BizAcademy - The BIG & Final Day

For the last day of BizAcademy, the three teams presented to the best of their team and individual abilities to showcase all that they had learn over the four days. The "Dragon Panel" was a variety of external salesforce.com partners, including Perpetual, McGrath, NSW Health and the Deprtment of PM & Cabinet. I was not fortunate enough to sit in on the presentations, in fact only the external judges and the teams were allowed into the room. However, I did experience the buzz of nerves and excitement that took place throughout the day. 

The Graduation Party

On Friday night, after all the presentations were successfully executed, the 12 young adults walked out of salesforce.com with a spring in their step and beaming smiles on their faces. To celebrate, the group rolled down to the BizAcademy graduation ceremony. Friends, family, judges and mentors were all in attendance. As I left my desk that afternoon, to join the group my fellow colleagues had warned me to take a few tissues with me just in case - I totally snubbed knowing I would just be as beaming as the students (oh I was so wrong!). To gain a great perspective from one of the volunteers, read this blog. 

Meeting the Families

I was lucky enough to meet a few of the student's friends and family that evening. First there was Marcus' father, a kind, sincere man who was so proud that he son had even made it through the week. When I asked why was so surprised, he highlighted to me the severity of the condition to which Marcus suffers from, Asperger's. His father explained he is taking a small break from work, as Marcus is now of the age where social interaction are of huge importance in order to get him on his way in life. Being the social butterfly that I am, I cannot imagine how difficult last week must have been for Marcus on so many levels. So when Vivian announced the award of the person who went above and beyond throughout the program, it was gratifying to see it go to Marcus. Seeing the pride and happiness on Marcus' father's face at that moment, was indescribable - queue tissue. This really highlighted to me that this program not only helps the students, but also those that support them too.

What some of the winners had to say 

Dylan, 20, received a special award for teamwork and supporting the learning of others. His mentor Paul said:

“I almost feel like I’ve gained more from this experience than Dylan. He’s the most positive, optimistic and outgoing guy. I have no doubt he’ll do great things. Good on you mate. It’s been a pleasure.”

Team SuccessForce won the Best Team award. Key criteria for winning was clear and concise individual presentation skills, unique and creative content and strong objection handling.

Owais, a member of SuccessForce, had only moved to Australia from Pakistan seven years ago and taught himself English. He confidently shared his experience with the group:

“This is really an amazing program. I’m so proud of my team and what we managed to learn in only one week." 

Thank you

BizAcademy may have ended and it is certainly a fact that those of us involved are definitely missing the program whilst we settle back into our full and "normal" working week. However, not all has ended, we will be providing all the students with a follow up session next month on career planning. This session will include training on CV design, personal branding, interviewing and social networking advice, all in order to support the job hunt process.

Stay tuned for posts from our graduates and progress reports throughout the year!