Alumni Spotlight: Irene Saliendra

January 20, 2025 Management Career Services Leave a Comment

Irene, a first-generation Filipina immigrant from Fredericton, New Brunswick is the founder of Fem Entity, a platform designed to empower women through accessible wellness resources. She graduated from Dalhousie in 2019 with a Bachelor of Management, majoring in Entrepreneurship & Innovation. During her time at Dal, Irene was actively involved in leadership and student engagement initiatives, experiences that helped shape her entrepreneurial mindset. “The leadership roles I took on really helped me develop a passion for innovation and problem solving.”

Seeking to gain real work experience in business management, Irene applied for the optional Management Internship program. “The Management Internship program offered an incredible opportunity to bridge the gap between classroom learning and hands-on application.” She completed her internship in 2018 at Moon Moon Cosmetics as a Social Media Coordinator, where created content for the company’s website and managed its social media presence. “It was an exciting opportunity to contribute to the company’s growth while honing my marketing and content creation skills,” she says. The internship also taught her valuable lessons about project management, communication, and analytical thinking – skills that have proven essential in her work at Fem Entity. “The internship program not only enhances your resume but also provides clarity on your career aspirations and equips you with a professional network and critical soft skills.”

Irene’s entrepreneurial journey was driven by her desire to make a difference and solve real-world problems. After noticing a significant gap in how women, particularly from underrepresented communities, accessed wellness resources, she decided to start Fem Entity. “Starting Fem Entity was my way of empowering women to take charge of their wellness journeys,” she says. The platform connects women to licensed wellness and medical practitioners and aims to create an inclusive, personalized approach to health.

A key factor in Irene’s success has been the networking skills she developed during her time at Dalhousie. Building and maintaining a strong network has been critical in fostering partnerships with wellness practitioners and community leaders. Irene also emphasizes the importance of resilience. “Every failure or misstep brings you closer to success” – a mindset that has fueled her entrepreneurial drive.

Among her proudest achievements, Irene was named a finalist for the Innovative Business of the Year award and recognized as one of Atlantic Business Magazine’s 30 Under 30 Innovators for 2024. She attributes this success to Fem Entity’s authenticity and purpose, saying, “Fem Entity isn’t just a business; it’s a mission.” Looking to the future of her company, she is especially excited about the development of an AI-powered holistic health guide, which she believes will transform how women approach their health journeys. For students thinking of starting their own business, Irene advises, “Take the leap, but do it with intention. Build a strong support system, and don’t be afraid to fail – every setback is a step closer to success.”

Student Spotlight: Joseph Habchi

December 3, 2019 Management Career Services Leave a Comment

Joseph Habchi is a fourth-year Management student here at Dalhousie University. A Halifax local, Joseph decided Dalhousie University’s Management program was the choice for him because of the breadth of business streams he could learn rather than focus on only one subject. Currently, Joseph is in the last two weeks of his eight-month internship with Management Career Services.

Having worked in sales for a couple of years, Joseph decided to complete an internship to diversify his workplace experience and put what he learned in class into action. With the length of the internship being eight months, he went in knowing it was a perfect amount of time to make an impact in the organization as well as make meaningful connections. Having been hired as the Events & Programming Assistant with Management Career Services (MCS) Joseph has had the ability to plan the logistics and execution of various events for the Faculty of Management students. Events he has worked on include the Halifax Corporate tour, CRMBA Interview week, and Rowe Networking Night. Joseph says a highlight of his position is how no two day are the same, each day he is confronted with a new task or challenge making every day an adventure.

Over the last eight months, Joseph has leaned a variety of skills from everyday applicable ones such as advanced expertise in the Microsoft Office programs and time management to networking and how to properly conduct an informational interview. With this, he highly recommends the internship program for Management students, saying “the internship provides you with the necessary training and professional development needed to secure potential job opportunities, not just for your internship but for after you graduate”. A tip Joseph gave for students pursuing an internship was to reach out for informational interviews. He stresses how these interviews both get you better informed on the industry as well a the business and how it shows initiative to the organization. Knowing how scary this could sound to some, Joseph said this “Daunting as it may be, employers, value young professionals reaching out to learn more about their industry or role”.

After his time with Management Career Services Joseph has a final semester of classes before graduation. In the short term, Joseph plans to pursue a CPA designation and eventually become a consultant to help clients and customers. To follow Joseph’s journey follow him on Instagram @jhabchi or connect with him on LinkedIn.

To learn more about the Management Internship Program click here!

Using the Resources Tab in myCareer

August 19, 2019 cr549421

Quick Steps:

For more detail on the steps above, review the full step-by-step directions below.

