[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/beukema_shaun.jpg” caption=”Shaun Beukema (above), Matt Russell, Mauricio Alanis and Joyce Tong (below) will graduate from the DeGroote School of Business today.”]Students from the DeGroote School of Business will graduate today at Hamilton Place. Degrees will be conferred on 455 students, 360 from the undergraduate Commerce program and 95 from the MBA program. The Daily News profiles four representatives from DeGroote's class of 2008.

Shaun Beukema

When Shaun Beukema started the Commerce program at the DeGroote School of Business, he braced himself for the worst — late night study sessions, mountains of academic work, limited free time. Today, as he graduates from DeGroote and looks back on his four years at McMaster, he says, “Honestly, it was never that bad.”

But Beukema kept busy over the course of his degree.

He participated in the DeGroote Finance Association for three years, including serving as president for one year. During a summer job as a staff accountant with PricewaterhouseCoopers, he was one of 25 students from across Canada selected to represent PwC at the Disney Institute Leadership Development Program.

He helped establish In-Transition, a program that helps high school students with the transition to college or university. The program received a University Prize for Special Achievement from McMaster University in recognition of its contribution to the community.

He was a teaching assistant for six consecutive terms for various courses at DeGroote. And he was the recipient of nine distinct scholarships and was named to the Dean's Honour List each year.

As the capstone of his undergraduate degree, Beukema was selected to serve as valedictorian at today's ceremony.

He says that one aspect that sets DeGroote apart from other business schools is its sense of community.

“As DeGroote students, we never really had to prove to anyone who we were and rather set our own reputation with colleagues, peers and even employers through experience and involvement. There was never any pressure to prove something which was comforting and encouraging at the same time.”

Matt Russell

Matt Russell's Commerce degree embodies DeGroote's focus on experiential education. Between his third and fourth years, Russell participated in the School's Commerce Internship Program. The CIP gives students hands-on experience with eight-, 12- or 16-month work terms at host companies. For Russell, that meant a 16-month position with AIC Client Services.

“The job was my first real experience in the finance industry. The position helped me to understand how the theory taught in school plays out in the real world. It gave me a much broader understanding of financial markets, the industry, and economics, and how it is all intertwined. Also of importance, it made the fourth year of school much more applicable because I understood the theories better as I could relate them to real world business scenarios,” he explains.

Russell will be continuing his association with the finance industry with CIBC Commercial Banking. He will begin an intensive training program called the undergraduate development program. Following the training program, he will work as a relationship manager where he will assist businesses with their banking and financial needs.

He says that the internship program is one of the many opportunities DeGroote provides to students to help them stand out from the crowd.

“DeGroote helped me to diversify my skill set so that I can understand and tackle problems from all business angles. The ability to see problems from different angles and develop innovative solutions is what sets you and your business apart from the others.”

Mauricio Alanis

When Mauricio Alanis began his Commerce degree at DeGroote, he was already looking beyond his four years at McMaster and beyond Hamilton.

“My expectations when starting off at DeGroote were to land a position with a company that did international business and would thus give me exposure to do international business,” he explains.

With a management trainee position at Maple Leaf Foods, he is well on his way to accomplishing his goal. Maple Leaf has plans to expand operations in the near future to Spain and Latin America, where Alanis will be able to make use of his native tongue, Spanish.

In the management trainee program, Alanis will complete three one-year rotations in three different areas of the business.

“The best thing about this job is the respect and prestige that it holds among the company. It allows for fast-tracking to happen. Further, getting to know three different areas of the business while holding leadership positions in each is an opportunity that I find rare.”

In the short-term, Alanis is looking forward to working hard, doing some business traveling, and getting his career moving. In the longer term, he's looking towards a high senior leadership position, perhaps in corporate strategy or business development.

Joyce Tong

Three days after arriving in Canada from China, Joyce Tong began her MBA degree at DeGroote. Five months later, she had landed her first job.

“Honestly, it was a little overwhelming that everything just started when you didn't even have time to look at the brand new city in a foreign country. During the transition week, I realized that I was supposed to take care of the school work and to prepare for my job hunting at the same time,” she explains.

Overcoming the communication and culture barriers were the biggest challenges Tong faced initially. As a foreigner who didn't know much about the Canadian culture, she felt fortunate that her supervisors and co-workers encouraged her to ask questions or to offer opinions and suggestions.

“I learned that communication is a two-way street, and, provided you are willing to listen to the person you are communicating with, any language barriers can be overcome.”

Tong says that the most important thing she learned during her MBA degree can be summarized in a sentence from her Strategic Management class: “Attitude and persistence are critical to success.”

“I'd like to give it to international students in particular. From the two-year experience in Canada, I learned that sometimes we suffered because we overestimated (or underestimated) the difficulty of a task, and therefore, generated an incorrect attitude in the very beginning. Provided we had a right attitude, the next point is to be persistent. However, to avoid from being over-persistent, we also should always keep our eyes and minds fully open, and take advantage of all the assistances provided by school and the society.”

As a result of Tong's positive attitude and persistence, she adapted to her new life in Canada and successfully earned her MBA degree.

DeGroote will also recognize Donald Johnston and Donald Green with honorary degrees. Johnston is an international business lawyer and former Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation. Green formerly served as chair of the Board of Governors at McMaster University and is chair and CEO of a private investment firm.