You wouldn’t think building a storage facility and doing other chores in extreme heat would help prepare you for your future career.
But for Cory Tanaka, the experience of organizing Ivey Impact Day in July 2013 did just that.
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Ivey Impact Day is an annual MBA class initiative that involves students volunteering their time to tackle the challenges that face their local community. Split across Reforest London, Unity Project, Mission Services, Habitat for Humanity, and the Food Bank of London, the MBA Class of 2014 sorted food donations and contributed to the building of a storage facility, among other tasks. All on a day when the thermostat reached 32 C and the humidex made it feel like 44 C.
The heat didn’t wilt Tanaka’s enthusiasm. In fact, he called this challenge, and the opportunity to organize a second Impact Day in March, the highlight of his Ivey MBA experience.
“This experience gave me a unique opportunity to lead other leaders,” he said. “Working with such a great team challenged me to do more and, collectively, we had a really positive impact.”
At the end of the year, the Class of 2014 selected Tanaka to receive the Student Life award for his significant overall contribution to Ivey and the London community.
Now Tanaka has moved on to be part of another high-performing team. He has joined BCG, a global management firm, in Toronto.
“It’s a little surreal to be joining a world-class firm that fits my values and professional goals so well,” he said. “It is refreshing to be part of a culture that maintains such a strong emphasis on, and procedures for, personal development.”
Formerly working in mergers and acquisitions as a Corporate Development Associate with RBC in Toronto, Tanaka credits Ivey’s Career Management program for helping him to transition into a career in the consulting industry.
“They ensured I was knowledgeable about my career choices and fully prepared to compete for jobs,” he said. “Ivey integrates the entire Career Management team into the class experience, which I think is helpful given developing our careers is really the end goal of the MBA.”
Tanaka also received advice from the School’s alumni and said there is a “culture of giving back” at Ivey, a culture that he expects will continue with his fellow classmates as alumni.
“Developing tight friendships with an exceptionally accomplished group of individuals really made the program an incredible experience,” he said. “I learned a lot from the diverse achievements of my classmates and I expect to continue to benefit from their knowledge as many of us move to Toronto to resume our careers.”
