This weekend is perhaps the most anticipated for all students coming to Bishop’s – the final ceremony after several years of hard work (and play!). However, general sentiment among my graduating friends is that while they are eagerly anticipating graduation, no one really wants to leave Bishop’s University in Lennoxville, Quebec.  And we feel the same, in that we (the students returning in the fall) do not wish to see our dear friends leave.

The tight knit community here means that regardless if you are graduating or not, many students return to bid farewell to their close friends and see them graduate. Alumni also come to join in the festivities. The packed weekend started on Thursday with a flip cup tournament, followed by a big Massawippi float on Friday, and then a convocation party on Saturday night.

This year, we had the honor of having Scott Griffin, our very distinguished chancellor, and Rick Mercer, of the CBC television show The Rick Mercer Report, speaking at the convocation ceremony. Our valedictorian, Chelsea Smith, showed everyone what it means to be a Bishop’s student, wearing a purple spandex bodysuit onto stage under her robe. Perhaps the best and most emotional moment came Saturday night at the Convocation party on nearby Optimist field. The school set up a tent, DJ, tables and cups, all in preparation for post-convocation celebrations.

Convocation weekend is bittersweet in that everyone looks forward to its coming, but no one wants it to end – so instead of going to sleep, a bunch of us stayed up and caught the sunrise. After going home for a change of clothes and a quick nap, we met up for Sunday’s Pizzaville brunch, a long-time Bishop’s tradition. No one wanted to say farewell, and it is just as well, since there are always promises of coming to visit next year.

Congratulations and good luck to the class of 2010! Bishop’s will miss you!

A week ago, my friend Pat and I attended a conference called ECLR – Eastern Canada Leadership Retreat. Since we are both executive members of our Bishop’s University Commerce Society, we represented the Williams School of Business at this annual conference. This year, it was hosted by Carleton University’s Sprott School of Business, on their Ottawa campus, located close to the Rideau Canal and Rideau River.

The goal of the weekend is to promote inter-university cooperation and create networks for all business students in order to help them develop professionally for future endeavours. Since Bishop’s University Commerce Society is soon-to-be a member of CABS (Canadian Association of Business Students), attending this event was a useful stepping stone for becoming familiar with the spirit of inter-university competitions and conferences.

The three day conference was extremely rewarding and exciting but also tiring, as the days started early at 7:00am. As I am the incoming president of the Commerce Society at Bishop’s, I had the pleasure of meeting all the other commerce society presidents. We are in the process of planning a “President’s Retreat” so as to form a closer bond and relationship, as well as develop a support network for the challenges of our position. Pat, who will be the vice-president of finance, also got the opportunity to meet many other fellow students and form networks of his own. We also attended several workshops and heard from guest speakers on various topics and skills we will need for the upcoming year, such as social media networking, team building, and fostering student engagement. The evenings wrapped up with fantastic dinners and very exciting night events in Byward market. Big thanks to Carleton and CABS for organizing and hosting such an invaluable event!

All in all, it was a great weekend where we met many fellow business students from all over Eastern Canada, learned a lot about commerce societies and the future of inter-university organizations, and especially gained relevant and salient skills and knowledge so we can help better our very own Bishop’s University Commerce Society.

Even though we were in a different city and on another university campus, Bishop’s is such a tight community that when we recognized some classmates on the Carleton campus that were there to write the CFA exams, we all decided to join together and have lunch...no matter where you are, you will always have a Bishop’s family!

Pat and myself making the Bishop’s presentation

All the Eastern Presidents!

Photo Credit: Talia Poleski

It may as well be called utopia. I’m taking three classes, and unfortunately, while they are all on the same day (that means 9 hours of class) it also means 5 days of the week without class at all! Plenty of time to catch up on some work and catch up with some good friends.

So it was a beautiful day on Monday, and some friends and I indulged in a long time Bishop’s tradition – Massawippi river floats. There are several spots to start the float, all with varying times; we went on an hour long float since the water was still a little chilly. The idea is to have a sturdy floatation device (i.e. a raft), some music, good company, and some good conversation and enjoy the nice weather as you gently glide down the Massawippi. I wish I had some pictures, but last time we went on a float, my friend lost her camera so we’ve all been a little wary of bringing them since then.

After the float, it was still really nice out, so we went and relaxed on Optimus Field for a while, soaking up some sun. There was just enough of a breeze and lots of students have dogs around here, so there were several of them outside playing. Since Lennoxville is in a rural setting, there’s lots of space for dogs to play and run around. One of my good friends has a Saint Bernard, Bobby, who is just over eight months old, but already 130 lbs! He is a riot to play with, and is so gentle with all the other dogs smaller than him. We were also all commenting on the dogs at Bishop’s, even they take on the Bishop’s personality. Since all the owners of dogs here regularly get together and let their dogs play, there is a really great social dynamic.

