Leadership and life advice from five Rotman Commerce UTSLA winners 

The University of Toronto Student Leadership Award honours outstanding student leadership and volunteer service, recognizing students whose contributions have had a lasting impact on the university and its community. This year, Rotman Commerce is proud to celebrate five Student Leadership Award recipients whose wide‑ranging impact includes leading student clubs, building organizations and movements from the ground up, mentoring peers, serving as TAs, and advancing learning and community engagement at RC and on the world stage.

Bidipta Raie’s leadership throughout her time at Rotman Commerce has been grounded in mentorship, inclusivity, and community building. She has mentored first‑year students through multiple programs, led student organizations, and built initiatives that promote confidence and professional growth across more than 10 leadership roles at U of T. As President of Ascend U of T and Director of Business Development at Rotman Commerce Emerging Technologies, she strengthened cross‑disciplinary networks and expanded career opportunities and representation for hundreds of students. Bidipta’s involvement with the University of Toronto Women’s Student Association, The Women’s Network, and StrengthIn reflects her commitment to gender equity and mental well‑being. Guided by compassion and purpose, she has transformed personal challenges into lasting contributions by addressing barriers, especially those for international students, so others do not have to navigate them alone.

What’s a small daily habit that has made a big difference in your success?

“Taking a few minutes at the end of each day to reflect and reset my priorities. It helps me stay intentional and grounded, especially when balancing multiple commitments.”

What’s the best leadership advice you’ve ever received, and who gave it to you?

“To lead with empathy. My mentors and supervisors have mentioned this time and again that strong and meaningful leadership always starts with listening and understanding people.”

What’s the most memorable moment from your leadership journey this year?

“Hosting Ascend UofT’s first Female Leadership Panel where participants got to connect with female executives from top firms across Canada. It was incredibly rewarding to see a space created for open conversations around representation and leadership for women, and to see how strongly it resonated with participants.”

What innovation or trend do you think will redefine commerce in the next 10 years?

“I believe that in this era of AI, community-led commerce will reshape the industry, with brands being built with their audiences rather than just for them, making engagement and belonging just as important as the product itself.”

Lightning round!

As Captain of the Rotman Commerce Case Competition Team, Allysen leads rigorous training for her fellow competitors, building the skills they need to compete and succeed at international competitions. As a competitor herself, she has loved representing Rotman around the world with her teammates – from Spain to Hong Kong – notably earning a 2nd place finish at the HKUST International Case Competition. She is also the Vice President of the Rotman Commerce Law Association, where she works to bridge the gap between law and business, and build a supportive community for students to meet others exploring legal careers.

What’s a small daily habit that has made a big difference in your success?

“Daily to-do lists! I love using Notion to keep track of everything.”

What’s the best leadership advice you’ve ever received, and who gave it to you?

“Think about leaders that you’ve looked up and draw on their example as you shape your own approach; from Julia Li, an alumna mentor.”

What’s the most memorable moment from your leadership journey this year?

“Hiring RCCT’s first year cohort and seeing them grow throughout the year into incredible competitors.”

What innovation or trend do you think will redefine commerce in the next 10 years?

“Big data collection and analytics for optimization and personalization.”

Lightning round!

Aarnav Sethy’s time at Rotman Commerce has been defined by his dedication to community and serving his peers. As President of the Rotman Commerce Innovation Group, he led a team of more than 30 students and delivered four major events focused on innovation, career development, and community building, while also supporting peers through mock interviews, coffee chats, and one‑on‑one mentorship. Aarnav has been a Teaching Assistant for several Rotman Commerce courses, bringing his passion for leadership to the classroom. Internationally, he represented RC on the Rotman Commerce Case Competition Team in Lithuania, placing second among more than 50 teams worldwide. Aarnav is always looking for opportunities to lift up his community, and views leadership as creating conditions for others to move forward with clarity and confidence.

What’s a small daily habit that has made a big difference in your success?

“Honestly, daydreaming. As unproductive as that may sound, some of the biggest shifts in how I think have come from giving myself room to imagine, question, and explore beyond whatever is immediately in front of me. I’ve learned that not every useful habit looks efficient from the outside.”

What’s the best leadership advice you’ve ever received, and who gave it to you?

“A line from one of my mentors from someone who I never had the chance to meet, Anthony Bourdain, has always stayed with me: “I don’t have to agree with you to like you or respect you.” I think it captures something important about leadership which is that it is not about control or sameness, but about creating the conditions for people with different perspectives to feel respected, trusted, and able to contribute.”

What’s the most memorable moment from your leadership journey this year?

