. Unlike courses that focus on the application of theory, History of Business dives deep into the human psyche and encourages you to think critically about modern business. I was able to apply what I learned to courses such as Polisci 1020, Business 1220 and MOS 1023 as well!

Zuhayr                                                                                                                                   Favourite Course

My favorite course this year was Political Science 1020. After one year at Western, the single most important academic advice I can give is to take courses you think you would actually enjoy, instead of filling your schedule with “bird” courses.

Being a huge enthusiast of Canadian, American, and international politics myself, I found Poli Sci 1020 to be a particularly exciting and rewarding experience. I learned more about the fundamental theories that surround modern-day political science- communism, capitalism, socialism, feminism, environmentalism – you mention it. We also learned more about how the state was first formed, and the various philosophical rationales for having a judiciary, legislature, and an executive. We had 2 essays throughout the year and 4 multiple choice exams. These were pretty straightforward- make sure to thoroughly study and understand the concepts explained in lecture and you should be good. If you end up getting Professor Narain, you will definitely be in good hands. He is, by far, the best prof I have had in first-year.

Glen                                                                                                                                   Favourite Course

My favourite course during first year was easily Business 1220 – due to the high energy environment fostered by the professors. And of course, I couldn’t forget that the 1220 professors are outstanding teachers – and especially well fitting for first year. For me, Business was the course I learnt the most and it gave me even more exposure to the case method. As well, as someone who has to be engaged in class to actually learn, it was optimal for my learning style. Overall, I’d highly recommend Business 1220 to anyone who has even a small interested in business – not necessarily just pre-Ivey – because it’s a fun, exciting and engaging start to first year.

Sajin                                                                                                                                   Favourite Course

My favourite course would have to be CS 1026, solely because it was so applicable.

In school, we often take so many courses where we have a difficult time connecting what we learn inside the classroom and what we can apply to our everyday lives. Fortunately, that wasn’t the case for this course, even for those who have never coded before! This intro-level Python teaches the fundamentals of programming and even allows students to begin automating some small tasks in their everyday lives! Additionally, 45% of the course consists of assignments and labs – tasks which can be worked on over multiple days before the due date. With so much emphasis placed on experiential learning, this course provides ample opportunity to make mistakes and learn from them with the help of students, TAs and professors.

Overall, if you have any interest in technology or would like to learn the basics of a valuable hard skill, I highly encourage you to take this course. There are plenty of resources, both on-campus and online, to help you succeed!

Sonya                                                                                                                                   Favourite Course

Geography 1500: Environment and Developmental Challenges was hands down my favourite course. It genuinely challenged my perception of some of the world’s biggest problems such as climate change, energy use, and persistent hunger, and inequality. Furthermore, taking Geo1500 and Business1220 concurrently forced me to think critically about the impact that industry and policy had on people and the environment. While both courses were similar in format as they were taught using the case method and consisted of participation, they had wildly different approaches to problem-solving. Also, as an added bonus, since there was a piano in the lecture hall and because my professor was a very cool lady, there were times where she randomly broke into song in the middle of class. My favourite was her “Anti-Capitalist Waltz”.

Vishal                                                                                                                                   Favourite Course

My favourite course this year was Scholar’s Electives, an interdisciplinary course, which is taken as an additional 0.5 credit. As a PPE (Politics, Philosophy and Economics) student, I would argue that it is important to have a broad-based liberal arts foundation, especially for future studies in business and law. This course was positioned at the intersection of a variety of cross-era social scientific, scientific and artistic topics, which is great for students who took courses across a multitude of disciplines in high school. Each week with Professor De Looze, we would dissect heavy topics including determinalism, structuralism, and resemblance and investigate how a variety of disciplines can culminate in a modest exploration of the human experience. Because evaluations are based in-part on participation, rigorous class debates and informal study groups were breeding grounds for academic learning. My final essay on “Instilling a Habit of Empathy for Marginalized and Unacquainted Identities” was the first time I ever interrogated my own identity, and that’s precisely what the intention of the course is: attempting to answer “what” we know, and “how” we know that’s what we know. It also helps that some of my best friends were made through Scholar’s, too!

