DCBA hosts professional panel night

> Talk sought to illuminate career paths for business students

Jason GokHo Ing
Contributor

 

he Douglas Commerce & Business

Association (DCBA) has just
showcased an event that demonstrates
the wide range of career paths a student
can pursue with a degree in business.

In this hour-and-a-half lecture, the
guest speakers talked about how they
began their careers, the lessons they
learned, and what they would have done
differently if they could start all over.

Steve Davidson, vice president of
sales at Cambridge House International,
kicked off the event by discussing how
he decided on a career in sales when he
himself was once a student at Douglas
College. Davidson said he fell in love
with the idea of working with others
after taking a personal selling class
taught by David Moulton. Although he
doesn’t regret his education, Davidson
said he wished he got involved with the
professors and student body sooner.

He said he believes it is imperative for
college students to step outside their
comfort zone and network with others in
order to develop meaningful connections
that will propel them towards success.

The second guest was Kay Kuang, a
CPA working as a controller for Fontile
Corporation Limited. A naturally risk-
adverse individual, Kuang said she
decided to pursue accounting as a career
after she was offered an internship
with Ernst and Young. Having travelled
across continents, Kuong said it was
hard work and perseverance that
allowed her to endure her 12-hour,
seven-days-a-week training. The
accountant also noted that, in order to

overcome obstacles in her career, she
had to be blunt, use her authority as an
advantage, and actively contribute her
own skills to the situation at hand.

The next guest speaker was
Dexter Lintag, a financial services
representative at CIBC. Lintag described
his career path as sporadic, with
many twists and turns along the way.
His original plan was to become a
commercial pilot, but he couldn’t pursue
that due to financial constraints. He
then went into information technology
before realizing the career was not for
him. After spending nearly a decade
working as a mechanic, Lintag was
recruited by one of his friends to start a
t-shirt business. It was during his time
pitching and selling products to the local
Filipino market that it dawned on him
that business was the perfect fit for him.
Although going back to school in his
late 30s was difficult, the decision was
worth it, he said. Lintag said he believes
that in order to succeed, an individual
must find out what they are passionate
about and what they are good at.

The final speaker was Dominique
Taganahan, a financial recruiter
for Robert Half. Responsible for
interviewing dozens of college students
daily, Taganahan said the ability to
create a positive first impression is
an invaluable skill to have. Since
business is an industry that is based
off of “who you know,” it is important
to maintain professional presence
wherever you may go, according to
Tagnahan. After all, she said, the
accounting classmate you had a couple
semesters ago could be your potential
employer in just a few years’ time.

 

DSU Maker's Club searches for new space

> Club ousted from home in library

Duncan Fingarson
Senior Columnist

 

he DSU Maker’s Club has been left

without a permanent room for their
equipment after their usual room, the
Hackerspace in the Douglas College
library, was allegedly shut down.

The Hackerspace included a
3D printer, an Arduino computer, a
Raspberry Pi computer, and various
other equipment used for “hacking,”
according to a February 2017 bulletin
on the Douglas College website
announcing the opening of the
Hackerspace. The DSU Maker’s Club,
which called the Hackerspace home,
used a 3D printer, as well as a number
of hand tools for member projects.

Dixon Cohee, president of the DSU
Maker's Club, said the Hackerspace is
now closed, leaving the club limited
in what they can do on campus.

“The Hackerspace was being run
by a member of the faculty, who had
granted us the use of the space,” Cohee
said in an email interview with the
Other Press. “That faculty member
turned the running of the space over
to the library. The library did not want

 

to continue running the Hackerspace,
and so shut the room down.”

The DSU Maker's Club is a
collaborative group, with around 21
active members. True to its name,
the club’s focus is on creation,
and the members have a broad
collection of skills, from knitting and
woodworking to 3D modelling. The
point of having the club is to share

skills, allowing the members to make
things together that they wouldn't
be able to accomplish alone. The
club has been active since May 2017,
with Cohee holding the position of
president since the club’s inception.
Progress on finding another
permanent home for the club to use
has been slow, according to Cohee.
“So far, not much [progress],”

BCFS LOCAL 6

wwe ttantus

Cohee said. “I don’t think it likely
that the school will give a club

a permanent space, with space

in the school at a premium.”

Despite the lack of a permanent
workspace, the club continues to hold
meetings on campus. The DSU Maker's
Club meets every Friday, from 4 to 6:30
p.m., in room 328 of the DSU building
at the New Westminster campus.

 

Photo of Kay Kuang/Dexter Lintag by Analyn Cuarto

Image via DSU Maker Club Facebook page