Student Spotlight: Tamara Studer

Business Administration and ACCSA president, Tamara Studer, sat down with us to discuss the program and her experience with the ACC Students' Association.

Can you tell us a little about yourself? Where did you attend high school?

My name is Tamara Studer and I was born and raised in Brandon. I graduated from Vincent Massey High School in 2005. I have a seven-year old daughter. I’m currently in my second-year of Business Administration and also the President of the ACC Students’ Association.

How are you enjoying your time here?

Brandon is full of friendly people. It’s easy to get around and has a very small town feeling for the size of city it is.

What made you decide to come to ACC? Why did you choose your program?

I always wanted to come to ACC. After I graduated high school I decided to take a few years off before applying. I ended up having my daughter during this time which pushed back attending by a few more years. I always knew I wanted to come to ACC but I didn’t really know which program I wanted to take.

I eventually chose Business Administration. I knew a little of what to expect before coming into the program. My mom actually taught accounting courses so I was fairly familiar with that and it interested me at the time. The biggest draw was the opportunities that came with the career, being able to work literally anywhere and with any type of business. However, I’m actually not graduating with my accounting diploma. I changed my mind mid-way through the program and decided to take a few of the more general courses instead of focusing on accounting. I might look at taking them in the future but the other classes interested me more at the time.

Has anything surprised you about the program so far?

I didn’t realize going into the program how many business law classes there would be. I’m taking Legal Principals and Commercial Transaction Laws in the program right now. It’s nothing I can use to become a lawyer or anything but it’s just really good general knowledge to have that I can take with me to any future career. I wasn’t expecting it and so far it’s been very interesting.

How has your experience been so far?

My experience has been amzing My instructors are great and I’ve made life long friends here. It’s been very positive, much different than high school—I actually enjoy going to class everyday.

What are your classmates and instructors like?

My classmates are awesome and really friendly. We’ve all been there for each other and don’t hesitate to help each other out when needed. Instructors are fantastic, always willing to help and take the extra to make sure we all understand what they’re teaching. Each instructor is very knowledgeable in his/her areas.

Is there anything in particular you’re excited to learn about?

I’m really excited to find out how we did in our business projects.

Can you explain a little about what your business project was?

Our project was called Sunshine Senior Centre. It is a daily respite for seniors that have caregivers with full-time jobs. The center itself could be described as a senior daycare where they can come in and participate in activities throughout the day.

We started the course in September and are just recently had our final trade show and presentations. It was a very long course.

Our instructors placed us into groups and we were tasked with finding a business that we think will be successful but not generic or cookie-cutter. We had to do a lot of research and planning before we moved on to a lot of the other areas in our business plan. The plan required key components we had to complete to help people understand what we were trying to accomplish.

After we had our business plan finished we actually had to market our business and ideas at a tradeshow. We setup our tradeshow in the ACC gymnasium and invited Brandon’s business community to come and let us pitch our plans to them. The tradeshow was my favorite part of the project; I enjoyed being able to showoff what we’ve been working so hard on. Our group did amazing. We all had a lot of knowledge and did our research so we were able to answer and respond to a lot of questions and feedback.

Later in the day we presented our plan to a panel of judges from the business community. I was really happy with how our group presented.

Where did the idea for your business plan come from?

We actually had a completely different idea that we were pursuing at first but we eventually realized that it wasn’t really feasible for a business in Brandon. That’s just part of the process.

Our finalized idea was really a group effort. Being a parent I understand how difficult it can be to find daycare within Brandon. Our group had a lot of great ideas and each person brought a lot to the business plan.

Did you do anything to prepare yourself coming into the program? Do you have any advice for other people looking to take Business Administration?

I wouldn’t say there’s too much to prepare for. My advice would probably be to not be so worried about it. I had been out of high school for nine years and was concerned about making the jump back into a learning environment. As long as you do the work, put in the effort, and ask for help when you don’t understand something you’ll be fine. There’s a lot available for any ACC student that might need some extra help, services like the Learning Curve or the ACCSA. There are a lot of things offered to help students succeed.

How did you get involved in the ACCSA?

When I first started at ACC I didn’t really know what the ACC Students’ Association was. I didn’t know who they were or what things they were involved with or even offered. It wasn’t until about a year ago that I started to get involved and eventually became the ACCSA President. The reason I decided to get involved was because I wanted other students to know about the great things the SA had to offer and how to get the most out of their student experience at ACC.

During your time with the ACCSA, what types of things did you help accomplish?

Quite a few things!

We partnered up with BUSU and came up with the Paw Pass. Students can use their pass to get discounts at more than 30 different businesses in Brandon. This was only the first year we’ve had this and should hopefully expand to even more businesses for next year.

One other project we are really proud of is the newly updated Crossroads at our Victoria Avenue East Campus. The Crossroads is a student hangout where students can go between classes to relax or socialize with each other. It took a lot of time and planning. We updated everything including the paint on the walls, furniture, and even opened up a lot more activities for students to enjoy like a Netflix viewing area and some more games.

Another service that we are really proud to offer, which just rolled out last September, is the new health and dental plan that is available to all of our students.

Do you have any plans for after graduation?

Get a job (laughs). I haven’t been actively searching yet; I’m focused on finishing up everything at ACC first. After graduation I’d like to take a few weeks and relax a bit first since it’s been pretty busy being in the program, a part of the ACCSA, and also a parent. I thought I knew coming into the program what I wanted to do with my education but since going through the program I realized there are quite a lot of options.

However, I do have an interview coming up in the next few days that I’m pretty excited for.

What’s something about you that would surprise people?

A lot of people don’t know I have a daughter. Other than that I’m not really sure, I’m pretty open with everyone so people know a lot about me.

Are you involved in any activities outside college?

Not really. I’ve been so busy with the program, being a parent, and the SA that I haven’t really had a lot of time to do other things. When things settle down after graduation I’ll start getting involved in some other things.

What’s your favorite food?

Pizza

Do you have any favorite TV shows/movies or hobbies?

I have way too many favorite TV shows. Currently I’m watching White Collar and also really enjoy the show Suits. Big Brother is also pretty awesome, I can’t get enough of it.

Thank you speaking with us Tamara.

You’re very welcome! Thank you.