Aryan                                                                                                                                   Favourite Course

I would highly recommend Business 1220E. Throughout first year I found that Business 1220 was a course that constantly revolved around the classroom experience. The case based approach to learning keeps you engaged in class and participation is facilitated by young and enthusiastic professors. Moreover, Business 1220 was my first introduction to fundamental business concepts and constructs such as a balance sheets and income statements. Not only was the course material relevant, but I found the focus on application rather than memorization a refreshing and enjoyable experience.

James                                                                                                                                   Favourite Course

While my first year was filled with a lot of interesting courses, I really liked MATH 1228 (BUS 1220 was my favourite but I’m pretty sure other people have already talked about it). I’m not a huge fan of math (and stayed away from Calculus first year) but found 1228 to be more logic-based and interesting. The course is a great introduction to statistics and teaches you combinations, permutations, and normal/standard distribution (aka the bell curve). Through the material, you can learn to determine the number of total ways something can occur, and the probability of a certain situation happening. It’s easy to see how the concepts taught in lecture apply to the real world, and I sometimes find myself using them to make more informed decisions. From a grading perspective, the course’s mark allocation is quite generous, and the exams are relatively simple if you have a good understanding of the content, which means even non-math students (such as myself) can still attain strong marks in this course. You aren’t allowed to use a calculator in exams – that shows just how non-mathy MATH 1228 truly is!

Additional Things to Consider

Schedule Planning

Draft My Schedule is the key to success when picking courses! Before officially enrolling in your courses, draft a schedule to visually plan out what your schedule can look like. It will also tell you about the prerequisites/antirequisites or course conflicts you may have. Depending on when your enrollment time is, some course times may already be full when it comes time to select, messing up your entire plan. To mitigate this, create a backup schedule or two, especially if you have a later selection time: https://draftmyschedule.uwo.ca/login.cf

8:30 Classes

“High school started at 8 every morning, and I did that for four years – morning classes will be no problem at all”, right? Wrong. While it’s definitely possible, the overwhelming opinion is that making it to morning classes, living at residence or otherwise, is a lot harder than it seems. You might find that later-than-expected nights are more regular than you think, with mornings where you just want to sleep in, so think carefully before filling up all your mornings.

Night Classes – James

When picking courses, night classes are a potential option to avoid overlapping class times and nightmare schedules. I took CS 1032 as a night course, which meant that there was only one lecture a week (but it was three hours long). For me, it was hard to stay focused the whole time (especially because there was only one 5-minute break), and often found myself nodding off towards the end. In addition, there were times where I had to skip class because of extra-curricular activities – since most club-activities occur in the evening, taking a night class may make scheduling a challenge. If you are a night owl, however, or prefer to focus on a single topic for a longer period of time, then night classes might be a good fit – just make sure you consider both the pros and cons.

Back to Back Classes

When making my schedule, I was confused about whether I could put classes back to back; if one class ends at 2:30, how would I be able to walk to my next class, beginning at that same time, without being late? In reality, classes are dismissed 10 minutes earlier than scheduled. That means you can usually take back-to-back classes comfortably, and avoid awkward hour-long gaps in your schedule. However, it may be valuable to check this campus map beforehand, to avoid having to sprint across Western’s massive campus in just 10 minutes:  www.geography.uwo.ca/campusmaps/images/map/westernandaffiliates.pdf

“Bird” Courses – Sonya

Don’t worry, you’re not alone – like most incoming first years, I spent a lot of time on Facebook groups and online forums looking for “bird” courses. From what I heard, I ended up taking Astronomy. Unfortunately, despite what I read regarding its easiness, the course was really tough for me to get interested in. Most people I knew who also took this course as a “bird” struggled, as it became difficult to put time into studying. This is a story I’ve heard time and time again from other courses as well (ie. Film courses, Women studies, CS1032, Earth Rocks). However, this is not to say people don’t do amazingly well in these courses – you might just find that you end up doing far more work for courses, which you actually develop a genuine interest for.

