Changes...
I haven't blogged in a LONG time... It's been a combination of factors - my work, my personal life, my non-profit, my schooling, etc. It's been keeping me quite busy!
So I haven't taken care of my online resume site & domain, and it got bought out by a company whose main objective is to re-sell to the highest bidder! That said, Bernice.ca is no longer mine, and they asked for an outrageous sum for me to get it back! …Sad…
Though I have fond memories of the patriotic ".ca", I decided that it might be time for a new domain name. So Http://www.BerniceCheung.com is born!
On top of the change in domain name, it’s time for a refresh on my resume website. It is still very much a work-in-progress, as there had been many changes since my last update. I’ll highlight the career-related changes here:
First, I was accepted to Richard Ivey School of Business for my MBA! I’m extremely excited about this as it is the best business school in Canada!! The reason I chose Ivey over other schools within Canada are three-folds:
1) Case-based method: Ivey is best known for its case-based teaching method. Though Rotman is slowly adapting its teaching method to emulate Ivey, I believe the experienced faculty and the tried-and-true curriculum would still be best from the original founder. Ivey is second in the world (after Harvard) for its case-based method, and I’m really looking forward to learning from the best!
2) Entrepreneurial focus (http://www.iveyentrepreneur.ca/): After attending an info sessions from Ivey called “To MBA or not to MBA: An entrepreneur’s dilemma”, where a panel of successful Ivey Entrepreneurs answer questions from the audience regarding their career path, I decided that Ivey was for me. One of my lifelong goals is to start and run my own business, and in the process benefit society in one way or another. I’m not sure when that day will be, but I know it’ll come!
3) Intense program: This may sound funny as I chose one of the most intense programs possible instead of a “bird course” or an online MBA. After six years working in large financial institutions, I fear I’m becoming too complacent, too comfortable that I’m no longer challenging myself to reach stretched goals. Ivey’s 24-hour and 48-hour case shed lights into real corporate “war zone” where a case / situation is given to a group, and within 24 or 48 hours, a solution has to be presented. I heard that it’s been referred as “one of the most challenging thing I had to do in my life, but also the most rewarding”. Ivey’s original MBA program was already challenging at two years, and now it’s been further compressed to a 1-year program.
So after much thought, I decided to apply to Ivey. So the intense 3-week GMAT self-study began, starting from scratch. After all, it’s been a decade since I last had to do high school math – geometry, number properties, equations, etc. For three weeks, my life was a cycle of work, GMAT, dinner, GMAT, sleep and repeat. It was a good taste for what’s to come, but I survived! I was successful in completing my GMAT in the 90th percentile, and through a successful interview with Ivey’s director of admissions, I was accepted at Ivey.
An attempt to earn more for Ivey tuition (it’s an expensive program!), was my GMAT tutoring. It’s been so successful that I had to turn students away. It was the best of both worlds, I enjoy teaching and they’re motivated to learn (http://aavg.weebly.com/)
Second major change: I changed jobs from American Express to CIBC in Apr 2008. The switch was a good one, as it:
1) Broadened my product knowledge from credit cards to lines and loans
2) Expanded my scope from New Product Development and Account Management, to Acquisition (a totally different beast)
3) Allowed me to learn the difference between Canadian-centric corporation vs. Canadian as a subsidiary of an international firm
4) Allowed me to work in downtown TO, which is 15 min from my new condo! =)
Third major change: I was promoted to VP of Special Projects in NAAAP Toronto, the non-profit that I’ve volunteered for since 2006. As VP of Special Projects, I hope to bring some of what I learnt at work – building business cases, putting together strategies & tactics to achieve certain goals, and balancing the risk-reward of all initiatives – to NAAAP.
It wasn’t until recently that I could fully comprehend the scope of NAAAP. Though I’ve always known that NAAAP had 20+ chapters across US and Canada, it wasn’t until the leadership retreat in February that opened my eyes to the people, knowledge, experience, and the scale of the organization. It was a real eye-opener to sit in a room with 60 others from all over North America. It was like a mini-UN! “Bernice Cheung from NAAAP Toronto” followed by “XXX from NAAAP Chicago”, then “YYY from NAAAP San Francisco” etc… This is definitely something I haven’t yet experienced up til then. Also, knowing our US counterparts were so involved in the government (eg/ NAAAP National President would go to the White House representing Asian Americans), as well as the breadth of their sponsors, made me realized our potential!
