The Olympics of the MBA 2021-2022 has successfully ended with joy on the first weekend of January. As the Coronavirus pandemic continues to evolve, the MBA games, like last year, took place online. However, this year we had the pleasure to be invited to both the BC MBA Games, hosted by Thomson Rivers University with the theme of “One Earth, One Future, Business as usual is no longer an option” and the National MBA Games, hosted by York University with the theme of Unity. A special thank you to the 2022 MBA organizing committee, we got the first-hand experience of attending the events in a virtual space and had a fun bingo night with cocktails/mocktails hosted by the drag artist, Lucy Flawless. Our team was immersed in a festive atmosphere.
Both games kicked off with the Strava challenge followed by the video competitions where the participants would act and dance to deliver the theme of the year and simultaneously show off their school spirit. In the BC MBA Games, we were proud to place 2nd overall with the guidance of Lesley McKay and David Whiffin. Big shout out to our fundraising queen Nicole Lee for raising $3,000 for the Adman’s River Salmon Society (1st) and talented Social Media Captain, Sommer Hines for her creativeness and the instant updates. Well done to Tim Liu, Divya Vasal, Pankaj Bagga, and Arushi Parmar for placing first in the Mystery Jeopardy Games and Alex Traugott, Jasmin Bains, and Sharina Bansal for placing 2nd in the Simulation Games.
Continuing with the case competition theme from last year, on how to better leverage the virtual platforms in this new norm, we had an opportunity to work on a case sponsored by Kamloops Chamber of Commerce, Snapcommerce, and Indspire. As one of the case competition participants, I particularly valued the lesson and found it beneficial as I got to learn about the Indigenous culture and community. We have received a lot of help from our SFU alumni, Kai Nielsen and David Whiffin throughout the case comp. Their mentorship and guidance were vital to our success. We were also given plenty of socializing time to connect with students from the other school. This was probably the most exciting time for all students. The MBA Games allowed us to connect in this most disconnected time.
Lastly, I want to thank Paola Pilaspilas, Grady Krohman, and Saboor Meherzad, for helping to make the dance video for which we placed 4th out of 16 schools! It was almost an impossible mission due to everyone’s schedule and Covid. But we did it! Also, thanks to Janita Wong, Ify Ibeto, Bhavesh Joshi, Bryant Cooper, Jacintha Kurniawan, Shobhana for supporting the events unflinchingly from the start.
Even though we didn’t get to congregate together to cheer for SFU and instead, we all sat peacefully and smiled elegantly in suits, most of the time, in front of the camera, I cherished it and I am proud of every accomplishment we made together as a team.
Congratulations to UBC for winning first place in the BC MBA Games 2021 and Schulich School of Business for winning the National MBA Games 2022. I would like to salute all MBA captains and participants from the previous years and this year. The MBA Games may have passed but you deserve another pat on the shoulder. It was a lot of extra work on top of the schoolwork. It required courage and a selfless heart to participate. Captains, the MBA games would not have been possible without you coordinating behind the scenes. To all participants, thank you for all your contributions and the incredible job you did representing SFU. We are SFU and together we can win!
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About the Author
Graduated with a Major in Psychology and Minor in Economics Rachel and recently obtained her graduated diploma in Business Administration, Rachel is a well-rounded business professional with management experience over people and projects. She is now a FT MBA student at SFU Beedie School of Business and the 2021-2022 Team Captain for the SFU Beedie BC MBA Games and national MBA Games. Say hi to Rachel on LinkedIn .