The Martha and Spencer Love School of Business hosted its inaugural LSB Connect Conference last semester.
The all-day, off-campus conference focused on professional development and was designed to equip students with skills necessary to compete in a demanding workforce.
Plenary sessions included:
• “StrengthsQuest” presented by Pam Brumbaugh and Ross Wade, Elon University
• “The Art of Telling” presented by Gary Tomlinson, Tomlinson & Associates
• “Etiquette Luncheon” presented by Susan Richardson P’12, Etiquette Essentials, LLC
• “Generations at Work – Four Generations, One Workplace” presented by Tim Moore ‘78, Dancing Elephants Achievement Group
There were also break-out sessions to explore career opportunities in accounting, finance, internet marketing/analytics, management/entrepreneurship, management/international business, and marketing/sales.
These were led by the following LSB faculty, Elon alumni and friends:
• Ian Baltutis ’08, The Vibration Solution, LLC
• Dr. Steve Bednar, assistant professor of economics
• Taylor Durham ’96, Elon IMG Sports Marketing
• Dr. Larry Garber, associate professor of marketing
• Matt Gillette ’11, Bank of America Merrill Lynch
• Chris Litchfield ’05, Yodle, Inc.
• Dr. Susan Manring, associate professor of management
• Justin Mills, PricewaterhouseCoopers
• Maggie Mitchell, PricewaterhouseCoopers
• Dr. Yilun Shi, assistant professor of finance
• Darryl Smith ’86, UPS Capital
• Will Stoors, PricewaterhouseCoopers
• Darron Stover ’93, G’95, Invest for Change, LLC
• Joe Villani P’13, Lockheed Martin
• Dr. Paula Weller, lecturer of accounting
• Christian Wiggins ’03, Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity
The conference is the first LSB event exclusively for sophomores.
“The LSB Connect Conference is one of the outcomes of conversations we’ve had in the LSB over the past two or three years about the best ways to get students on track for professional development fairly early in their academic career,” said Scott Buechler, interim dean for the LSB.
Director of Undergraduate Programs Sarah Thomas echoes this point saying the conference was designed for sophomores in order to “give them a leg up when they’re looking for internships and jobs versus starting the process as juniors.”
“The sessions were extremely informative,” said Austin Rhoads ’14, an international business and marketing major. “I learned how to improve my speaking skills, how to answer questions in an interview and how to network.”
Click here to view a video about the conference.
The next LSB Connect Conference will be held Fall 2012.
By Rachel Vierling ’12