The place for creative, adventurous students who want the tools to succeed
While Austin Hall has many striking features, the artwork, textures, colors and design elements used throughout make the building truly unique. Until you have the opportunity to experience it firsthand, enjoy this sneak peek of the art and design.
The move to Austin Hall has commenced – the finishing touches are being added, boxes are being unpacked and computers are being set up. While waiting to open doors to students and visitors, below find a sneak peek amid the unpacking and finishing work chaos.
For most students, the culmination of two terms’ worth of hard work doesn’t usually conclude on a runway with cameras flashing, but for the School of Design and Human Environment’s Fashion Show and Design Exhibition class, that is precisely how their biggest academic project comes to a close. Models help showcase the students’ very own apparel that has been painstakingly created, designed and constructed during their class time in a fashion show that is open to the public and judged by industry professionals.
Approximately 500 people attended the entirely student-run fashion show titled “Gilded Noir” May 23 at 7 p.m., where 15 apparel design and merchandising management majors showcased their designs on a runway built in the CH2M Hill alumni center.
This year, the range of apparel on display demonstrated the versatility of the students’ skills. High fashion was mixed with athletic apparel, apparel inspired by the great Northwest, a line inspired by a Las Vegas wedding, maternity clothing and casual, everyday-wear.
Marianne Egan, Senior Instructor of Apparel Design and instructor for the fashion show class, was pleased with the outcome of the show, and said she enjoys watching the experiential learning process.
“The class is always a group of hardworking students who learn far more than they imagined when the initially applied to be in the class,” said Egan. “This year, my students were led by an amazing leader, Megan Keough. Her leadership skills and attention to detail are what kept the entire process smooth and enjoyable. I loved watching her and the entire class grow.”
The fashion show concluded with a presentation of awards in various categories, as judged by industry experts. The winners were:
Best Concept Delivery “Story-telling” Award – Hannah Mossman
Best Representation of the Pacific Northwest Award – Abbey Tollefsen
Best Technique and Workmanship Award – Christina Ngo
Best Use of Technique, Innovation and Originality Award – Tayler Worrell
Best RTW Interpretation Award – Ali Denny
The Biggest Statement Award – Elisa Olsen
Judge’s Choice Stand-out Award – Rachel Draper
Best of Show Award – Heidi Ellis
The College of Business’ School of Design and Human Environment held a reception May 2, 2014 to honor the top academic performers receiving scholarships, honors and awards. Students, families, faculty and staff gathered in Milam Hall to celebrate the success of students from each SDHE discipline. Scholar awards in apparel design, graphic design, interior design and merchandising management were given to 16 students, with 15 additional students receiving awards for other accomplishments; while twenty students were the recipients of scholarships.
SDHE Nominee for the University Frolander award for outstanding GTA
Last Wednesday evening some of Portland’s best and brightest students were introduced to three successful young College of Business alumni at OSU Night PDX, held in the Oregon Convention Center.
Jenny Bruntmyer ’11, Daniel Changkuon ’13 and Kim Pedergrass ’12 each spoke to the group of high-achieving high school students about their experiences at Oregon State, and what the prospective Beavers have to look forward to this fall.
Bruntmyer, a senior accountant at ESCO Corporation, graduated with a degree in accountancy. As a student ambassador in the Advising office, a member of Beta Alpha Psi and intern at Deloitte, Bruntmyer knows the “extras” the College of Business offers are what helped her achieve early success in her career.
Now an advisory consultant in IT Risk at Deloitte, Changkuon endorsed the benefits of studying internationally and shared with the audience how Oregon State offers ordinary students extraordinary opportunities.
Pendergrass, marketing manager at NVoicePay, graduated with degrees in marketing, international business and art history. As a high-achieving student, she explained how she was once convinced that private school was the option that suited her best; but completely changed her mind when she visited Oregon State.
A networking session followed the alumni presentations, where the prospective students could ask more in-depth questions to the alumni; Jim Coakley, Associate Dean for Academic Programs; and Pam Knowles, Executive Director of Industry Relations.
If you ask senior finance major Sara Stillwell for advice on expanding your post-graduation job prospects, she’ll tell you to network. That’s why Stillwell, president of the Finance Club, coordinated Oregon State’s participation in Portland State University’s First Annual Northwest Finance Career Fair.
Portland State Financial Management Association president Kris West reached out to Stillwell while planning the event, which took place on March 4, 2014 at PSU’s Native American Student and Community Center.
The career fair was targeted at students from top finance and business schools interested in accounting, finance or economics, and provided a unique opportunity to hear from and network with companies in those fields. More than 150 students (30 of which were from Oregon State) from six schools in the northwest attended the event and talked with representatives from fourteen companies.
The event, which ran from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m., began with an employer showcase, where business representatives each gave a 15 minute overview of their company. The rest of the day was a typical career fair, where students could meet and discuss potential opportunities.
It is estimated that the event resulted in 85-120 interviews scheduled, and equally as important were the countless connections made.
“The event was not only for those that wanted to interview; it was also a perfect opportunity to network,” said Stillwell. “It’s great to be able to put yourself out there.”
