Coach offers inspiration to students

During the time leading up to OCMC our coaches and all the faculty involved are like our parents. They deal with all of our stress and nervousness like it is second nature. They are a source of constant support and encouragement and always try and make sure that we know that they know we are doing our absolute best! Without our coaches and other faculty support we could be nearly as prepared as we are for the upcoming competition and we would not perform nearly as well as they and we are sure that we are going to!

With the competition only a few days away I thought it would be good to get a little bit of advice and inspiration from Sheryn Beattie, the coach of the retailing team to inspire us as we prepare to use all we have learned and compete in OCMC 2012.

How did you first get involved in OCMC? 
OCMC was started over 30 years ago as a provincial event. Humber was encouraged to participate 10 years ago and Humber faculty were asked to volunteer to help.

 What do you enjoy most about being a coach for OCMC?

OCMC is all about student engagement. Working one on one with the students is a great way to share knowledge; their experience and my first hand knowledge working in the field. I love to see the students challenge their business knowledge and hone their presentation skills. Training for OCMC is like igniting a passion learning.

What are you most looking forward to during OCMC 
OCMC is a fun and demanding event. I hope the Humber team does well but I believe the Humber team wins no matter what the outcome; they have all worked hard and will do their personal best.

What advice do you have for your team and other teams? 
Take a deep breath, be supportive of your teammates and meet the case challenge with a clear strategy and think INSPIRATION! Be proud of your achievement, you are representing Humber and competing against the top marketing students in the province.

What is the best advice you have ever received? 
"Life is not a dress rehearsal, enjoy every day as if it were your last."

What do you find is the best method of coaching a team?
Provide structure for the case method, but expose the team to the newest marketing trends, this will get them thinking about innovation! It is also important to expand critical thinking with trial and error through repeated case analysis. It is important to have the team understand that the business arena is very competitive and they must learn to think outside of the box for new ideas, be supportive of one another and take responsibility for their decisions.

-Rachel 

The wait is over

The Ontario Colleges Marketing Competition is here! All of your hard work, determination, passion and perseverance is about to pay off. With students from across Ontario en route to Humber College in Toronto, the stage is set; Humber is ready for you! The tension for this competition could not be any greater. Many months of training all comes down to one day. Just remember - it’s okay to feel nervous!

I would like to share five very basic but essential ingredients to think about when you are performing. I have heard each of these multiple times throughout the training process.

• Remember to SMILE
• Remember to BREATHE
• Remember to TALK SLOWLY
• Remember to BE BOLD
• Remember to HAVE FUN!

Although all of these are very basic, they are typically the most overlooked. If you can remember to incorporate all of these into your presentation I can almost guarantee that you will feel more comfortable in what you are doing.

Even though the competition is high stress, Humber has lined up some fun and engaging activities to help ease the nerves and to pump everyone up! It is not only about showing what you are capable of, it is also about having fun and meeting new people. OCMC is the perfect opportunity to network and engage with some of the brightest students from across Ontario!

In order to stay up-to-date, I highly recommend downloading our mobile application for your smartphone at  http://www.widgetbox.com/mobile/app/ocmc.. It has direct feeds to all of the OCMC social media accounts. Myself along with a number of students and faculty members will be positing OCMC updates and highlights throughout the entire competition.

I am going to leave you with this ... picture yourself standing outside of the boardroom ... your hands are shaky ... your palms are sweaty.... you can feel your heart rate increasing - faster and faster. You close your eyes and take a deep breath ... and before you know it… it’s show time.

 “If you had one shot, or one opportunity, to seize everything you ever wanted, would you capture it, or will you just let it slip?” -Eminem

On behalf of Humber College, I wish everyone the best of luck! A very special thank you to all participants, faculty members, volunteers and sponsors.

-Tim