Alumni find joy in giving back with Beta Alpha Psi

For two alumni from the University of Auckland Business School, choosing to stay involved in the organisation that brought them so much joy as students was an easy decision.

Despite graduating several years apart, Kayur Patel and Caitlin Speed have followed similar paths through the University of Auckland chapter of Beta Alpha Psi (BAP), an international honorary society for high-achieving Accounting, Finance, Information Systems and Business Analytics students and professionals. Over the years, they’ve both seen first-hand how students reap the benefits of being part of the organisation.

Kayur, now a Senior Manager at PwC, first came across BAP when a friend invited him to one of their events. He was hooked and eventually joined the student executive team, first as Professional Events Officer and then as President. Today, he is a Faculty Adviser for BAP and coaches teams for the annual Best Practices competition, where his team recently placed first in Oceania at the BAP conference.

“Every year I get emails in my inbox from students saying, ‘I’ve landed my dream role here or I’ve been able to do this,’ and you see that excitement from them – I just think it’s so cool.”

Caitlin, a Forensic Services Analyst at PwC, took a similar path through the student executive team, serving as President in 2020. Today, she continues to be involved in BAP as the Alumni Representative for the Oceania region.

“When I was part of BAP at university there were different highlights like getting to travel and take part in these international conferences, and now it’s being able to go back and have more experience under my belt – it helps me see how much I’ve developed as well,” she says.

BAP’s mission is to help students develop essential skills to enhance their employability, with training sessions, workshops, professional networking events and more. Kayur and Caitlin see this as part of the critical role BAP plays in helping students transition successfully from university into the real world of the workforce.

“It helps bridge that gap between what they’re learning in the classroom and what they need to be in the workforce in terms of technical skills. Obviously, you can upskill as you start working, but if you come in already knowing how to use Excel, Power BI and things like that, you already have a head start,” says Caitlin.

“The other side is the soft skills – taking part in the Best Practices competition, going to networking events, it gives you that confidence and those connections.”

Both Kayur and Caitlin have remained closely involved with BAP throughout their journey from students to alumni, and they say they wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I’m here in a role that I really enjoy, being able to build a life that I love living, because of the people that have helped me get there; so I think it’s only fair to give back,” says Kayur.

For Caitlin, staying connected to BAP has been an important part of her life post-graduation.

“When I left university it almost felt like there was something missing – I didn’t have that part of my life where I was able to do something extra outside of work and give back. Now my life feels a lot more complete,” she says.

“It’s something that I love to do, and get excited about, and it makes me feel good. It’s a real full circle moment to be able to go back and help these students like other people helped me.”