Enough changes for one day… looking back, it’s been a great few years & I’m really looking forward to school again after so many years!!
So I haven't taken care of my online resume site & domain, and it got bought out by a company whose main objective is to re-sell to the highest bidder! That said, Bernice.ca is no longer mine, and they asked for an outrageous sum for me to get it back! …Sad…
Though I have fond memories of the patriotic ".ca", I decided that it might be time for a new domain name. So Http://www.BerniceCheung.com is born!
On top of the change in domain name, it’s time for a refresh on my resume website. It is still very much a work-in-progress, as there had been many changes since my last update. I’ll highlight the career-related changes here:
First, I was accepted to Richard Ivey School of Business for my MBA! I’m extremely excited about this as it is the best business school in Canada!! The reason I chose Ivey over other schools within Canada are three-folds:
1) Case-based method: Ivey is best known for its case-based teaching method. Though Rotman is slowly adapting its teaching method to emulate Ivey, I believe the experienced faculty and the tried-and-true curriculum would still be best from the original founder. Ivey is second in the world (after Harvard) for its case-based method, and I’m really looking forward to learning from the best!
2) Entrepreneurial focus (http://www.iveyentrepreneur.ca/): After attending an info sessions from Ivey called “To MBA or not to MBA: An entrepreneur’s dilemma”, where a panel of successful Ivey Entrepreneurs answer questions from the audience regarding their career path, I decided that Ivey was for me. One of my lifelong goals is to start and run my own business, and in the process benefit society in one way or another. I’m not sure when that day will be, but I know it’ll come!
3) Intense program: This may sound funny as I chose one of the most intense programs possible instead of a “bird course” or an online MBA. After six years working in large financial institutions, I fear I’m becoming too complacent, too comfortable that I’m no longer challenging myself to reach stretched goals. Ivey’s 24-hour and 48-hour case shed lights into real corporate “war zone” where a case / situation is given to a group, and within 24 or 48 hours, a solution has to be presented. I heard that it’s been referred as “one of the most challenging thing I had to do in my life, but also the most rewarding”. Ivey’s original MBA program was already challenging at two years, and now it’s been further compressed to a 1-year program.
So after much thought, I decided to apply to Ivey. So the intense 3-week GMAT self-study began, starting from scratch. After all, it’s been a decade since I last had to do high school math – geometry, number properties, equations, etc. For three weeks, my life was a cycle of work, GMAT, dinner, GMAT, sleep and repeat. It was a good taste for what’s to come, but I survived! I was successful in completing my GMAT in the 90th percentile, and through a successful interview with Ivey’s director of admissions, I was accepted at Ivey.
An attempt to earn more for Ivey tuition (it’s an expensive program!), was my GMAT tutoring. It’s been so successful that I had to turn students away. It was the best of both worlds, I enjoy teaching and they’re motivated to learn (http://aavg.weebly.com/)
Second major change: I changed jobs from American Express to CIBC in Apr 2008. The switch was a good one, as it:
1) Broadened my product knowledge from credit cards to lines and loans
2) Expanded my scope from New Product Development and Account Management, to Acquisition (a totally different beast)
3) Allowed me to learn the difference between Canadian-centric corporation vs. Canadian as a subsidiary of an international firm
4) Allowed me to work in downtown TO, which is 15 min from my new condo! =)
Third major change: I was promoted to VP of Special Projects in NAAAP Toronto, the non-profit that I’ve volunteered for since 2006. As VP of Special Projects, I hope to bring some of what I learnt at work – building business cases, putting together strategies & tactics to achieve certain goals, and balancing the risk-reward of all initiatives – to NAAAP.
It wasn’t until recently that I could fully comprehend the scope of NAAAP. Though I’ve always known that NAAAP had 20+ chapters across US and Canada, it wasn’t until the leadership retreat in February that opened my eyes to the people, knowledge, experience, and the scale of the organization. It was a real eye-opener to sit in a room with 60 others from all over North America. It was like a mini-UN! “Bernice Cheung from NAAAP Toronto” followed by “XXX from NAAAP Chicago”, then “YYY from NAAAP San Francisco” etc… This is definitely something I haven’t yet experienced up til then. Also, knowing our US counterparts were so involved in the government (eg/ NAAAP National President would go to the White House representing Asian Americans), as well as the breadth of their sponsors, made me realized our potential!
Enough changes for one day… looking back, it’s been a great few years & I’m really looking forward to school again after so many years!!
posted by Bernice Cheung @ 11:09 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home