view . fall 2011
11
With the most crucial presentation of their academic careers
less than 30 minutes away, the University of Windsor
students had no time to be nervous.
Fifty judges, including CEOs and
executives from some of Canada’s
largest corporations, waited for them
at the 2011 Advancing Canadian
Entrepreneurship (ACE) National
Exposition, held in Toronto May
9-11, 2011. After two days of intense
competition in which teams from 35
Canadian universities competed to give
the best presentation, UWindsor had
just reached the top five.
ACE is a national, charitable
organization dedicated to teaching
young Canadians how to create
brighter futures for themselves and
their communities. Its program,
Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE),
encourages students to form campus
teams and apply business concepts
to outreach projects that improve the
quality of life and standard of living
for people in need.
Thirty members of UWindsor’s
70-member team had trekked to
Toronto for the event to deliver
a presentation that described a
case study of the city of Windsor’s
economic woes and how they could
help. Their skillful presentation,
blending the power of technology and speech, painted an insightful
and moving portrait.
When the team’s 24-minute presentation concluded, the
audience rose to its feet, cheering and chanting for UWindsor,
which claimed third place overall.
Business administration students Evan Clark and Emilie
Cushman, part of the five-member final presentation team, called
the experience life altering. Clark, third year, and Cushman, fourth
year, both point to the SIFE program
as just another reason why they value
their education at the Odette School
of Business.
Both encountered a few curves on
the road to the school.
Clark, who grew up in Fergus,
Ont., once toured the world managing
a variety of music and entertainment
shows. Cushman, born and raised in
Windsor, had originally planned to be
an engineer.
Today, both find themselves
enrolled in a program that has
connected their academic aptitude
with a fierce desire to prove
themselves in the business world by
providing practical opportunities to
learn and grow.
“I originally accepted a position
in engineering at the University of
Windsor,” says Cushman, “but I was
intrigued by business and switched. I
showed up the first day and loved it! I
haven’t looked back.”
Clark’s ambition to open his own
business prompted him to choose
Odette. “I heard that the University had
a great entrepreneurship program.”
Despite the very practical nature of their program, a strong
artistic streak marks both students. Cushman is a trained pianist
who has taught for five years, and Clark’s first passion is music.
“It’s funny,” says Cushman. “We are both very creative people
who like to break rules and think outside the box.” Clark
A DYNAMIC DUO
A passion for business connects
BY JENNIFER BARONE
STUDENT PROFILE
Evan Clark and Emilie Cushman
