What I learned from OCMC

To be honest when I was approached about OCMC during the winter semester of 2012 I was hesitant to try out. I thought it would be fun but I was not confident in my presentation skills and wasn't sure what impact the commitment would have on my school work, job and social life. But after trying out, being enrolled in the course, preparing and finally participating in the event I can safely say that OCMC had a positive effect on all aspects of my life. I learned more about myself and my amazing teammates over the past 4 months then in my past 10 years of post secondary education.

My schoolwork
OCMC only improved my schoolwork and my drive to do well. The ability to make a PowerPoint presentation in 30 minutes and think logically about a problem can be applied to any subject. I can honestly say that I will never be nervous to make another presentation because of all the practice, support and encouragement and feedback that I received over the entire OCMC experience from my classmates, faculty and judges.

My job
OCMC was my job for the past four months both literally and figuratively. Since the semester began I have been responsible for the management of all the social media elements for Humber OCMC. I am the voice behind this blog, Facebook and Twitter. It has been an absolute privilege to get to spend the last four months telling the Humber community and people from all different parts of the world about OCMC and the amazing experience we had competing for Humber.

My personal life
I never imagined that a school course and such an intense competition could change my personal life so much. Who knew that sticking 20 people in a classroom and telling them they had to learn how to make a PowerPoint presentation in 30 minutes and present a case to a panel of judges would make a family. My teammates and the coaches are my Humber family. Thank you all for your hard work, constant encouragement, help, support and ability to be silly. I love you all.

-Rachel

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 

Two weeks to go!

This Thursday marks two weeks until the kick off of the 2012 Ontario Colleges' Marketing Competition and the Humber team is in full prep and practice mode...and the stress and anticipation are mounting.

For me, there has been some added stress because I lost my partner with just two weeks remaining. When I discovered that my partner would no longer be able to participate I was not angry but concerned, nervous and anxious. What was the next move? Could I or did I want to do the presentation on my own? What about my coach and the rest of the team, what would their reactions be?

Speaking to our teacher Will and my coach Sheryn was first on my priority list as they would be most familiar with my available options. They both automatically went about reassuring me that we would come up with something, that my semester would not be lost and that I would still get to compete.

I met with Sheryn and we discussed the options that we thought would work best for me since I needed a partner that was somewhat familiar with retail, someone that I could get along with and someone that was willing to help out. I stressed to her that I preferred it to be someone in our class because working with someone not already involved in OCMC would take more time than we have.

I took a bit of time but I was lucky enough to find a new partner! I am excited to start working together and teaching Tim all that he needs to know about retailing!

Tim's stepping in really shows the character of the members of the Humber OCMC team. I am a lucky girl to get to experience this competition with such friendly, supportive and fun individuals!

-Rachel