Entrepreneurship and Community Involvement

Brijesh Dhameliya (’20) is from the city of Surat, located in the province of Gujarat, the Diamond and Textile province of India. Coming from a well-established business family, Brijesh always possessed a natural interest in entrepreneurship and business. Upon connecting with a local representative of Crandall and wanting to feed his entrepreneurial spirit, Brijesh decided to attend Crandall University, seeking a Master of Management (MM) in the hopes that it would provide him with knowledge and direction in his future business activities.

“I chose Crandall’s Master of Management program because it seemed heavily based in things I was interested in, like researching and synthesizing information, data analysis, selling abilities, cultural sensitivity, digital savviness, and networking, all of which I wanted to learn more about. I also was excited at the thought of exploring a new culture and couldn’t wait to learn more about Canada.”

But, like all recent students of Crandall University, Brijesh was studying at the height of a global pandemic, making his university experience a bit challenging to manage at times and meaning that many of his classes were taken online. Although he was a bit out of his element, Brijesh chose to see the whole experience as a new opportunity: “it was a new experience in every way, all the way down to the snow and experiencing a Canadian winter for the first time, but when I arrived in Moncton I saw an opportunity to get involved and so I chose to take part. As a result I was named the Graduate Student Society President and because of this role I got the chance to help many other international students and fellow classmates become acclimated to Canada.”

Dr. Dannie Brown, Dean of International Academic Programs, Dean of Remote Learning, and Associate Professor of Management, taught Brijesh in International Business Management and had nothing but positive remarks concerning his former student: “Brijesh was always eager to engage with the topic of the day; he brought valuable insights from his own years of professional experience doing business in another country. This type of ‘on the ground’ perspective increased the value of the course for all of the students in the class and encouraged others to do likewise.”

When asked about Brijesh’s time settling in to the community, Dr. Brown shared, “his own entrepreneurial spirit leapt into action as soon as he established himself in Moncton. He was a very fitting candidate for President for Crandall’s inaugural Graduate Student Society.”

Brijesh is now the Founder and CEO of At Doorstep Delivery Service and is also working as an Instructor at New Brunswick Community College in Moncton. Given his business interests and love of multitasking, he also works as a Business Associate with Frontier Immigration in Riverview. Previously, he was a part of a non-profit called Moncton Cares where he helped more than one hundred newcomers to New Brunswick, including various international students of Crandall, in their search for homes and jobs. “I am so thankful for all of the amazing mentors that Crandall provided me with as well as the many professional connections I was able to make during my time as a Crandall Student.”

Brijesh Dhameliya, MM, Class of ’20