Leading Outside the Classroom

Before Michael Beaudoin ’21 started at Bentley, he received some advice from his older brother: Get involved on campus early and often.   

“I joined the Campus Activities Board (CAB) as a general member my first semester and I never looked back,” Beaudoin recalls. Sophomore year, he joined CAB’s E-Board (which handles campus events) as a co-chair of the Comedy Committee. “Through this experience, I got to lead a team of students through bringing a major comedian to campus, which was one of the most fun experiences I have ever gotten to be a part of.”  

Junior year Beaudoin became co-chair of the Competition Committee — a role that showed his own competitive side. “Our big events that year were Super Bingo and Casino Night, both of which were massive successes.”  

When COVID-19 restrictions put a damper on in-person events and activities, CAB got creative with virtual programs, including one of Beaudoin’s favorites last fall. “I got to interview YouTube Personality Sean Evans and do a spicy hot sauce challenge with him and Bentley Police Officer Rixford.”   

The E-Board roles, which Beaudoin says, “were essentially project management at its most fun,” provided a broad opportunity for skill building. As CAB’s vice president of finance, for example, Beaudoin oversees the spending and budgets of every committee and works with Bentley’s AIA (Allocation and Internal Audit) Organization, which is essentially a student-led group charged with allocating the Student Activity Fee.

“I have developed strong leadership and interpersonal skills that will be invaluable to me for the rest of my life,” Beaudoin says of activities outside the classroom.  

In fall 2020, Beaudoin was chosen to be a part of the BentleyPLUS pilot program that gives students the tools and resources to discover co-curricular experiences that can help maximize their learning and growth while at Bentley. One of Beaudoin’s weaker competencies, for example, was identity awareness, which focuses on understanding how components of social identity impact the experiences of yourself and others.   

“If you were to start BentleyPlus during your first year, you could track your progress through the years as you develop a more holistic view of yourself as a person and how you fit in on campus,” says Beaudoin.  

In addition to his involvement in campus activities, Beaudoin has managed to stay on top of academics. He came into Bentley undecided on a major; but when he excelled in accounting and computer information systems (CIS) courses, he chose to major in Information Systems Audit and Controls (ISAC). A CIS minor, he adds, was a given.   

“Growing up, I was always fascinated by new technologies. I enjoyed things like teaching myself new software and learning coding languages” Beaudoin says. “My goal at Bentley was to translate my budding interest into marketable skills for a career post-college, and this minor definitely made that a reality.”  

As soon as he chose his major, Beaudoin joined the ISACA student group for further career preparation and networking opportunities. But it was an internal audit internship at Liberty Mutual in summer 2019 that impacted his career path.   

 “That internship was rewarding, but as I worked that summer, I grew closer to the IT Audit team that worked in the same office space,” he recalls. “IT Audit aligns more closely with the ISAC major, and many of the full-time staff in this group were actually Bentley alumni.”  

 Beaudoin got the chance to sample an IT Audit project and says, “I knew right away that I liked it better. I requested a transfer to the IT team and was offered an IT audit internship for summer 2020.” In July 2021, he starts a full-time job at Liberty Mutual as an IT Audit Associate.  

Beaudoin credits the depth of his Bentley experience to getting out of the classroom and enriching his time as an undergrad. “The biggest thing I learned from my experiences at Bentley is that you really do get out what you put into your time here. I spent a lot of my time being active and participating in these organizations, and I don’t regret a second of it.”