Indigenous 
Submitted by Pam Armstrong, Professor, School of Professional Services
We are pleased to celebrate the success of a client-based project in The Human Side of Business: Thinking and Thriving in the New World of Work. Second-semester business students presented evidence-informed, practical recommendations to the Independent Living Centre Kingston (ILCK). Their work balanced client dignity, accessibility, and lived experience with organizational priorities such as capacity and long-term sustainability.
Students addressed a real-world client challenge while applying concepts in EDI, ethics, sustainability, corporate social responsibility, and client service excellence. Their recommendations focused on sustainable funding, scalable technology-enabled processes, and improved support at key youth transition points.
“I was incredibly impressed by the depth of the students’ work. They demonstrated a strong ability to identify core issues, gather and interpret relevant data, and translate those insights into thoughtful, practical recommendations,” said Shelley Aylesworth-Spink, Senior Vice President, Academic and Student Success. “Their proposals balanced innovation with a clear understanding of the realities facing the Independent Living Centre Kingston, offering ideas that are both achievable and aligned with the Centre’s mission and long‑term sustainability.”
We thank Natalie Dupuis, Program and Services Manager, and Morgan deMolitor, Program Coordinator, for their valuable guidance and ongoing feedback throughout the term.
This experience strengthened students’ research and presentation skills while providing meaningful, hands-on engagement with a community partner—preparing them for the evolving world of work.