Some Extra Facts

• In order to go to Ivey, you do not need to fulfill your breadth requirements; if that’s your goal, you can worry about fulfilling these later!

• The A and B at the end of a course code indicates no difference for the course themselves – A just means first semester, while B is second! Courses with E at the end indicate that it is an essay course and will include written testing, lasting the whole year. Finally, F and G also indicate an essay course, lasting only one semester.

• Courses which have an A or B at the end (or F & G) are 0.5 credits (half a year, or one semester). Other courses last both semesters, and are 1.0 credit. For a full schedule, you must fulfill a total of 5.0 credits over the year (Five 0.5 credits each semester)

Resources

Draft My Schedule

Western Buildings and their acronyms (What does SH, NCB, etc. stand for)

Campus Map

Enroll for classes here (Academics > Enroll in Classes)

As a student coming into Western, the opportunities are endless. With so much going on at once, it can be tough to figure out what to do, where to go, or how to go about it.

Luckily, PBSN serves as your community to lead your transition into the world of business. Our strength is our breadth; with a huge platform of events and initiatives catering to several different industries, there is truly something for everyone.

What better way to learn about the community, than to meet the people at the heart of it! We took this opportunity to introduce some of the general members deeply involved with PBSN last year, talking about why it was so important to them. They explain just some of the initiatives we have to offer – be sure to find some that interest you, and look out for them throughout the year.

The PBSN stock pitch was easily the most challenging and rewarding experience I had in first-year. In the competition, teams of two to three students present a buy pitch for a stock of their choosing. If you compete, you will first be guided through how to value a company and how to pitch a stock; you’ll then be given feedback on a draft of your presentation. Finally, you’ll have the opportunity to sell the judges on your idea. The stock pitch competition is a very challenging event with a long preparation process, but PBSN thankfully provides everything you need.

What elements of the stock pitch competition helped make it a marquee experience in your first year?

I’d say two aspects of the competition made the stock pitch stand out. First, during your 2-week preparation, you’re given constant opportunities to ask experienced upper-year students for help. You can glean valuable knowledge from people who have analyzed investments in the real world, and you’ll meet great mentors along the way. Second, it’s a fast and competitive way to learn. During my 2-week preparation, I learned about basic financial models, Excel tricks, PowerPoint shortcuts, and many important finance/business concepts. Without the support of PBSN’s community, or intensity of the competition, I would have never learned nearly as much, or as quickly, as I did.

The PBSN Interview Competition was my first business-oriented competition of first-year. It opened up a lot of doors for me, and was a great introduction to business competitions. It consists of a day of group and individual behavioral interviews, where you’re interviewed by HBA students and Scotiabank recruiters. It’s a low-pressure environment where you can practice your interview skills, get personalized advice, and interact with some great students and recruiters!

What was your biggest takeaway from being a part of PBSN, and the Interview Competition in particular?

My biggest takeaway from the event was the friends I walked away with. I was shocked at how openly welcoming and incredibly supportive all of the students (competitors, HBA judges, and PBSN executives included) were! The competition gave me a more clear picture on what recruiters wanted to see and hear in interviews, and the feedback I received helped me tremendously in interviewing for actual jobs. An added benefit to the event is that the winners are given the opportunity to interview at Scotia Wealth Management for a summer internship. I was able to leverage that interview to land a great first-year finance position through this competition. I highly recommend this event to anyone who is looking for a fun, minimal-preparation competition where you can meet some great people and put your skills to the test!

What was the biggest advantage of being a part of the PBSN Case Competition, especially so early on in the year?

For those unaware, as I was before this competition, a case competition is a forum for different groups to develop and present a strategy they believe a company should implement to solve a given problem. In our case, we had to improve PepsiCo’s share in the Canadian market.