Some friends suggested going golfing soon, since Bishop’s has its own 9-hole golf course, and it’s right on campus. Looking forward to enjoy more of Lennoxville and the nice weather soon!

Bishop's students enjoying the nice weather on a Massawippi river float

Gazebo on Bishop's campus located right outside of the library

photo credit : Jeremy Johnston
 

Professional development for students beyond the classroom, and beyond the degree, seems to be of increasing importance lately – at least this is a trend I have noticed as a business student. At Bishop’s, the university administration and faculty have been implementing initiatives to help prepare students for aspects of business and career life that that they may not have been exposed to yet. “Building on a Bishop’s Degree” is a series of events implemented for students to gain such insight – past events have included alumni speakers in various cities (Montreal, Toronto). Coming up is an event called the “Bootcamp” – designed for soon-to-be and graduating students who want to develop themselves professionally. I will be a participant and have been preparing for it for the past week – we get a sample job to apply for and a MBTI personality inventory to complete. Throughout the two-day Bootcamp, events such as resume workshops, interview skills sessions, leadership seminars and business etiquette dinners are held. I am looking forward to the Bootcamp – I think it will be very enjoyable but also extremely valuable to my own personal development as well. This has already been seen – I gained a lot of insight into my own preferences when I went over my personality inventory results with our university leadership and development coach.

In Quebec, there is an organization called REFAEC-SAMFEC (Regroupement Étudiant des Facultés d’Administration de l’Est du Canada – Students Association of Management of Faculties of Eastern Canada) that was established around 18 years ago dedicated to furthering the education, causes, and professional development of business students. They host four business competitions a year, in various topics within business. Nationally, there is also a newer group called CABS (Canadian Association of Business Students) that hosts conferences as well as competitions. Being a part of the Bishop’s University Commerce Society, I have had the privilege of getting first-hand experience at some conferences and business competitions. This highly organized group of students and recent graduates helps to keep students up to date with what is relevant in their majors while participating in friendly, competitive events with students from other schools.

Bishop’s has given me several amazing opportunities to experience these events– this past year our Commerce Society has had the chance to go the annual Roundtable conference, the seasonal REFAEC conferences, the Happening Marketing case competition, amongst others, and we will see many more, such as the upcoming ECLR (Eastern Canada Leadership Retreat).

Now that the weather is getting nicer, the Eastern Townships can be enjoyed not just for their ski hills and resorts – the scenery on Lake Massawippi is gorgeous! This is especially so in the town of North Hatley.
Some friends and I went out to dinner at the Pilsen Pub, which is located in North Hatley and has a patio overlooking the water. While it was a little too chilly to sit on the patio, we were still able to enjoy the sunset with the lake view. We had a fantastic meal, and I was stuffed afterwards. We went to La Maison du Cinema afterwards, a wonderful little theatre with inexpensive tickets, to watch Tim Burton’s new movie, Alice in Wonderland, which was a great adaptation of the original book.

With spring arriving, the recruitment office is also busy with campus tours for prospective students and parents. With the nicer weather, the tours are even more enjoyable, as the campus has beautiful landscaping and lots of natural scenery. Visitors get to take an in depth look at Bishop’s facilities, residences, and classrooms, and even get the opportunity to sit in on a class or meet with a professor if they wish.

This spring and summer, I am excited as I am staying in Lennoxville throughout, taking classes and working at Bishop’s University. I’ve often heard how nice the weather and ambiance of the town is in the summer and am looking forward to taking a break from the usual busy pace of the regular school year. Plus, many students here own dogs, including some of my good friends. Yesterday my friends and I took them to the Optimist Park where we laid in the field to soak up the warm sunshine while the dogs ran around and went swimming in the Massawippi. Last year I remember I didn’t want to leave in April, as we were finishing up exams just as the weather started getting really enjoyable! I am looking forward to being in Lennoxville this summer season, I have a feeling it will bring much excitement and fun!

This year, the competition has been intense, especially for the SRC (Students’ Representative Council)   presidency. Voting starts last week! Also, the Bishop’s University Commerce Society is holding their elections in March as well. Graduating students will also be making their Valedictorian selection and other honorary awards for those individuals deemed to have made significant contributions to Bishop’s while maintaining a balance between academics and extracurricular activities.

What does this mean for the students? It means that our university is covered in creative, informative campaign posters, we have speaker’s nights, as well as many other innovative methods of campaigning – some ideas candidates have had include: passing out free coffee on a cold day for students on their way to classes, spray-painting slogans in the snow, etc.

Luckily, our school has a very good voter turnout – one of the benefits of being a small, involved school, student apathy is not as rampant as some larger universities. This ensures that students are heard, and elect the best person for the position. This year, to ensure that no one has the opportunity to miss out on voting, the elections officer is making several locations available for voting, as well as online for the education students away on their practicum and international exchange students studying abroad.

