An Introduction to the Odette Commerce Society
The Odette Commerce Society (OCS) is a student organization within the Odette School of Business that links the student body, faculty, and community partners. It was established in the year 1953.
OCS has since been an umbrella organization for ratified Odette clubs and continues to provide events that enhance the personal and professional growth and development of business students.
Every undergraduate student of business at the University of Windsor is a general member of the OCS and has voting rights to elect their council members. They are also given the ability to sit in Full-Council meetings.
With a mission to encourage all Odette Students to gain experience in the real world through community engagement, the OCS connects business students with the right partners and organizations.
H.O.U.S.E.
H.O.U.S.E. stands for Helping Odette Undergraduate Students Excel and is an extremely dynamic program that is unique to Odette. The Student Success Centre and OCS collectively created the H.O.U.S.E. for the student’s benefit. The goal of the H.O.U.S.E. program is to make sure everyone’s own individual Odette story starts off on a high note.
“First, I was a student representative in H.O.U.S.E. in my first year before becoming the Vice President of the OCS,” said Oriel Kalambayi, current Vice President of OCS.
“When first-year students accept their offer of admission from Odette, they automatically become a Mentee and are sorted into one of four H.O.U.S.E.’s – Consultants, Entrepreneurs, Investors, or Shareholders. Once they are sorted into their H.O.U.S.E., they are matched to a H.O.U.S.E. Mentor, who is a student in the second year or above. These mentors are hired by the Vice Presidents of Leadership and Program Development. It is the responsibility of the H.O.U.S.E. Mentor to do everything in their authority to make sure that the first-year student’s transition from high school to Odette is smooth and rememberable,” explained Trinabh Jain. Trinabh is a second-year Odette student who is currently a Mentor for the Consultants H.O.U.S.E., handling 10 mentees.
“My work as a mentor is to make sure first-year Odette Students have a smooth transition into university and provide them with all the possible resources. To all the current students, I would say to make full use of all the resources and attend events hosted by OCS to improve your networking,” stated Jain.
Odette Clubs
There are many amazing clubs and opportunities to get involved at Odette and the University of Windsor.
“Being a part of these clubs and getting involved with OCS helps you branch out and connect with people who think alike. It not only helps in forming connections but helps the students find friends and not feel isolated,” claimed Amanda, the current Executive Assistant at OCS. She emphasized how networking is important for business students along with academics and being part of the Odette clubs will get you in the right kind of networking circle.
Enactus Windsor is a non-profit organization that works on projects for the welfare of society using the power of entrepreneurship. The student leaders in the Enactus work on sustainable projects throughout the Windsor-Essex Region.
“I am a project manager of Youthrive which is a project under Enactus. In this, we have mentors that go to secondary elementary schools to teach students financial literacy and how to run a business. I started Youthrive as a mentor,” said Brinda Joseph. Brinda is also the current event coordinator at the OCS.
The Georgie-Odette Leadership Symposium is an annual event targeted at students and business professionals. It brings together established business leaders who speak on various aspects of successful leadership.
The Odette Debate Team is an organization that allows students to discuss relevant issues on topics including economics, environment, and politics. The team competes in tournaments across the United States as a part of the American Parliamentary Debate Association and represents the Odette School of Business with pride.
“Other clubs that come under the Odette Commerce Society are the Odette Accounting Society, Odette Finance Association, Odette High School Leadership Initiative, Odette Human Resources Association, Odette Marketing Association, JSOSIF, and Windsor SOS,” mentioned Kalambayi.
“Being a part of these clubs also helps students learn people skills, communication skills, tolerance, and other soft skills which are also an essential part of resume building,” added Kalambayi.
To know more about these clubs and how to get involved, check the official page of Odette Commerce Society.Â
Winter Wellness Week
Winter Wellness Week is the last event for this semester and, eventually, this year, organized by the OCS. It comprises four events that are free of cost to help relieve some stress and promote relaxation.
“We wanted to end this semester by offering our students some appreciation. Exams can be stressful and so we wanted to have a week full of events to promote mental health,” said Kalambayi, the Vice President of the OCS.
(Image Source: OdetteCommerce, Instagram)
Hot Chocolate @Odette Office was the first event for Day 1. It was last Thursday, December 1st from 9-11 am. Hot chocolate was served to all the students who came by the desk of OCS.
“The first event was a success, and we ran out of hot chocolate by 10 am because of the large attendance of students,” mentioned Shiva Bhardwaj, the event coordinator at OCS.
Day 2 is Therapy Dogs. The event is on Monday, 5th December from 11-1 pm. “I am most excited about the Therapy Dogs event as there will be three dogs coming from the 4 Wheels 4 Paws service,” said Brinda.
“Everyone including me is looking forward to meeting these dogs as it will be a fun time playing with them,” stated Amanda.
Day 3 of this week will be the Paint n’ Sip Event conducted on 6th December, from 5-7 pm. It will be in the Zin Room in the Odette building and for this, students are required to sign up using google forms provided on the official Instagram page of Odette Commerce Society. Sign-up is totally free.
“The event will be led by the president of the OCS and apple cider juice will be provided as a beverage to all students,” said Brinda.
The last event for this week is Christmas Movie Night. It will be on the 7th of December, from 7 pm. The venue for this event is Room 123 in Odette.
“This will give all students a break from all the stress as students will be putting in their comfortable clothes and enjoying some Christmas movies,” said Kalambayi.
Follow the Odette Commerce Society on Instagram to get all the latest updates about the Odette School of business and upcoming events. Â