On Thursday, April 6, the Broad College of Business’ Residential Business Community (RBC) traveled to the world’s second most business-competitive global city, the home of the Toronto Maple Leaves, and tourist attraction CN Tower. RBC members spent the weekend visiting some of the most reputable companies in the world and participating in a community service project.
RBC students learned firsthand what life working at Google’s Toronto office is like.
The trip brought together a diverse group of individuals, both within the RBC and at the companies they visited. “Being around so many diverse people allows me to behave as a more inclusive and knowledgeable leader,” said RBC community leader Elexis Grimes (Accounting ‘17). “In addition, it is not often that I see minority business leaders with a career aligned with my vision. Thus, during our site visit to Procter & Gamble I was thrilled to connect with such a successful professional and incorporated her into my network.”
Friday consisted of site visits to P&G, Deloitte, and Google’s Toronto offices. Students spoke with knowledgeable professionals from these global businesses, toured the facilities, and learned firsthand it’s like to work for a global professional services firm. On Saturday, members volunteered by cleaning the shoreline of debris for Spartan Day of Service.
Aside from the opportunity to visit global companies and gain volunteer experience, the 25 members who participated in the trip built friendships that will likely last a lifetime.
Students participated in a day of service by way of an environmental clean-up at a waterfront park.
“Being that I did not know many of the freshmen and sophomores on this trip, I thought it would be difficult to integrate myself into this already established community, however, this was not the case,” Grimes explained. “I made more friendships with people I would have never thought to connect with. We all have the memory of traveling together, many for the first time outside of Michigan, and learned about the passions of others which connected us even further.”
The RBC trip to Toronto is one of many networking trips the RBC has the opportunity to take part in North America. The community has also visited Chicago and Pittsburgh, among other cities.
