Nonsikelelo “Nonsi” Sibanda, the new president of the Redekop School of Business Students Association (RSBSA), is passionate about the ways Christian values and business practice can intersect.
“Business and Christian values go together,” she says. “Christian ethics are so valuable when running a business.”
The Redekop School of Business is developing the potential of future business leaders to bring together sound business practice with commitments of faith, generosity, and service. Sibanda is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Business Administration with a major in Accounting.
Sibanda previously served as the vice-president of finance for the RSBSA. When friends nominated her for the role of president, she felt it would be a good experience.
“I’m a business student and some day I might have to lead, so why not start now?” she says.
The role of the RSBSA is to provide opportunities for students to gain knowledge and experience outside of the classroom, says Sibanda. Events feature guest speakers from the business community and workshops to develop skills needed for pursuing a career in business.
Sibanda says the events allow students “to ask somebody from the business world ‘how do I do this?’ or ‘what do I do if I’m interested in this?’”
Initially, Sibanda thought she’d like to work as a Chartered Accountant after graduating. She says that while that would be a challenging career, she’d like to be a social entrepreneur and create her own business.
“Accounting is one essential part of a business,” she says. “If I have my own business, it’ll be very helpful one day.”
Sibanda is grateful for the “many benefits and opportunities” RSB affords. She was a participant in the 2014 RSB study tour to Europe, which she describes as a great trip.
“As a person who’s doing accounting and interested in numbers, how other countries do economic and financial stuff was interesting for me.”
Sibanda says she’s been good at working with numbers since high school, where she took advanced classes in accounting and business.
She came to Canada from Zimbabwe in 2011 to study at CMU. Her advice to new students is to not be afraid to ask questions.
“Canadians are a nice people, so if you can, be free to ask people anything that you want to know,” she says. “Getting involved is good and networking helps—that’s what I learned at RSB.”
Sibanda enjoys her studies at RSB and appreciates the small class sizes, the approachability of professors, and the supportive community at CMU.
Put simply, she says, “I love being at RSB.”