Students Archives - Page 2 of 13 - College of Business

December 4, 2015December 7, 2015

REAL People: Keith Robertson

Keith Robertson of Kansas City, Mo., had never been to Oregon before deciding to pursue an MBA in commercialization at Oregon State University beginning fall term 2015. The owner of a bachelor’s degree in marketing from the University of Missouri (class of 2012), Robertson is loving his time in the Beaver State, even if it did mean being 2,000 miles away from the Royals’ World Series celebration, and even if the Corvallis weather has gotten a bit damp of late.

Robertson, the subject of the latest installment of our REAL People of the College of Business series, took some time the Friday of dead week to talk about his decision to head west and how the transition is going so far:

“When I was looking at grad schools, I had a few criteria, and one of them was an accelerated program. OSU does a good job of catering both to students to have to keep working and who want to be full-time students, so for me I could be here nine months, get in, get the knowledge I was looking for and get back into the job world.

“Another area that’s different from other schools is here you can specialize down a track. Other universities offer MBAs that are more generic, so if I could leave here with a major and an emphasis, I thought that would be useful.

“It’s extremely fast paced. I’m taking five courses per quarter, so it’s like more than a full workload, but an accelerated program was one of my primary criteria, and I enjoy my teachers and my classes.

“I enjoy Corvallis, and I try to take advantage of state — any dry weekend. I just purchased my first rain jacket, so I look like a local – I guess I came a little unprepared to battle the elements. The campus is nice, and Austin Hall is high tech and state of the art. I’ve got nothing but good things to say about my new journey, though I did miss being in Kansas City for the Royals winning the World Series.”

December 1, 2015

City Club hears marketing proposals

City Club of Corvallis members listen to marketing pitches from Advertising Management students.

Eight student teams made presentations to City Club of Corvallis members Dec. 1, outlining strategies and tactics for the club to increase its membership by 30 – or roughly double it – over the next seven months.

The students are in Prof. Jason Stornelli’s Marketing 493 class, Advertising Management, and made their pitches in the Robert Family Events Room in Austin Hall.

Stornelli said the City Club was chosen as the focal point of the students’ work because the club had approached the College of Business’ Close to the Customer Project for marketing assistance.

Among the recommendations was building membership by tapping into Oregon State’s Greek community “due to their tendency to be more involved in the community” and because fraternity and sorority members are “required to be involved in some sort of community service each month.”

The same group of students – Dayne Lee, Gillian Benoit, Mike Hanson and Gabby Kelly – also suggested targeting Corvallis’ over-65 population, which the team said exceeds 5,000, by working on ways to alleviate any transportation issues they have that might prevent them from getting to the club’s monthly noontime meetings at the Boys & Girls Club.

Other suggestions included changing the meeting location and time to make it easier on potential members to attend, providing child care for parents who wished to be members, and ramping up the club’s presence online and on social media.

“They were great,” board member Nick Houtman said of the students’ presentations. “Lots of useful ideas based on an understanding of what this organization can do. We’re having a board meeting this afternoon, and their ideas will definitely help fuel discussion.

“Among our thoughts will be doing some ongoing work with the Marketing Club,” Houtman continued. “The leader of that group seemed interested in continuing to work with us and develop our presence in the community.”

November 19, 2015

Event introduces new COB dean

The chance to lead one of the nation’s most venerable business schools and drive it to even greater heights is what attracted Mitzi Montoya to Oregon State, the College of Business’ first-year chief executive told the audience Tuesday at a “Meet the Dean” event organized by Management Practicum students.

The 90-minute gathering began with opening remarks by Montoya inside Austin Hall’s Stirek Auditorium, continued with a question-and-answer session, and concluded with a reception in the Masterson Family Marketplace.

An alumni base that’s more than a century in the making is an enormous strength for the College of Business, Montoya said, as is the college’s reputation for producing hard-working, profession-ready graduates equipped to become leaders in an economy that’s increasingly data driven and innovation oriented.

She also asked forgiveness if anyone ever sees her wearing green, explaining green is the school color of Michigan State University, from which she earned both a bachelor’s degree and a Ph.D. Montoya noted that like Oregon State, Michigan State is situated in a college town (East Lansing) and that she’s pleased to be living in such a place again.

After the Q-and-A session, the dean mingled with students in the marketplace, posing for photos with a number of them.

November 12, 2015

Get involved: Join a COB club

Representatives from eight of the College of Business’ student organizations set up shop Tuesday afternoon in Austin Hall’s Masterson Family Marketplace for the college’s Club Fair.

Members passed out information — and in some cases, candy as well — and answered questions regarding membership and club activities and expectations.

