With temperatures dropping easily below -20°C, it can be hard to find motivation to leave the house and seek out different activities to do around campus. A few months ago, I wrote an article highlighting an upcoming McGill event, TEDxMcGill. This month, I want to highlight another event happening on campus on February 1st: DMAA, or Desautels Management Achievement Awards.
DMAA is an annual event held by the Faculty of Management that allows students to meet and connect with various business leaders. It is a luncheon where students can enjoy a three-course meal at the Ritz-Carlton, and the recipients of the Management Achievement Award share their stories and journeys of how they became to be such prominent leaders in business. When I attended this event last year, I was expecting it to be like any other networking event – a little bit of chatting with people from different companies, but not a lot of opportunities for in-depth conversations or stories. However, I was pleasantly surprised to see that this event felt more intimate than other networking events, and the stories that the past award recipients shared were more personal. I also appreciated that the award recipients all came from very different industries and backgrounds.
To attend this event, DMAA requires that you submit a form and your CV to register, then pay for the ticket online. Prices are $35 for early bird tickets, or $45 for regular tickets. Now, I know what you’re thinking – this seems to be a steep price to pay just for a networking luncheon. I had the same skepticism before attending the event, but after, I never regretted a dollar. I left the event feeling completely inspired, and allowed me to deeply consider what I wanted to do with my life and my area of study. To me, it felt like a small investment that I made for my future.
I did not have a lot of experience with business networking events like DMAA when I first attended this event last year. I remember feeling intimidated and nervous, because I was not comfortable just starting up a conversation with strangers, let alone business leaders. However, attending DMAA was the perfect opporunity for me to practice being more comfortable in a professional setting. Networking events are perhaps not the most fun activity to do on your time off, but I encourage all of you to give DMAA a try. Even if you are not completely comfortable with networking yet, the speeches from the award recipients are bound to leave you feeling motivated and start thinking about your own future. Plus, what better way to ease your nerves a bit than with a delicious three-course meal?
This year, the event is held on February 1st, from 11:30am-2:30pm. For more details about this event, check out their Facebook page, or their website at https://www.desautelsmaa.com.
All images obtained from:
https://www.facebook.com/desautelsmaa/photos/a.988603341318047/988605774…