By: Jessica Chartrand, Graduating Student, Two-Year Business Administration Program
From high-finance to not-for-profit, our economy is run on Business fundamentals. Training in Business Administration is an excellent way to gain a broad range of transferable skills and launch a professionally rewarding career.
The Loyalist College Business Administration program is an interactive program that develops critical skills, community partnerships, and the hands-on experience to be successful in a field that interests you.
My interest in the Loyalist Business Administration program all started when I was invited to watch the Enactus Loyalist College team present at a national competition in Toronto in May 2011.
So what is Enactus? It is an international organization that brings together student, academic and business leaders who are committed to using the power of entrepreneurial action to improve the quality of life and standard of living for people in need. Enactus Canada holds a national competition allowing students from universities and colleges across the country to showcase how they are transforming lives and enabling progress through entrepreneurial action within their community.
It was during the final rounds of this competition when I truly got a sense for this amazing organization. Imagine a room filled with some of the most passionate and innovative students from across Canada. Their energy was like nothing I had ever seen or experienced before. One of the top five teams was Enactus Loyalist. Only in their second year, their passion and community involvement was infectious; I could only look on as they presented and wonder why I hadn’t known about them sooner. In that moment, I looked at my mother and said, “I will be on that stage one day.” The next day, I registered for the Loyalist Business Administration program and began my journey.
At Loyalist, the Business program offers a diverse range of teachers who vary in professional background and experience. As a student, this offered me a wide variety of real-life professional expertise, connections and opportunities to work with business leaders in the community. The Business program treats every student as an individual, and recognizes that everyone learns differently.
The Business program helped me to gain real-world experience by participating in major projects for local businesses, and volunteering and presenting with Enactus Loyalist. I was able to further develop my portfolio and build my resume with my education and experience. This has helped me to land numerous employment opportunities within the business field.
As a recent graduate of the two-year Business Administration program at Loyalist, I have been given the opportunity to make a difference within my community. I have taken what I have learned to develop an Enactus program called BIZKidZ, an interactive business program that teaches grade six, seven, and eight students the fundamentals of business and development of portfolios at a young age. With the experience I have gained, I feel confident as I continue my education in the post-graduate Public Relations program at Loyalist, and into my future career.