"Be open to meeting new people and don’t close off any doors."
That’s the advice Lydell Husbands-Browne is offering incoming Bachelor of Management (BMgmt) students in the Faculty of Management at Dalhousie.
In 2019, Lydell had his pick of Canadian universities as a much sought after basketball recruit. Certain he wanted to leave Halifax and his home province of Nova Scotia and venture further afield, he chose Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ont., to study political science with a minor in business.
One semester in, COVID-19 and homesickness hit, and he withdrew from Laurier and came home.
“I realized I was more interested in business than political science, and I also recognized that I didn’t want to be that far from family,” he says. “So, I pivoted and set off in a new direction.”
Lydell applied to the BMgmt program and reached out to the Tiger’s men’s basketball coach, Rick Plato, who welcomed him with open arms.
- Every graduate has a story. This is one of them. Follow along as we share more each day throughout Spring Convocation.
Finding “what’s next?” in the Dal CRMBA
The acclaimed point guard says five years of schooling and high-performance sport taught him a lot about juggling priorities. Lydell adds that the BMgmt program also emphasizes group work and team building, helping him further refine these skills.
Lydell, who graduates today (June 4), has arrived at a new place of understanding about priorities. “I was always told as a kid that the ball was going to stop bouncing one day, meaning that I would need to move on from basketball and figure out what was next in life.”
In the end, what matters is the kind of person you are and the impact you’ve made.
The ‘what’s next’ is the Corporate Residency MBA program at Dal, which begins four short days after his convocation in June. Even though Lydell will be playing one more season with the Dal Tigers, his focus and energy have shifted to his studies. He’s already chosen his major, finance, and is exploring a career in the financial side of sports management or in venture capital.
Lydell in varsity action on the court. (UCE photo)
Giving back to community
Making a positive impact on others is also of the utmost importance to the 23-year-old. Driven to give back, he has stayed closely connected to the communities that shaped him. He's served as the coach of the junior high basketball team at Halifax Grammar School, where he once attended, and represented varsity sports on Dal's Student Union Council. He's also volunteered with the “Hear Me Roar” program, bringing basketball into elementary schools to teach skills and motivate young students.
This past spring, he took that commitment even further, travelling to the United States as an assistant coach for Nova Scotia’s top Grade 11 players, competing in three major tournaments.
“Giving back to my community in these ways has done more for me than any individual athletic or classroom accomplishment,” says Lydell, adding that he hopes others take the same lesson to heart.
“In 10 years, you won't remember what you got on that math exam or how many points you scored in that regular season game,” he says. “In the end, what matters is the kind of person you are and the impact you’ve made.”