Imagining life after high school is overwhelming for any young student – especially for London youth with limited access to networks and resources. The Ivey Community Engagement Club (ICEC) recognizes this challenge and works to bridge the gap by introducing students to opportunities in their own backyard.
Since the ICEC’s start in 2023, co-presidents and HBA ‘25 candidates, Seethaa Manoharan and Sophia Young, have worked to enlighten secondary students about the possibilities of a business education.
“We hope to help students believe that their existing skill sets can be improved and leveraged to delimit themselves when thinking about their futures,” said Young. “And we have been able to have conversations beyond the topic of business.”
Part of Manoharan’s decision to join the club stemmed from thinking introspectively about her path to Ivey.
“I grew up in the GTA (Greater Toronto Area), and I had heard about Ivey's business program, so it was shocking to learn that students from London had not,” she said. “I wanted to give back to London because Ivey and Western students can get stuck in the campus bubble and forget that they are a contributing factor to the broader London community."
Motivated to make local connections, Manoharan envisions making a generational impact with the ICEC.
“It would be so cool to have the high school students we teach become Ivey students, who go on to become a part of this club and give back to their community in the same ways they’ve experienced for themselves."
Tailoring initiatives to meet students' needs
The ICEC is guided by three main pillars: diversity of thought, socioeconomic equity, and community engagement. These principles are clear in the club’s year-round outreach provided by HBA student instructors who introduce high school students to Ivey’s Case Method Learning.
Initially, the ICEC’s programming took place after school and was optional for high school students. This year, the team wanted to increase engagement by integrating sessions into classroom time.
This wasn’t the only shift in approach. Last year, the club had a case study competition as part of its wrap-up Discovery Day event, but feedback suggested that a competitive environment made some students uncomfortable. This year, that activity was removed from the Discover Day event, which took place at Ivey on April 9.
“Removing the case competition was a way to make the environment more equitable,” said Manoharan.
The club organized this year’s Discovery Day with more focus on the opportunity for the students to visit Ivey and gain experience networking. An information session presented by the Wealthsimple Foundation about financial literacy and scholarship opportunities contributed to the end-of-year occasion.
Partnership with the John F. Wood Centre for Innovation in Business Education
ICEC benefits from curriculum and logistical support from the John F. Wood Centre for Innovation in Business Education, led by Zoe Kinias, Centre Director and inaugural John F. Wood Chair, and Maggie Weller, Senior Associate.
This natural collaboration emerged through fortuitous timing — ICEC formed as Kinias began her role — and the alignment between the Wood Centre and the ICEC goals.
Kinias said the Centre’s generous donor, John F. Wood, HBA '64, was deeply passionate about case-method learning, and funded the Centre in part to create opportunities for high school students to experience case learning.
At the ICEC’s event, Kinias discussed with the high school students the connections between the club’s initiatives and her research on the benefits of social support for leadership, to frame the social relationship-building the high school students did with their HBA student mentors.
“We know that having identifiable role models and other forms of peer and senior social support increase the professional well-being of people who may feel marginalized because their identities are underrepresented among leaders,” she said.
In Manoharan's first role as an instructor, some of her most memorable moments involved watching the students get more comfortable as the program progressed.
“They participate and share ideas more freely compared to earlier teaching sessions, especially as they become more familiar with us and the case method,” she said.
Young said the 2025 Discovery Day event made an impact on her personally.
“The event had to have been my favourite moment with the club, if not my favourite moment of my year at Ivey. Watching students interact with HBA student mentors and overhearing whispers of conversations like, ‘Wow, I never knew I could study that,’ made all the work we've done worthwhile," she said.
Diversity in the business world
Manoharan and Young said the club’s dedicated Ivey student leaders and faculty partners visualize a business world where everyone can see themselves in a dynamic industry.
“I think sometimes we get stuck in what the business world looks like and has always looked like,” said Manoharan. “Certain levels of diversity are often talked about, but I think it's also important to address the socioeconomic equity piece – especially in a community like London where it's so disparate from one high school to the other.”
The two co-presidents said they hope other Ivey students will feel inspired to make a difference on a small scale, and consider joining newer clubs like the ICEC.
Acknowledgements
John F Wood Centre for Innovation in Business Education – Zoe Kinias, Wood Chair and Ivey Associate Professor of Organizational Behaviour; and Maggie Weller, Senior Associate.
Ivey Community Engagement Club – 2023-24 Co-Presidents, Duomi Ding and Michael Lee, both HBA ‘24.
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