The fair was equally as beneficial to employers, as it provided them access to top-tier students interested in finance, accounting and economics from a variety of different schools. Students and companies that participated were surveyed, and the feedback was positive. It is the hope that next year’s fair will double in size and will remain the largest finance recruiting event in the Pacific Northwest.
The Austin Entrepreneurship Program recently welcomed back three young alumni to talk with students as part of their Austin Fellows series. Willen Sin (’13), Jennifer Villalobos (’12) and Darryl Lai (’11) returned to Oregon State in February to share their insight. Click here for the full story.
While in its 28th year, the School of Design and Human Environment’s (SDHE) Career Symposium is constantly evolving to bring students the most relevant and valuable career opportunities.
This year’s Career Symposium, titled “Designing Tomorrow’s Business,” connected 368 students to 70 industry professionals and 30 companies.
Last year was the first time the symposium was entirely student-run, and this year Sandy Burnett, SDHE senior instructor and internship coordinator, took it one step further by developing a for-credit class to manage the entire event.
“We had 15 students enrolled in the class, and they took on the entire project, encompassing all aspects of the event planning, from securing speakers and sponsorships, to the layout, to the design and content of the event materials and marketing,” said Burnett.
In addition to the event providing networking opportunities and sessions run by alumni, business partners and other industry professionals, it also adds the opportunity for students enrolled in the class to plan and execute the event, enhancing the experiential learning aspect of the day.
“We were split into five committees and managing across those groups got a bit tricky at times, but we were able to pull it off,” said Rachel Draper, a senior apparel and merchandising management double major.
The ballroom of the CH2M HILL Alumni Center was the center stage for the event, where companies and industry representatives set up booths for networking. Students perused the room, talking with employers about their companies, career and internship opportunities.
Mixed throughout the morning were various breakout sessions led by alumni, business partners and industry representatives. Sessions titled “Work in Progress” featured alumni of the various degree programs, who talked about what they are doing now. Sessions titled “What you can do with your degree” featured representatives that talked about various career opportunities associated with their respective fields.
Angela Snow, an alumna and Managing Director of Design and Operations at Nike, presented “Designing for Tomorrow’s Business,” where she discussed Nike’s story, and how they initially set out simply to sell better shoes; and never considered they’d be as ambitious as a “design” company.
Scott Trepanier from Colombia Sportswear and Jillian Rabe from JILLIAN RABE LLC spoke on “The Business of Social Media,” talking about how each use social media in marketing their brands.
At the end of the day, both students and Sandy Burnett were thrilled with how the day turned out.
“This is the main networking event for students and employers. It’s so cool to see students back here after going through the program and now recruiting,” said Burnett.
The Austin Family Business Program has launched a new podcast series to complement their Family Business 360 education program. In Family Business 360, professional advisors come together with a family business client to lead discussions on topics of interest to family business owners. Over breakfast, attendees can learn about succession and estate planning, hosting family meetings, conflict management and more. The podcast extends the reach of the program by offering educational content in a convenient audio format.
Each episode of the podcast contains an interview with the professional advisor that delivered the Family Business 360 presentation and a recap of the audience questions from the event. While the podcast is tied closely to the live programs, they also stand alone as great sources of information on family business topics.
“We wanted to provide some of the highlights from the sessions for people that couldn’t attend the events in person, and the podcast has proven to be a very popular way to do that,” says Roger Anderson, AFBP program manager and host of the podcast.
The podcast also provides an opportunity to hear perspectives from different professional advisors that participate in the Family Business 360 program. “These advisors have worked with many family businesses and that variety of experience brings tremendous value to the listener,” says Anderson.
There are currently seven episodes of the Family Business 360 Podcast available online. They can be accessed either at the Family Business 360 webpage or through iTunes University.
The OSU Entrepreneurship Club and the Austin Entrepreneurship Program hosted Reddit.com co-founder Alexis Ohanian Thursday evening, who spoke to a standing room-only crowd at LaSells Stewart Center.
In a funny and inspiring talk riddled with internet-meme references, Ohanian told the story of Reddit while encouraging students to use the tools and resources available to them to create and innovate.
Ohanian and Steve Huffman co-founded Reddit – a social news and entertainment site where users submit content for others to either up-vote or down-vote – after a failed attempt to create a mobile food-ordering site. Ohanian has since started two other successful websites, Breadpig and Hipmunk.
Ohanian admits that the duo didn’t always know what they were doing when they started, but he encouraged the audience to embrace that feeling.
“Get comfortable not knowing what you are doing,” Ohanian advised the room full of entrepreneur hopefuls.
Author of “Without Their Permission: How the 21st Century Will Be Made, Not Managed,” Ohanian stopped at Oregon State as part of his tour to promote his book and enlighten the next generation of entrepreneurs.
Although Ohanian isn’t sure what the future holds, he wants the internet to be a powerful tool for people with great ideas.
“The internet is a new frontier –you are Lewis & Clark, and I’m Sacajawea.”
Ohanian closed with a “fireside chat” with recent College of Business alum Ryan Connolly. Connolly, a marketing and entrepreneurship graduate, co-founded Tally, a mobile app developed for users to gain opinions on fashion choices, with the help of the Advantage Accelerator.
