“The amount of knowledge I have gained from my new colleagues will endure forever. Working each day with people who all have a common goal is amazing.” ~Shalico Christian, fourth-year business student

“Living your Education is right,” said Shalico Christian, one of Trent’s international students from the Cayman Islands. Now in his fourth year of a Bachelor’s degree in the Business Administration program, (B.B.A.) Mr. Christian has just spent the summer in Hong Kong on a Justin Chiu Internship with Cheung Kong (Holdings) (CK).

For his internship, Mr. Christian was a market researcher working out of CK’s sales department. A member of a team of five, he was responsible for knowing what the competitors were doing, by tracking their building sales, new projects, land purchases, launches, and products used in the buildings such as furniture and appliances.

“The experience has been out of this world. CK taught me that you can be one of the biggest developers in Hong Kong yet still have that personal touch and be liked by the society in which you operate,” he said.

CK is one of the largest developers of residential, office, retail, industrial, and hotel property in Hong Kong. With a long history of property development and asset management expertise, CK has built many of Hong Kong's most notable landmark buildings and complexes. About one in seven private residences in Hong Kong was developed by CK.

“Even though we work every other Saturday (half day), we rarely have to work overtime,” explained Mr. Christian. “The work-life balance is valued highly and the profits speak for themselves once this is considered.”

“Respect, excellence, integrity, transparency and sustainability are core values to Mr. Justin Chiu, and at CK no decision to move forward is made if it compromises any of these values,” said Mr. Christian. “This is something that I think can be instilled in all business students,” he continued. “Living it day-by-day will ensure that it becomes second nature when making business decisions.”

Working towards a specialization in Human Resources as part of his B.B.A., Mr. Christian has been heavily involved in the business student community. He was chair of the Trent Business Student Association (TBSA) from 2011-2012, and the human resources representative from 2011-2012. He is looking forward to returning with his new-found knowledge and sharing it with his classmates in his final year.

“I love being a business student at Trent,” he said. “We see the way of doing business differently, and to be honest I think that we are progressively ahead. What I have learned so far is that the way business is done anywhere in the world should be through a holistic approach. I have had several opportunities to interact with business students all over Canada and internationally and there really is a Trent Difference.”

Posted on Monday, September 12, 2011.