A recipe for mentorship with SAIT’s business capstone
How a SAIT alumna's capstone project helped her grow her career and inspired her to support future students
How does a mentee become a mentor? How does the proverbial student become the master?
Amanda Atkinson can tell you.
When Atkinson sat down in her capstone class at SAIT in 2023, she was one in a modest room of 14 students. In capstone classes, small groups of students help local businesses address a need or challenge they're facing. They get to apply the skills they've been learning in the classroom to the real world — while also building their portfolios and professional networks.
Atkinson could already see the potential — she accurately predicted the class would balloon in popularity in the semesters to come.
One capstone project and a SAIT diploma later, she continues to support SAIT's business capstone course, but this time as an employer, not a student.
Step 1: SAIT, with a side of bread
Originally from Newfoundland, Atkinson arrived in Alberta in 2018. She started working at Care Bakery — a business founded by SAIT Alumni Kerry Bennett — part-time, packaging tasty, gluten-free goods as the baker’s assistant.
Atkinson, who had taken some accounting courses back east, eventually followed Bennett’s footsteps and headed to SAIT. While she worked at the bakery doing packaging, payroll and other odd jobs, she studied Business Administration as a Human Resource Management major.
But when a role vacancy in the bakery's management left Atkinson with more responsibility than ever, she realised she had gained the skills through schooling and work experience to take it on.
Step 2: The capstone (A brief departure from baking)
Atkinson completed her capstone at Tundra Process Solutions. Though it sounds about as different from Care Bakery as can be, Atkinson desperately wanted to work with this oil-and-gas employer's supply chain-oriented project.
"That project helped me gain so much insight to the supply chain world that I've taken with me, because that's part of my job now."
While Atkinson's new understanding of the supply chain world was applied to her expanding role at the bakery, she also came away with another takeaway.
"I was one of the first business classes to do the capstone project. It was such an amazing experience and I was like, 'I want to do that with a business one day.'"
Step 3: Recipe calls for one business, five students
In September 2023, Atkinson was announced as the general manager of Care Bakery. Now Atkinson has the chance to share hands-on experiences with current students.
The semester after she graduated, Atkinson told the Care Bakery owners she was interested in hosting a capstone project. They were fully on board with the project, and Care Bakery welcomed its first four business students that very semester.
The first group of capstone students was tasked with researching customer relationship management systems the business could use for marketing, then make a recommendation.
Care Bakery’s first group of business students at CapCon with co-owner George Bennett (left) and Atkinson (fourth from the left).
The second group of capstone students were tasked with implementing the system and making recommendations based on data about the bakery's financials and customer retention.
"It was great to see students learning and coming up with creative ideas for Care Bakery. It was something I really wanted to do, and we even hired a student for a contract afterwards."
Having now had two capstone groups participate in the program, Atkinson reflects, "It's nice to keep it in the community. I never knew what the industry side was like when I was a student, I just knew I liked being part of a capstone. But switching over, it's just as heart-warming to being a part of it. It's such an amazing feeling."
Step 4: Don't hold back
Atkinson says all companies should consider taking on a student team if they can.
According to Atkinson, participating in a capstone can help businesses and individuals find:
- A fresh perspective: "Because they're new to your business, students always see different things — opportunities, problems and things you can do differently or better."
- New ways of seeing old things: "Students are learning all about practices in their field in school right now and have an open mind. You're getting creative solutions to a problem you need help with. And then students are getting the hands-on experience. Both sides win."
- Experience as a leader: "When you have a capstone group working with you, you also have a great chance to practice being a role model at work. You can treat this like a mentorship — and you have five mentees."
As for students participating in a capstone project, Atkinson says not to hesitate and to look forward to the opportunity.
"Participating in a capstone shows prospective employers that you work well in a team and can bring inventive solutions. It's so much more than just a class in your schedule."
Oki, Âba wathtech, Danit'ada, Tawnshi, Hello.
SAIT is located on the traditional territories of the Niitsitapi (Blackfoot) and the people of Treaty 7 which includes the Siksika, the Piikani, the Kainai, the Tsuut’ina and the Îyârhe Nakoda of Bearspaw, Chiniki and Goodstoney.
We are situated in an area the Blackfoot tribes traditionally called Moh’kinsstis, where the Bow River meets the Elbow River. We now call it the city of Calgary, which is also home to the Métis Nation of Alberta.