You don’t have to talk to third-year BBA dual-degree student Mike Fortaleza for very long before you realize how passionate he is about the Goodman School of Business.

This semester he has made it his business to ensure high school students from both near and far see what Goodman has to offer to help them with their application decisions.

Fortaleza is this year’s High School Transitions Director at the Goodman Student Ambassador Association (SAA) and is overseeing the annual student-run “A Day in the Life of a Goodman Student” event which takes place on Nov. 24.

As the name suggests, the event is all about giving high school students the opportunity to experience life as a Goodman student. Hosted on campus, the event is a whirlwind of networking and lunch with Goodman student leaders, a mock lecture featuring Prof. Barry Wright, a tour of Brock’s campus and a seat at the annual PepsiCo Apprentice Challenge.

It will be a busy day for students but Fortaleza promises the event will help students interested in business see what Goodman has to offer beyond academics.

Being in the BBA dual-degree program means that he studies at Goodman for two-and-a-half years before heading off to study for two years at the EBS Business School in Germany. “I knew coming into Goodman, that I only had two-and-a-half years to make an impact here so last year I got involved with several clubs,” he explains.

Last year, he competed in the PepsiCo Apprentice Challenge, an internal competition hosted in part by the Brock Marketing Association and Goodman Career Development Office. This was his first time presenting to such a large audience at Brock but it paid off – as a result of his performance, he secured a co-op work term at PepsiCo which he just finished.

“Recently a student who attended A Day in the Life of a Goodman Student came up to me in the hallway and told me he remembered me from my presentation last year at the PepsiCo Apprentice Challenge. It made my day to know I had that kind of impact and I was glad to see that attending the SAA event had helped him make Goodman his choice,” Fortaleza says.

Students attending “A Day in the Life of a Goodman Student” get to watch the presentations at this competition and see what it means to get involved at Goodman.

Fortaleza had been set on attending the Goodman School of Business for the dual-degree program but reflects on his first year and says of the “A Day in the Life of a Goodman Student” event: “I wish I took part in it. It would have made me even more excited to attend the Goodman School of Business. It definitely would have made my first year easier.”

Thanks to the SAA event, high school students can make valuable connections with Goodman faculty and staff members and student leaders before they even apply for a university program.

Led by BBA student Eric Bonawitz, the Goodman Student Ambassador Association is a student club that focuses on building connections with the local community, sending students to business competitions and giving back through the Jumpstart charity.

High school students interested in attending SAA’s “A Day in the Life of a Goodman student” event can download the application form at https://brocku.ca/webfm_send/37697 and apply by Oct. 30 at noon. The SAA will choose the 40 top applicants to participate in the event.