ALUMNI STRATEGIC PLAN | TEACHING AND LEARNING STUDENT
The lasting impact of MARS Apprentice
October 9, 2024 ·
Contributed by: Izabela Shubair, DeGroote Contributor
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In just eight weeks, Tavleen Hans had the opportunity to work for corporate giants TikTok, Microsoft, PepsiCo and creative digital agency Jan Kelley. The whirlwind experience was part of MARS (Marketing, Advertising, Retail and Sales) Apprentice, an intensive experiential learning case competition program. The program takes upper-year DeGroote students beyond their classrooms to solve real-world challenges for diverse corporate learning partners.
Hans, a third-year Integrated Business and Humanities student, made history as part of the first all-woman team to win the MARS Apprentice competition, securing victories in all four cases and gaining future-proof skills along the way.
She now joins hundreds of alumni on whom MARS Apprentice has left its mark.
“It’s an exhilarating opportunity to immerse myself in all of these companies, take on these challenges and truly understand what’s going on in the marketing environment right now,” says Hans. “There’s a lot of learning and growth that happens at a very accelerated pace. The other side of participating is that being an apprentice feels like you’re actually working for the company. There’s a lot of value rooted in the relationships we build with learning partners.”
Twenty Years of MARS Apprentice
Award-winning DeGroote professor Mandeep Malik created MARS Apprentice in 2004. During the eight-week program, 10 students work together in two teams to address current issues of innovative industry leaders. Since its inception, MARS Apprentice has given 210 students the opportunity to learn how some of the biggest businesses work.
Aaron Roodhart, who is in his fourth year of the Bachelor of Commerce program, was this season’s Student Chair. In his role, Roodhart liaised between MARS Apprentice and its industry learning partners, coached apprentices and teams, led an executive team and communicated with alumni. He says the program is not only an opportunity for students to put what they are learning into practice but also a strong collaboration between DeGroote, students, learning partners and alumni.
“MARS Apprentice is very much a community-focused program and something that really thrives off that in-person sense of connection,” says Roodhart. “Partners and alumni become very invested. Jan Kelley and PepsiCo are founding partners, and Microsoft has been a partner for almost a decade. Epiphany Coaches, an executive coaching company, supports the apprentices. Alumni have come back for panels and to mentor participants. These individuals who are now very far into their careers are giving back to a program they did in their undergraduate degree, which is a testament to how much MARS Apprentice impacted them as leaders and business professionals.”
One of those alumni is Jonathan Royal (BCom ‘10). The Bachelor of Commerce graduate participated in 2009. He found MARS Apprentice so valuable that he returned the following year as Student Chair. Royal credits the program with jumpstarting his career at Canadian Tire, a past MARS Apprentice partner, where he is a product manager.
“The skills that we learned were just so applicable,” he says. “MARS Apprentice is the best of the best. You’re not the strongest in every aspect anymore. So, the humility, the challenges to your ego, and learning how to work with other really talented students are unique to this program. One of the takeaways for me, even 15 years later, is how it feels to work with people who also care. It creates a dynamic environment.”
An Impactful Experience
Hans agrees that one of the most beneficial aspects of MARS Apprentice is seeing how teamwork can achieve success. She says success is rooted in cohesion, which allows team members to truly bounce ideas off one another, leveraging each individual’s strengths. From her team, Hans says she learned patience, active listening and the value of compromise.
“When you’re challenged to consider new perspectives from other people, take in what they say and adjust accordingly, that’s when you get the best ideas, and that’s where innovation is truly born,” she says. “Knowing that our ideas can actually shape real-world execution and strategies is the privilege that comes with a program like this.”
Another value of MARS Apprentice, says Hans, is the opportunity to bridge the gap between theory and execution while gaining skills that align with the future of work. Hans specifically highlights strategic thinking, adaptability and resilience as the top three skills she gained throughout the program, which she is now applying in her courses and other experiential learning opportunities. In addition, she says these skills gave her an advantage at her summer internship, allowing her to tackle new projects and initiatives.
“MARS is so tailored to your personal growth, but also your growth as a group and as professional and aspiring marketing professionals in so many different facets,” says Hans. “While you gain these skills, it also does away with this illusion a lot of students have that there’s a divide between students, companies and industry professionals. There’s a beautiful reciprocity in the MARS Apprentice community. The open mind the industry professionals come with, coupled with our passion and excitement to propose solutions, is so impactful. It provides a level of validation, and you know they truly care about your growth and learning.”
For more information about MARS Apprentice, visit them on LinkedIn or Instagram.
