NOVEMBER 26, 1999
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THE UNIVERSITY OF VICTORIA NOVEMBER 26, 1999 |
by Mike McNeney“I’m interested in a personal challenge and I really felt it was important to establish some traditions and to recognize people who make a difference,” says Katherine Tweedie, the former president of the Commerce Students’ Society. She graduates this weekend with a bachelor of commerce degree (with distinction) in international business and she leaves UVic with the satisfaction of knowing that she’s made a difference for other students in the business faculty. Tweedie helped establish a presence for students in the decisions made by the faculty by implementing several new initiatives during her term as president. Students, as a result, have better representation on decision-making committees within the faculty in areas such as co-op, curriculum and strategic planning. |
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| She helped organize discussion forums so that students can address the dean of the faculty directly on issues such as work terms, computer facilities and fees. “Working with dean Roger Wolff was very rewarding,” Tweedie says.
To build traditions in the relatively new business faculty and recognize achievement, the South African-born Tweedie helped introduce the Commerce Students Awards of Excellence banquet. The program spotlights the achievements of individual students, faculty members and business community members. Tweedie also put her energy toward improving the extra-curricular aspects of studying business at UVic in order to make students “feel more at home.” The new student orientation program was started under Tweedie’s leadership and throughout the year, the students’ society now helps send students to meetings and conferences outside Victoria. Innovative fundraising for the United Way and an annual pub crawl were introduced to help bring students together and make their academic challenges a little easier to take. Among her faculty mentors, Tweedie includes Dr. Ralph Huenemann (“a fascinating person”) and Dr. Rebecca Grant. Now Tweedie is on to her next challenge. She began a two-year contract this summer as an investment banking analyst at Nesbitt Burns in Toronto. She was one of seven graduates selected by Nesbitt from business schools across Canada and she’s the first UVic grad recruited into the firm’s analyst program. The hours are grueling and the world of corporate take-overs and mergers is pressure-packed, but “the incredible thing is you work on select teams of four or five people that include the heads of companies and senior bankers at Nesbitt. It’s one of the toughest challenges I’ve ever faced but it’s a great experience and a lot of responsibility.” |