“One of the most memorable moments from my leadership journey this year came through mentoring a club member who also became a close friend. As our conversations deepened, they became less about conventional recruiting paths and more about what he genuinely wanted his life to look like, and I was glad to play a small role in encouraging him to take his passion for the culinary arts seriously. He is now heading to New York to further develop that passion; while also thinking about how his business background can shape the way he builds within the food world. That moment has stayed with me because it affirmed something I have come to believe deeply, that the best leadership does not push people toward what looks most impressive, but helps them move toward what feels most true.”

What innovation or trend do you think will redefine commerce in the next 10 years?

“I’m especially excited by the breakthroughs we may see in quantum computing over the next decade. Although it is still an emerging field, the possibility that entire industries, (and perhaps, our understanding of humanity itself) may one day be reshaped by a technology grounded in uncertainty, parallel possibility, and invisible complexity is deeply compelling.”

Lightning round!

Sarah is a fourth-year Rotman Commerce student specializing in Finance and Economics, with a major in Public Policy and a minor in Environmental Economics. Originally from Venezuela, she came to UofT as a Lester B. Pearson Scholar and has spent her time here focusing on building inclusive communities, from co-leading the Sustainable Innovation Group across the three campuses to supporting students through mentorship and advocacy. After graduation, she will be joining Boston Consulting Group in Chicago and hopes to one day build something of her own with social impact at its core.

What’s a small daily habit that has made a big difference in your success?

“Writing down my top two or three priorities for the day every morning. With so many commitments running at once, it kept me from spreading myself too thin and made sure the most important things actually got done. I also do a very weird thing (that my friends make fun of me about all the time), which is that I have a stopwatch, and I measure the exact amount of time I spend studying or working on certain tasks. This has really helped me to not procrastinate and to try to get the most out of every day, and it has also helped me build more discipline.”

What’s the best leadership advice you’ve ever received, and who gave it to you?

“One of my favorite high school teachers once told me that leadership is most meaningful when it uplifts those around you. It shifted how I thought about every role I took on and the type of leader I want to be (I always want to lead from the heart). It has also made me put less importance into what I was achieving and more about what I was making possible for others and the impact I was having. For me, leadership means empowering others to succeed, and success to me is defined by positive impact.”

What’s the most memorable moment from your leadership journey this year?

“The most rewarding moments this year have come from mentorship and trying to help as many students as possible, whether that has been by speaking at events or having one-on-one conversations with them. Being able to give back and hopefully ease some of the stress and uncertainty I once felt myself has been really meaningful, and it’s something I hope to continue doing after graduation.”

What innovation or trend do you think will redefine commerce in the next 10 years?

“I think sustainability, but the real kind, not the rebrand. I think the next decade will separate the companies that have genuinely embedded impact into how they operate from those that just report on it. That line is already getting harder to hide behind, and I think it will only get more important from now on.”

Lightning round!

Alina Guo’s leadership reflects a sustained commitment to building thoughtful, community‑driven experiences that create meaningful opportunities for others. As former Co‑President and current Director of Finance of the Rotman Commerce Consulting Association, Alina led and supported a team of more than 35 students, helping shape a network centered on collaboration and professional connection. She played a key role in organizing a student consulting conference, coordinating pro bono consulting projects with external organizations, and hosting networking events that brought students and industry professionals together.

Beyond RCCA, Alina also served as Director of Finance at Caffiends, a student‑run fair‑trade café at Victoria College, where she supported financial operations while advancing a campus initiative focused on ethical sourcing and sustainability.

What’s a small daily habit that has made a big difference in your success?

“Allowing myself to take breaks or go on small adventures, even during busy periods. Taking time to step away helps me recharge, maintain balance, and return to my work with more focus and creativity.”

What’s the best leadership advice you’ve ever received, and who gave it to you?

“My previous manager told me: Take the time to truly learn about your team members because we’re all part of the same team. Understanding their strengths, motivations, and perspectives makes it easier to support them and work together effectively.”

What’s the most memorable moment from your leadership journey this year?

“Seeing the Toronto Consulting Conference come together was one of the most memorable moments of my leadership journey this year. It was the culmination of months of planning and coordination, and it was incredibly rewarding to see the team’s hard work turn into a successful event. Having attended the event in my first year, it was especially meaningful to later help bring that same experience to other students.”

What innovation or trend do you think will redefine commerce in the next 10 years?

“AI is already redefining commerce, but one area where its impact will be especially significant is hyper-personalized marketing. AI can analyze browsing history, past purchases, and even timing patterns to automatically recommend tailored products or adjust website content in real time. How businesses adapt to and stay ahead of these capabilities will be a defining challenge and opportunity over the next decade.”

Lightning round!