MBA Student Association

Prior to DeGroote, Waleed completed his undergraduate degree in Commerce at McMaster University. After working at ScotiaBank and a few healthcare roles, Waleed is hoping to explore new career paths that the Co-op MBA stream can offer. His vision is to build a culture of inclusivity, communication, and respect in the DeGroote community. As your Communications Director, he is excited to establish a cohesive communications strategy that can resonate with the entire student body and will never hesitate to bring innovative ideas to light.

Fun Fact: Waleed is a die-hard Raptors fan and didn’t sleep for a few days when Kawhi left. Furthermore, his favourite rappers are Nav and Drake.

Sana is the quintessential third-culture-kid, of South Asian descent, spending most of her life in the Middle East, with a sprinkle of North America here and there, she’s definitely going to get stumped when you ask her about her background. Prior to coming to DeGroote, she was an External Auditor with PwC, and also worked with organizations like Qatar’s FIFA World Cup Committee and several banks. Sana is a CPA but still refuses to do her husband’s taxes. She is looking to reinvent herself professionally through this MBA program and is excited to see what the post-McMaster world looks like for her. Sana is no stranger to student council, having served as Vice President of the student government during her undergraduate studies at Carnegie Mellon.  She’s a dog lover, but her cat Coco would disagree. As Academic Director she’s here to make sure the academic journey for students is robust, challenging, rewarding, and reflective of the industry’s needs. Mental health is very important to her and she tries her best to be an advocate whenever she can.

Fun fact: Sana is an avid baker and cake artist. In an alternate universe, she would be a small bakery owner, spreading diabetes (read: happiness) all over the world.

Bhavi was born a Panda. Sleep > Anything else in the world. She comes with a bachelor’s degree in Accounting and Finance and a post-graduation in Accounting from Mumbai, India. After having worked as a tax consultant with KPMG she took a leap and joined her family business. She is a challenge seeker and her passion to create a difference in the community drove her to serve as an Educator for a global movement that inculcates life lessons in children. She discovered her love to interact with people irrespective of age, ethos and experiences which led her to become the International Experience Director. Bhavi hopes to serve the international community here at DeGroote to make them feel at home away from home. She is waiting to make this a fulfilling journey for each one of you. She is ready, are you?

Fun Fact: A logophile who scripts short pieces in her leisure time

Apothegm she lives by: You have no idea what you are capable of until you try!

Sanjana graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Christ University, India. After her graduation, she began working at a startup in sales. From being the girl that hated picking up the phone and ordering pizza, she was now able to sell to complete strangers! Eventually she scaled up to leading operations for the International division of the organization in Singapore & Malaysia. This is what inspired her to learn more in depth about how a business functions and led her to pursuing an MBA at DeGroote School of Business.

As the Events Director, Sanjana hopes to bring her passion of bringing people together by hosting events to create opportunities to connect and unwind. She hopes to make this MBA journey a memorable one for all of you!

Fun fact: She loves board games and is an absolute animal lover! Currently, she is a vegetarian trying to go vegan.

Asmita has studied and worked in Dubai for the last 10 years where she graduated from Birla Institute of Technology and Sciences with a Bachelor of Engineering in Computer Science with honors and completed Digital Marketing Certification from Chartered Institute of Marketing-UK. Asmita has diverse experience of working in different industries such as Information Technology, Telecommunications and Pharmaceuticals for 5 years in different roles such as Marketing, Relationship Management and Consulting before she decided to pursue an MBA from DeGroote School of Business. While working As a Student Relations Director, Asmita hopes to facilitate and support the efforts of the MBA Association executive board in bringing opportunity and change to their fellow colleagues and help build a sustainable and Strong DeGroote Community.

Fun fact: Asmita is a passionate advocate for animal welfare and loves to paint.

Anna-Maria graduated with a Bachelor of Economics from McMaster University and subsequently a Master’s degree in Globalization Studies. During her time as a graduate student, she worked as a teaching assistant for a few upper-year economics courses. After graduating, she was promoted to Supervisor of Site Service Operations at Toronto’s Harbourfont Centre, a prominent tourist and cultural hub in the city,  where she leveraged her knowledge of business from local and global perspectives to help improve the profitability of its boat tour business. This experience sparked her interest in business operations and has been pivotal in motivating her to pursue an MBA.

As the Operations Director, Anna-Maria hopes to bring her previous experience in an operations role to fulfill her expectations while supporting the rest of the MBAA team by improving its processes to ensure that it is able to provide an enriching MBA experience for all students.

Anna-Maria’s top 5 skills on the Strength Finder Assessment were strategic, input, individualization, context, and relator.

Fun facts: Anna-Maria enjoys exploring new cuisines and maintaining a healthy workout routine.