With this event coming so early in the year, it was an excellent opportunity to meet and learn from other first-year students interested in business. Many other competitors had elements in their presentations that were far better than ours; as such, I found it helpful to observe these in order to learn more about creating slide decks and business strategies — especially considering I had no experience with this in high school.

The case competition also helped me work better in teams. Everybody has different viewpoints and, especially given the time-crunch, it is imperative to compromise and get everybody on board with the plan before the slide deck is due. It could be stressful at times, but in the end I found my ability to communicate my reasoning and recognize my own faults improved greatly throughout the day.

Lastly, I found it extremely interesting meeting with the PepsiCo representatives following the competition. They were extremely friendly people and this experience proved to me that corporate jobs can still be fulfilling and enjoyable — a point that was clear to me after speaking to them about work and many other aspects of life.

The Connect Conference was an extremely well-planned and educational event that I had the pleasure to attend this past March. It shed light into the world of consulting through interactions with industry professionals as well as numerous workshops simulating a day in the life of a consultant.

How did the Connect Conference contribute to your development in the professional world?

The conference was an amazing experience for me. I was able to acquire a much deeper understanding of the consulting industry. I also had the opportunity to participate in the case competition which allowed me to tackle challenges in business through a consulting lens. Following our presentation, we were able to benefit from constructive and thorough feedback from a variety of consultants. My teammates and I were fortunate to win the competition and Bain Consulting kindly offered us the opportunity to tour their Toronto office for a day as a prize. This was a truly motivating experience as we were able to see the environment and culture of one of the most successful consulting companies in the world. We also each had one-on-one time with a Bain consultant truly allowing us to be candid and ask personal questions. In conclusion, The Connect Conference was a phenomenal event that has allowed me to make a more informed decision about my future career. I strongly recommend future participants to take advantage of everything this conference has to offer and enjoy the wonderful experience.

Members Network is a mentorship program that connects first-year students with second year and HBA2 mentors. At the beginning of the year, you have the opportunity to indicate your career field of interest, and PBSN will try its best to match you with experienced mentors.   Throughout the year, Member groups meet up and take part in various activities focused on personal and professional development, such as resume building workshops and much more!

How did Members’ Network play an integral role in your support system as a first-year student?

Members’ Network played an integral role in helping me navigate my first year at university, as I had supportive mentors to go to whenever I had a question surrounding academics, extracurriculars or even career-related. All the upper-year mentors were super approachable and easy to talk to. Personally, I learned a lot from my mentors, from practical networking tips to invaluable internship and career advice. Our group often met up in person over food to catch up and it was definitely a great bonding experience and opportunity to get to know each other on a more personal level! Overall, first year was a blast and my mentors played a huge role in it for sure. Definitely would recommend all incoming first-years to take advantage of this opportunity to make new friends while meeting some of the best mentors Western has to offer!

What value did working with the Internship program provide to your overall first-year experience?

The internship program was honestly one of the most memorable experiences from my first year. Going into Western, I was extremely confused as to what section of business I wanted to go into. While I had an eye on the social finance stream, it wasn’t until I completed my internship with Verge Capital that I was convinced. Going into the position, I had no idea what it would demand; as a first-year, my expectations were that I’d mostly be doing behind-the-scenes grunt work. Turns out, on the third day of my internship, I’m already having to commute downtown to interview local businesses. The internship program is an amazing opportunity to get real-life, hands-on experience and see what the different business industries are really like. It would easily be something I recommend all PBSN members look into joining. Don’t be afraid – go out there and see what’s for you!

– Safrin, Verge Capital

How did it help influence your direction?

If you were to ask me last year where I saw myself this summer, the Navy would be one of the last answers you might have gotten. Working in the comptroller department of the Royal Canadian Navy exposed me to the functions of public sector finance and government procurement. I had the opportunity to work with and learn from senior officials and military officers with budget planning and forecasting. I rounded off my summer with my military officer qualification course, where I learned how to lead in combat scenarios and make quick decisions under stress. I really grew as a person through my experiences and I’m glad to have taken a non-traditional path for my first-year summer!

