EVENT HIGHLIGHTS
Ready, Set, Ascend! 2021 Conference
Our annual flagship conference, Ready, Set, Ascend looked a little bit different than previous years’ conferences. This year, we held a virtual conference held on Zoom that was attended by over 100 students and industry professionals. The theme was “The Future. Now.”
Manulife’s Naveed Irshad gave a keynote speech which inspired our attendees to prepare for today’s rapidly changing environment by educating ourselves in innovation, technology, and diversity. Afterwards, we journeyed with our panellists and explored a day in their life working in various careers. The event closed off with breakout mentoring sessions where attendees were able to have riveting conversations with industry professionals who mentored us to continue pushing ourselves to grow and step outside of our comfort zones.
A big thank you to everyone who attended! If you missed the event, find the recap notes below.
Ascend To Your Career In Consulting
“Ascend To Your Career In Consulting” was a technical case interview workshop designed to help students learn about the consulting field and prepare for their next case competition or case interview. Our invited reps were all consultants from varying industries who came together to share their wisdom about their recruiting process, how to tackle case interviews and the projects that the are currently working on. Thank you to our guests Andy, Rishi, Eden and Matthew, as well as our student attendees. If you missed the event, click on the link below for event recap notes.
Industry Chat: Marketing
The Marketing Industry Chat was a virtual event hosted on Zoom. Students had an opportunity to gain deeper insights into the marketing industry in a tight-knit setting. Our representatives Heather and Lotty, from Google and Tricon shared their thoughts about digital and social media marketing, how to conduct market research, emerging trends and brand management, through a moderated panel discussion and breakout room networking. Attendees also received candid advice on how to differentiate themselves when applying for a career in Marketing.
First-Year Info Session
This info session was our first event of the 2020-21 academic year. Hosted on Zoom, this event was targeted towards first-year students to learn more about Ascend, our vision/mission and planned initiatives for the remainder of the school year. Attendees had the opportunity to learn about the first-year rotational internship program at Ascend UofT and to hear from former interns about their experiences. This was followed by a friendly game of Kahoot and open networking. Thank you to those who came out to our first-ever virtual event! We hope you apply for our internship program and we look forward to seeing you at future events.
Ready, Set, Ascend! 2019 Conference
For our annual flagship conference of 2019, Ascend UofT hosted our event at Marriott Yorkville. This year’s theme was “Leadership Without Ceilings.” RBC’s Alex Peh delivered a keynote speech on diversity and innovation. This was followed by a workshop from RBC on personal branding and round-table networking. With a 4:1 ratio of students and mentors, attendees had the opportunity to network and develop lasting connections with the industry professionals from Ascend’s corporate chapter.
Ready, Set, Ascend! 2018 Conference
Ready, Set, Ascend! is Ascend U of T’s flagship conference that takes place at the end of each school year. This was Ascend’s largest event to date, with over 100 students and 20 industry representatives from RBC, TD, and EY, just to name a few. This year we collaborated with Ascend Ryerson and Ascend York to introduce the theme of INNOVATION. EY’s Jeannine Pereira and UCASH’s Arunan Sri and Brian Phan gave keynote speeches on innovation, revealing to the audience, new ways to approach their dream careers. The event featured a series of round table discussions and speed networking. The conference ended with open networking and refreshments. Thank you to all of our mentors and student volunteers who made this event an astounding success!
Aspire Panel
Last year’s Aspire Panel was one of the most successful events in the organization’s history. This event provided an opportunity for attendees to gain insights on how to find an internship and/or a full-time job upon graduation. Representatives from EY, Deloitte, and Manulife were present to provide advice and answer questions about what it’s like to work in their professional field. Topics discussed ranged from potential job opportunities in specific industries to personal experiences in the workforce, to time management in/out of work.
Student to Professional Workshop
Ascend U of T held its first workshop of the year: Student to Professional Workshop. The event was oriented towards teaching students all about the transition from a student to a working professional. Representatives from Ascend Canada gave great insights in topics ranging from “how to network” and “what to wear.” Students also had the chance to practice these skills with the representatives and obtain valuable feedback.
Ready, Set, Ascend! 2015 Conference
Ready, Set, Ascend! was the first conference in Ascend UofT’s history. The theme of this year’s conference was “Personal Branding.” The President of Ascend Canada, TD’s Kelvin Tran delivered the keynote speech and shared his story about developing his communication skills and building up his personal brand. This event was attended by over 150 students and reps. Thank you to all those who came out and made our first-ever conference a success!