Contributor Bio:
Nina Gasbarre is a second year BBA student at Schulich. When she isn’t studying or organizing the APEX Conference, Nina likes to re-watch episodes of Gossip Girl, as well as search for new vacation destinations! Her favourite place to travel to is New York City as there are always new things to do and new Broadway shows to see.

Hey 2023’s!

Now that midterms are over, I’m sure you all are thinking about how you can continue to excel or change your habits to improve the second half of the term! Here are 5 fast tips to be a successful, well-rounded first year Schulich student.

1. Manage your time wisely

As you’ve probably experienced in the first six weeks of school, there is an abundance of tasks to complete in such a limited amount of time. It’s crucial to put equal amounts of effort into all of your courses, as they all count equally towards your GPA. Putting in the time today will result in the best possible results. Use a calendar to write out what you will accomplish each day. This will help you stay regimented and achieve all your tasks in a timely manner.

2. Involve yourself in the Schulich community.

Schulich is one big family and being involved is very important to broaden your horizons beyond the classroom. Schulich offers so many opportunities for students to take part in events, including executive positions on clubs, case competitions and attending conferences. If you can attend one event per month, whether it’s a networking event, case competition or conference, these different settings will expose you to the business world and build soft skills that are not taught in the classroom.

3. First years and upper years: meant to be.

At first the upper years may have seemed intimidating but I’m sure you all have found that upper years are extremely important in a first year student’s life! Building a close connection to an upper year as a mentor or friend can really help elevate your academic career. Since upper years have experienced first year life, they can effectively guide you to success by giving you tips on how to approach assignments, how to study, how to participate in clubs, and so much more.

4. Connect with your professors.

Due to its small class sizes, Schulich is very much like a high school classroom, giving you the opportunity to build a close connection with your professor if you desire. Professors like to see that their students care and appreciate their interest in the course material. Not only will interacting with your professor help you better understand the course material, it will also make attending lecture more enjoyable, especially when it’s a 3-hour class!

5. Network today!

In addition to being involved in the Schulich community, networking events are what differentiate students when it comes to landing an internship or full-time position. Some first steps that you can take are to create informative business cards as well as a complete an up-to-date LinkedIn account. Recruiters actively use LinkedIn to put a face to a name of their applicants. Use your account to keep a conversation with those you have networked with, congratulating them for promotions or commenting on their team’s hard work and dedication to a long-term cause.