Trevor-Ross Georgie

Mississauga, Ontario
Graduating with a Master of Business Administration degree

How did you pick your major of study, and why did you choose the University of Windsor?

Being a 21-year-old driven business person in highly-competitive marketplace, I always wanted to do an MBA as I never wanted a lack of education to hold me back. Having graduated from the University of Toronto, I had initially wanted to continue my education there. However, I visited my brother, Vincent Georgie, who is not only a marketing professor at Windsor but also an alumnus, and absolutely fell in love with the people and the city. He told me the University, the people and the city were the greatest and he was definitely right. After touring Odette and its wall-to-wall artwork, meeting the down-to-earth faculty and staff, and feeling genuinely wanted, the feel I got for the UWindsor was different than other school. To top it all off, Richard Peddie, current owner of my dream job as head of Maple Leaf Sports Entertainment, was an alumnus. How could I not make that same choice to come here?

What were your expectations of university? Has the University of Windsor met those expectations?

Considering it is a 13-month Masters, I thought the experience would be fun but challenging, and intense, which it definitely was. However, I did not expect so many opportunities in the community or ease of taking action at the University. As a marketer, I thinktheir new slogan should be “The university experience minus the red tape”. It is incredibly easy to get involved, meet with faculty, and share your opinions here. It is not at every University where the Dean knows his students on a first-name basis.

What would you say is the most important thing you have learned at university: about yourself, about other people, about your field of study, or about the world?

As president of the MBA Society, I learned that being a leader requires more often than not coaching individuals than a team as a whole. There are so many leaders, personalities, backgrounds, and driving factors in people that it is impossible to get the best out of multiple people using the same style and approach. Everybody is different and if you want to be a successful leader, you have to learn to adapt to each person and work differently with him or her to see results.

What would you say has been the most memorable part of your UWindsor experience?

The most memorable experience for me was attending the MBA Games, the national MBA competition, in Quebec City. After taking a year off from the Games the previous year, we had a chance to put Odette back on the map and build our brand… and we certainly did that. The train ride together, the chants, the competitions, and the nightlife were incredible bonding experiences for our group. Although we did not finish ranked as high as we would have liked, we edged out bigger schools such as Ivey, Rotman, and Schulich in various academic and athletic competitions. Every 2011 Odette MBA who attended dug deep, sang loud, cheered proud, and made lasting impressions. I urge anyone to find another group of 30 business students who crammed into a hotel elevator, singing at the top of their lungs, to be the first ones to board the bus to opening night. That’s competitive!

Please tell us why you are proud to be part of the University of Windsor’s graduating class of 2011.

I am particularly proud to be part of the graduating class of 2011 because our group went through a very intense 13 months together. There were countless sleepless nights, hundreds of group meetings, and we might as well have had our mail forwarded to the MBA lounge. It is a particularly great feeling to have accomplished all that we have considering the journey getting there.

Did you have a course, professor or classmate who inspired you?

It is incredibly cliché but there are sincerely so many people who inspired me, from classmates, to faculty, to staff, there are lots of inspirational people when you sit back and reflect on it. I want to highlight three people for different reasons. In no particular order, Sue Skrobiak, Dean Allan Conway, and GwangYang.

Sue Skrobiak is the graduate secretary of the MBA program and began working at the University of Windsor directly out of school. Sue is the epitome of what you are looking for as a “mother of a program”. My experience with Sue began with my acceptance letter including personal notes and cheerful comments tailored to our previous conversations such as “enjoy your celebration dinner with your family”. Sue is incredibly reliable, dedicated to her work, and genuinely loves her students. You will never find a student from any graduating class who has nothing but wonderful things to say about her.

Dean Allan Conway is the dean of the Odette School of Business, a Harvard graduate, and has extensive executive experience in industry. However, it is his commitment to his students that makes him so inspiring. I have travelled to many business schools for conferences and I have never heard of a dean that knows his students by name, personally meets with all guests of the school, or flies down to Florida to visit with his students who are on exchange. For a man with his credentials, he does the little things that make student life at the Odette School of Business what it is: incredible.

Gwang was born in Korea and now resides in Windsor. He is one of the most modest people I have ever met, as well as one of the best dressers. Gwang wrote finance exams opting not to use formula sheets as he wanted to do it all on his own, and proved his brilliance in mathematics and finance with incredible marks. He began rather shy in presenting due to what he deemed a language barrier. However, Gwang’s presentation and social skills grew immensely throughout the program and he showed a level of comfort with public speaking that I could only dream of having in mathematics. Gwang is an absolute gem and a wonderful person who will have incredible success in his field.

What are your plans following graduation?

I have a passion for sports and not being good enough to play professionally, my dream is to pursue a career on the business side. I feel that for once I can contribute my skills to a sports team, albeit my marketing skills, it is a harmonious mix of what I love and what I am best at. I had a great chance to do projects for the Windsor Spitfires, and intern with the Florida Gators, and now hold a marketing position with Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment. My dream is to one day be the head of this great organization.