The Resources pages in the Management Career Services section of myCareer are where students can access:

myCareer Student User Guide: contains tutorials on how to use myCareer.
Industry Fact Sheets: each fact sheet contains useful information about the nature of a specific industry, industry-specific skills and recruitment habits, job search tips.
Program-specific Form Information: including links on how to complete self-developed job approval forms, and Work Term Student Acceptance Agreement forms.
Informational Handouts: including program fact sheets containing work-term requirements that can be shared with prospective employers.

Here’s how to access the Resources pages in myCareer:

Log in to myCareer: https://mycareer.dal.ca/login/student.htm
Click Management Career Services option in the main menu
Now, select the Resources icon

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For more myCareer tips, consult our other Student User Guide tutorials.

Student Spotlight: Nicola Scott

February 10, 2016 Management Career Services Leave a Comment

Nicola is a third-year Bachelor of Management student majoring in Leadership and Organization with interests in Human Resources and Social Media. She completed her work placement with Techsploration in the summer as their Resource Management Project Coordinator. Below, Nicola discusses how the C³ Mentoring Program helped her advance and achieve her career goals.

“I heard about the C³ Mentoring Program though Management Career Services’ e-mails and felt it was an excellent opportunity to be able to work for a local non-profit while receiving my own mentorship. I was lucky enough to work at Techsploration, a non-profit that focuses on exposing young women to STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) careers. The C³ Mentoring Program not only allowed me to work full-time during the summer, but gain valuable presentation, research, and communication skills that I have used in my classes and will benefit me in my upcoming internship. I also received a mentor, Tricia Keegan, who is the Facility Manager for Emera Energy Rhode Island. She was a valuable resource and I am thankful I had someone in her position to provide advice and answer my questions.

As a third-year Management student participating in the internship component of my degree, the C³ Mentoring Program allowed me to have a taste of what my internship will be like. While working at Techsporation, I was able to discover a cause I’m passionate about, all while expanding my professional network.

My suggestions to anyone interested in applying to the C³ Mentoring Program are to take advantage of all the resources available through Management Career Services and to apply for the jobs that align with your personal interests. My participation in the C³ Mentoring Program has been one of my favourite experiences at Dalhousie.”

Experience the value of building your network and advancing your skills by becoming a part of the C³ Mentoring Program! For more information on how to apply, please visit our website and download the informational handout.

BMgmt Students: Launch your career with Management Career Services

September 9, 2015 Management Career Services Leave a Comment

Are you a first or second year Bachelor of Management student? Are you looking for opportunities to build your professional experiences and skills? Management Career Services is here to help you with your career development needs! Take the initiative to get involved with each step of the flowchart below:

Congratulations on successfully building your career! Interested in taking the next step forward? Check out “BMgmt Students: How to prepare for your post-grad life”

Internship Success – Senior Management Students make an Impact with 8-12 Month Internships

December 13, 2011 Tanysha James

Ben Valcour

The Bachelor of Management program has added an optional 8-12 month internship, commencing in May of each year after the completion of the third year of the program. We believe the completion of 3 full academic years leads to meaningful and impactful contributions to participating organizations. Internships are a great way to provide students with the ability to apply a large knowledge base that will cater to your organizational needs.

This innovative and interdisciplinary program offers seven majors including focuses on globalization, public sector, sustainability, leadership & organizations, environmental resources management. Students develop an invaluable skill set that incorporates managerial concepts usually reserved for the graduate level. They are also equipped with the sophisticated decision-making skills necessary for leadership and management positions. Because the program incorporates aspects of business, environmental studies, information management and public administration, our students are knowledgeable in many fields, flexible and skilled in good decision making. Our programs are accredited by AACSB International, an organization that represents the highest standard of achievement for business skills. Only 15 per cent of the world’s business schools hold this distinction, giving Dal graduates a competitive edge.

Complement your graduate recruiting strategy by utilizing our internship program to identify, mentor and evaluate future talent for your organization.

“The internship program at Dal has provided Irving Shipbuilding with a very positive experience. The knowledge, efficiency and professionalism displayed with our student placement was a tremendous resource for the finance group in 2011.”

– Susan Smith, Supervisor

For more information on the Bachelor of Management Internship Program feel free to contact Career and Recruitment Specialist Jessica MacKenzie at (902) 494-8511 or J.MacKenzie@dal.ca or Career and Recruitment Specialist Robert Wooden at (902) 494-6688 or Robert.Wooden@dal.ca.

Category: Alumni