– Gary, Royal Canadian Navy

Additionally, here are just a few of the other initiatives PBSN has to offer!

The Career Panel Series provides PBSN members with an in-depth introduction to a few of the very exciting career paths that exist in business. Each of the 3 career panels, focusing on Finance, Consulting, and Technology respectively, is structured in an interactive Q&A format, where five experienced Ivey HBA 2’s (fourth-year students) are asked questions about their internship placements in the selected field, extra curricular experiences at Western, and overall approach to the recruitment process. They’re also asked candid questions about the work culture in their firms, and how they went about developing an interest and learning more about their selected field. The panels end off with a friendly coffee and conversation session with the HBA 2’s, where members can ask them any specific questions they may have regarding the field. All in all, participating in the Career Panel Series is a fantastic opportunity to learn more about the core areas in business and network with some really engaging HBA 2’s, who are more than happy to provide guidance to our members.

– Zuhayr, VP Careers

The Pro-Bono consulting program is an outstanding opportunity to gain an understanding of business strategy, and how consulting engagements work. Through this program, students will be consulting large-cap companies such as Bell Canada, Linkedin, and AirBnB. Now, what does consulting these companies actually look like for first and second-year students? Well, how the program works is students are grouped together and assigned an Ivey HBA2 mentor to work on preparing a pitch deck with a solution to one of the client’s toughest business problems. Through the month and a half, teams will work together on financial analysis, market analysis, data-backed problem resolution, and implementation plans to pitch to the clients. At the end of the program, students will pitch to the clients for a chance to be one of the winners of the program. Year after year this program is considered one of PBSN’s most valuable offerings.

– Glen, VP Projects

BY: SHANKARI SIVANATHAN

Imagine having to take care of a toddler and make that toddler YOU. Set yourself a bedtime, feed yourself 3 meals a day, give yourself enough time to hang out with friends, and take part in new interests or hobbies! Reward yourself with a chocolate bar while studying or take a nap when you feel stressed. You have to parent yourself and understand the value of catering to your personal, social, and professional needs. That is the secret recipe for taking care of yourself as a university student. 

University can be the best time of your life: you get to make the most of fulfilling opportunities, new adventures, and exciting memories, but it comes with its challenges. We get the chance to live independently – make new friends, explore a new city, choose your own classes, and build your own schedule. Yet, we don’t quite realize how dependent we may have been until we try to stand on our own two feet.

Change can be scary. It can be stressful, overwhelming and makes us feel a whole variety of different emotions. This is all a part of the process; we are meant to go through ebbs and flows that will ultimately serve as learning experiences down the line.

It can be difficult balancing our academics, extracurriculars, and a social life on top of managing change. Sometimes we forget to take care of ourselves, both physically and mentally. Students feel this unspoken pressure to constantly be studying all the time — if we’re not studying, we’re falling behind. In reality, taking care of ourselves improves our ability to perform.

So, how can you fit self-care into your busy university schedule? Here are some ways to treat yourself, even when it feels like you only have a few minutes to spare. 

It’s easy to take the simple act of breathing for granted. It’s something everyone does so naturally, yet it’s difficult to realize that deep, slow breathing inevitably calms us down. It is an incredibly powerful tool that we have at our disposal to regain composure and refocus our minds to concentrate on precisely what we need to do in the present moment.                                                                                                                                                      

Know that everything is going to be okay and trust that where you are in the present moment will lead you to greater heights. Sometimes we tend to push ourselves too hard to force things to happen. As long as you have faith in the process and you are focusing on yourself, you know that you’re doing all you can do. You are not always going to have a 10-year plan figured out or be able to control every little thing in your life – it’s important to take a step back, relax, and make space for everything to unfold on its own.

Nothing ever stays the same – as we continue to grow and evolve, we are bound to experience more change. Don’t get me wrong — change can be daunting. As humans, we become so attached to the way things are. By staying open-minded and not getting too comfortable, we will have the opportunity to embrace change and make the most of it. Throughout university, there are going to be SO many opportunities that will come along your way. Keep moving forward and continue to steer into the unknown optimistically. Change is what you make out of it, and as we become more mindful of it, the more we will grow. Some of the best moments in our lives are ones that are still waiting to be experienced.

