Imagining life after high school is overwhelming for any young student – especially for youth in London, Ont. with limited access to networks and resources.
The Ivey Community Engagement Club, recognizing this challenge, works to bridge the gap by introducing students to opportunities in their own backyard. Since the club’s start in 2023, co-presidents and honours business administration (HBA) stuudents Seethaa Manoharan and Sophia Young have educated high school students about the possibilities of a business education.
“We hope to help students believe their existing skill sets can be improved and leveraged to delimit themselves when thinking about their futures,” Young said. “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 about her path to Ivey.
“I grew up in the GTA 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.”
Motivated to make local connections, Manoharan hopes to make a generational impact through the club.
“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.” – Seethaa Manoharan, HBA’25 and co-president of the Ivey Community Engagement Club
Tailoring initiatives to meet students’ needs
The Ivey Community Engagement Club is guided by three main pillars: diversity of thought, socioeconomic equity and community engagement. HBA student instructors provide year-round outreach by introducing high school students to Ivey’s Case Method Learning.
Initially, the club’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.
It 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 a competitive environment made some students uncomfortable. This year, that activity was removed from the Discover Day event at Ivey, held in April.
“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. It also included an information session presented by the Wealthsimple Foundation about financial literacy and scholarship opportunities.
Partnership with John F. Wood Centre for Innovation in Business Education
The club benefits from curriculum and logistical support from the John F. Wood Centre for Innovation in Business Education, led by its director and inaugural John F. Wood chair Zoe Kinias, and senior associate Maggie Weller.
Kinias said John F. Wood, HBA’64, was deeply passionate about case-method learning, funding the centre in part to create opportunities for high school students to experience case learning. She told high school students about the connections between the club’s initiatives and her research on the benefits of social support for leadership, to highlight the importance of 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.
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 high school 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.
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 efforts like the Ivey Community Engagement Club/
“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.”