The vote  on March 11th also included a referendum on a few other major issues central to student life. Bishop’s Environmental Club has spearheaded a couple initiatives to make our school more green and energy efficient. For example, they have worked for better recycling (including cell phones, batteries, and printer cartridges), held an awareness concert featuring the Wooden Sky. Their latest campaign, if successful, will see Bishop’s become the third university in Canada to go bottled-water free.

Voting has many implications, since students can actually affect change here at Bishop’s.

There are so many great candidates, and so many creative platforms, that this year’s elections is for sure very exciting!

Bishop’s may be small, but it certainly has more than enough events going on during any given week, for students to get involved in…to show you just how exciting and action packed Bishop’s can be, I’ve recorded a little journal for a week:

Monday
This week is Leadership week! There are workshops Monday-Thursday at noon, followed by a Leadership Café on Friday. I think I’ll sign up for a couple workshops and attend the café on Friday. I also had a good meeting with the owner of the Golden Lion Pub to go over details for an event for Bishop’s University Commerce Society (BUCS), Moosehead may be sponsoring our next event! My psychology club meeting tonight was also productive; we ended deciding on the date for the Psychology club wine and cheese and divided up tasks for selling candy-grams to the school. After dinner, even though I have an 8:30 class tomorrow, we still all found some time to celebrate a friend’s birthday.

Tuesday
Today I attended the noon workshop for Leadership Week - the “Art of Visioning” where I made a 10 step plan for my future after graduation from Bishop’s. I also attended the Donald Lecture Series, but before that, our Meal Exchange (charity for local hunger) meeting set the date and events for the local hunger awareness week we are holding in March! The Donald Lecture speaker afterwards was amazing though, we had Craig Kielburger from Free the Children come speak to us about how we can make a difference in developing nations – he had just come back from Haiti himself and was helping out with the relief efforts there. After being inspired and moved by his story, it was time for a fashion show meeting – Bishop’s holds an annual charity fashion show, with this year’s proceeds going to UNICEF for Haiti. Looks like I’m going to be a VIP hostess in Friday night!

Wednesday
Today I was working on an application for the Bishop’s B.E.S.T. fund (an alumnus has created a fund for students’ projects to develop themselves while contributing to the school), with the help of my HR professor. If I get accepted, I’ll be able to work on a ‘student transition’ initiative, to help my generation of graduates to be prepared for the workforce. I also had an SRC (Student’s Representative Council) meeting today – main topic of discussion was the BIXI bicycle referendum – to discuss the viability of having the system on campus, and the benefits of being branded the first university to have it. Right after that was my Excalibur session – I’m training as the replacement for the Excalibur Human Resources case competition – while it can be challenging, I am learning more about my concentration than I ever thought possible! After such a busy day, I met up with some friends and had wings at the Lion – Wednesday is wing night and the Golden Lion is packed with friends and classmates.

Thursday
Today I went to the leadership week workshop, which was on People types and personality. I took a MMPI and learned some insight into my own preferences. Also, Thursday is the last day of classes for the week for me! It’s always my favourite day of the week - after class today, it was Happy Hour at the Gait (the campus bar), which I always find to be a fun way to wind down, as I see many friends as they finish classes for the day. Tonight I also had fashion show rehearsals – being a part of the SRC we are modelling SRC clothes – and it was really cool to see some of the dance and music acts. Big day tomorrow!

Friday
Even though I had no classes today, it was still filled with meetings, etc. The morning started off with Leadership café, where I got to meet the VP Academic for our University, Dr. Michael Childs, and learned some interesting facts about the world of the academia. Then, I had a grad committee meeting – we’re going to have our Graduation Formal at the Granada Theatre in Sherbrooke (a gorgeous, vintage, location), and we’re bringing back the 2006 Frosh theme – Lennoxvegas! Afterwards, I had another meeting about Happening Marketing, a business case competition that the Williams School of Business is participating in, and I’m even more excited for that! Then after one more round of rehearsals for the fashion show tonight, I was able to catch up with a friend that recently graduated that came back to watch the fashion show! Friday culminated in the 2010 Annual Charity Fashion Show, where we featured one of our own student designers, Z E N T. The afterparty at the Gait was unbelievably fun, especially since we celebrated with bottles of champagne! What a great way to finish off a great week!

At Bishop’s, there is never a shortage of anything to do, or get involved in, if anything, there’s too much going on and I can’t get around to doing everything that I would ideally want to! The best part of getting involved is meeting new people but also getting to know familiar faces better – many of my friends have passionate causes they are involved in, like Camp-U-Can, where six girls are raising money so they will be able to build a school in Uganda.