One of the most common things you hear from a university student is, “I don’t have enough time.” As busy as life gets, it becomes essential to prioritize time to do things for yourself. Pro-actively scheduling into your calendar to dedicate time to yourself will help promote your well-being. With the stress that midterms and finals season may carry, it is important to listen to your body and focus on finding your calm through whatever makes you happy. That might mean taking part in mindful meditation, restorative yoga, or maybe even going on an energetic run.

 

As so many opportunities come your way, you need to recognize when things become extremely overwhelming to prevent burnout. Making sure you don’t take on more than you can handle is crucial for success in university. By doing a few things that you are passionate about is the better alternative to  overworking yourself and taking on too many responsibilities that you can’t fulfil in time.

“In university, taking a break from studying and leadership activities is extremely important to help maintain a balanced lifestyle and prevent burnout. However, when my to-do list is ever-growing and finals season is fast approaching, spending time with friends or pursuing my hobbies often makes me feel guilty – there’s a voice in the back of my head that is constantly saying that I should be working instead of having fun. To counteract this, deliberately schedule “personal time” into your week, where you can play video games or watch Netflix. Knowing that you’ve earned this time to have fun makes for a guilt-free experience, and also better enforces a time limit on your activity, preventing those 2 am binge sessions from eating into your sleep and productivity.”

“Some parts of life during university were extremely challenging – dealing with loss, stress, struggles with mental health – these are things that most students have to go through. When things got the most difficult for me, I really had to ask myself what my values were. I realized through this process that practicing meditation and yoga regularly really helped me to focus on what is important to me; my well-being and happiness. It has helped me so much to centre myself physically and mentally. When things come up in my life now, I know that aside from my external support system, I can also be my own best friend and help myself through it.”

“Self-care is about staying physically and mentally healthy. It means having a balance between working towards your goals and staying within your limits. You should feel good about yourself and work to make yourself feel better! My advice is as follows:

1. Busy does NOT mean anything. Be busy with purpose. Don’t do things for the sake of doing things. Reevaluate your schedule and commitments every once in a while and compare it to your goals and wants, I guarantee you’re doing things you don’t need to be doing. Once you stop doing these things, you’ll have more time to focus on what’s really important.
2. Be a smart rester! Everyone needs rest, but most of us aren’t resting properly. Try different tactics to see what works for you. Pick things that rest your eyes, brain, muscles, whichever feel tired. Personally, I like to talk to friends, play a sport, or my favourite – listen to music.
3. Super cliche, but PLEASE live a healthy lifestyle!! This means getting 8 hours of sleep, 30 minutes of exercise every day, and eating balanced and nutritional meals (yes MEALS, meaning breakfast, lunch, dinner and even a snack). This also means being EMOTIONALLY healthy! Spend time with the important people in your life, communicate your feelings, and go have FUN.”

If you keep pushing yourself past your physical and mental limits, it will catch up to you. You cannot live forever on three hours of sleep, caffeine, and Red Bull. You won’t be able to overpower your inner need to relax and recharge. And you will reach a point where you burnout if you don’t respect and care for your well-being. Don’t wait for yourself to fall apart to realize self-care is a priority.

This weekend, take some time to do something for yourself. Read a chapter of that book you’ve been meaning to get to. Eat a slice of cake. Get that extra hour of sleep. Go out and spend time with your friends. Remember to take a long deep breath at the end of the day. Do whatever makes YOU happy. You are just as important as whatever has been causing you stress, so give yourself the attention you need.

Self-care is not as easy as it sounds to implement in our lives, especially during your journey through university. I’ll admit that one of the first things that get neglected whenever I am stressed is my self-care. I hope by adopting these tips, my future self, as well as yours, will appreciate taking the time to take care of yourself!