Managing with style
2018-19 EBSS President Josh DeCorby leads an award-winning team
After growing up in the small city of Martensville, Josh DeCorby didn’t know many of the students in his first-year commerce classes. He noticed the Edwards Business School Society (EBSS) brought a lot of energy to the school so he got involved in his second year.
“I thought it would be a great way to meet people and I really wanted to be part of that energy,” DeCorby remembers. He started as corporate relations co-ordinator, working with 10 – 12 sponsor clients, and then became vice-president of corporate relations in his third year.
“I had a team of seven people,” he said. And after management major DeCorby found he enjoyed leading the team, he decided to run for EBSS president.
“I wanted to learn from the examples set by past presidents,” he said. “It’s managing a team of 56 people, plus the clubs…. Not just the general council members, but also executive members who are also learning to manage people.”
DeCorby said his biggest takeaway from the experience of being president was learning his own style of management and finding how he likes his teams to run. “My executive team worked together really well. People have different personality styles but I enjoyed that we had a really open atmosphere where people could say anything and disagree. But when we voted as a team, everyone would get on board with the idea and we’d go forward full force together.”
The EBSS was awarded with the Most Outstanding Business Student Association Award at the Canadian Association of Business Students Conference in June – an award that’s voted on by 29 schools across Canada plus business school alumni after reading reports and testimonials from EBSS and the other business student association nominees. “The award usually goes to the larger schools out east,” DeCorby explained. “This is the first time a Saskatchewan university’s business association has ever won. And it’s exciting because the EBSS doesn’t have a levy. We don’t get any of our funding directly from tuition.”
While DeCorby said winning the award was definitely one of the highlights of the year, it wasn’t at the top of his list. “I’m very happy that we won an award but I’m proudest of the relationships and the culture that we had on the executive,” he said. “I want to thank everyone I had on my team. These people aren’t paid. I appreciate everything they did for me and for the school.”
DeCorby said his years at Edwards would have been completely different if he hadn’t taken the leap to get involved with EBSS. He encourages all students to do the same. “A lot of my closest friends, and people from the Saskatoon business community who can give tremendous advice, I met through EBSS,” he said. “I would encourage anyone to get involved.”
Edwards Business Students' Society by the numbers
Raised $4,000 for the United Way of Saskatoon and Area.
Spent $59,878 on academic events and conferences with an additional $9,452 for club specific initiatives.
22 students were sent to conferences and competitions.