After years of avoiding leadership roles, business student Sandra Adderley-Melbourne decided to welcome the challenges that come with taking the helm. Now, she's pushing student entrepreneurship projects forward, working to create positive changes in the greater community, and strengthening online collaboration as the president of Enactus George Brown.
“I like leading, but leading isn’t something I’ve sought out. I’ve honestly always run away from leadership positions because I know what it takes to lead, and I know the stress and responsibility that comes with it,” Sandra said. “I decided not to run from it anymore, and when I said I’m not going to run the Enactus George Brown presidency came to me.”
Sandra said she’s been offered leadership roles in the past, and it’s easy to see why: she exudes positive energy, focus, and determination. And she has a wide range of work and life experience that includes music and performance, and television production both in front of and behind the camera. (She worked for the local Rogers television station in London, Ont., and hosted three televised Santa Claus parades.) These skills serve her well as a leader and in her program at the Centre for Business, where she’s studying marketing.
Leading Enactus George Brown through the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic
Sandra took over the Enactus George Brown presidency in January and now leads a team of 50 business students. Enactus is a group that uses entrepreneurial action to spark positive change in the community. The team’s initiatives include entrepreneurial training for youth ages 16 – 24 and creating sustainable and responsibly manufactured products. See a full list of Enactus George Brown’s projects at georgebrown.ca/business/learning-environment/enactus/enactus-what-we-do.
Sandra continues to usher the group through a challenging time as the pandemic and remote working and learning continue. She says the experience has helped to define her leadership style and to identify the right people to appoint to other executive positions in the club.
“I think my strength is people. I’m not very good at budgeting, and there are many things that I’m not good at — I’m the first one to admit that. And what I always hear about leadership is you must know your strengths and hire people who are smarter than you to get the job done that you need them to do. You’re not an island. You need a group of people around you who know their job.”
The team connects professionally and personally, and comes together online to plan Enactus projects, for study sessions, and just to hang out.
“We’re so dedicated and we’re so passionate about the work we’re doing for our community. That’s why we joined in the first place,” she said. “It takes a certain type of person to be in Enactus, and I am very proud of the people we have.”
Sandra notes that all members are full-time students, and many members have part-time jobs on top of their extra-curricular Enactus activities.
Preparing for competition
Right now, the Enactus George Brown team is preparing for the virtual Enactus Canada regional competition that starts March 12. Sandra said Enactus George Brown collaborated with students from the School of Media and Performing Arts to prepare pre-recorded materials for the competition. It’s a partnership she’d like to see expand to other parts of the college.
“It would be great if we could get students from all areas of the college to help with Enactus because I think we can create projects that benefit everyone,” she said. “We will only excel the more unified we are as a college in helping Enactus.”
Large companies and organizations attend Enactus competitions and events and actively network with and recruit competitors.
“They are recruiting Enactus students because they know our work ethic,” she said. “There are endless possibilities.”
To learn more about Enactus Canada, watch the video below, which features Sandra right off the top.