Represented Tuesday were the Marketing Club, Management Club, Sales Club, Enactus, DAMchic (fashion magazine), Beta Alpha Psi (accounting) and the Institute of Management Accountants.

Links to detailed information about all of the college’s student groups are available here.

November 9, 2015

Students learn to ‘Land the Job’

Every student received a resume starter kit.

Lindsay Vanek had always found writing a cover letter to be sort of “intimidating.”

But after attending the Oct. 20 “Land the Job” event at Austin Hall’s Stirek Auditorium, the Oregon State marketing student feels a lot more comfortable about that part of the employment search process.

Presenter Gala Jackson told Vanek and the other students in attendance to use their cover letter as a means of elaborating on the information in their resume – to go into detail about their background and qualifications so the letter builds on the resume rather than repeats what’s already there.

“You don’t just want to copy and paste,” Vanek said. “That shows you haven’t put in the time and effort.”

Vanek also noted that Jackson shared techniques for making a resume appear as rich and complete as possible, which is especially important for college students and new graduates who may feel as if they don’t have much to put on a resume. Volunteer service counts, for example, as do class projects in line with what a job would entail.

Jackson describes herself as a “millennial career expert and career coach” and travels the country as the national spokesman for the Land the Job campaign, sponsored by Neenah Paper, Inc. The sponsor provides “resume starter kits” featuring Southworth by Neenah products to all students attending a Land the Job workshop.

Rene Reitsma, professor of business information systems, was on hand for the OSU workshop as well.

“I think it was a useful event,” he said. “Good attendance, and an hour-long opportunity for students to reflect on how they present themselves on resumes and job fairs.” in 1972; he’s updated it annually ever since.

November 3, 2015

REAL People: Benny Kuo

Our weekly REAL People of the College of Business series continues today with first-year MBA student and accomplished vocalist Benny Kuo.

Kuo (the U is silent), a first-generation university student, grew up in Bellevue, Wash., and earned a bachelor’s degree in music while minoring in economics at Willamette University in Salem.

Here’s more of his story, in his own words:

“I went to Willamette so I could study to be a music educator, and as I joined clubs and joined a fraternity, I learned a lot more about myself. I stepped away from the music education side and switched to general music and liberal arts – I’d been so tunnel vision on the music education side that I didn’t look at my other strengths, and one of my strengths was fixing computers.

“After graduating from Willamette I worked for the IT department for Garten Services, a recycling facility in Salem, and I realized that for everything I wanted vertically in the IT world, I’d need to learn more skills, learn to code, learn to be a manager, and an MBA seemed most relevant.

“I learned I had a lot to offer in leadership in high school, and that drove me to continue that in college. Through that I learned that I loved it, that I’m passionate about it and good at it. I’m organized and goal oriented, and I’m hoping to go into strategic management, organizational management, work with organizations in crisis mode, and also organizations that are doing well but could do better.

“There are so many options here at OSU, that’s what I love about it. What I wanted, OSU is able to offer. I’m still learning about all the resources we have here, and I guess intrigued would be the right word about how many resources students do have, resources they maybe didn’t even know were possible. Like at the Valley Library, you can check out GoPros if you want to do something like climb Mount Hood.

“In five or 10 years I would like be working with a tech firm that really is impactful in how we use technology, kind of changing the way technology works in our lives, the recycling of technology, being green, a firm that educates the public about how much power their technology needs. I love being able to educate people about how to upgrade their computer and how to save money that way.”

October 26, 2015November 3, 2015

REAL People: Salvador Cazarez

Our weekly REAL People of the College of Business series continues today with third-year OSU student Salvador Cazarez, who came to Corvallis to study business information systems.

Cazarez started his academic career at Oregon Institute of Technology in Klamath Falls. His plan was to study computer engineering, but realizing he had a passion for business as well, Cazarez transferred to Oregon State after his freshman year to pursue BIS.

In his own words: “I was born and raised in a small agricultural town called Malin, Oregon. I found my passion for technology as a kid when I realized I was good at fixing computer problems for my friends and family. A major milestone in my life is being accepted into the MECOP program, where I will work toward two six-month internships with engineering companies in the Northwest. After graduation, I will continue to aim my career toward technology. My life goal is to start a family, enjoy my career, and give back to those who’ve helped me on this journey.”

If you would like to be featured as one of the REAL People of the College of Business, or if you’d like to nominate someone else, please email Steve Lundeberg.

October 21, 2015

REAL People: Kareman Rawy

Kareman Rawy believes what Neil deGrasse Tyson says about math: that it's the language of the universe.

Many of you have likely seen the popular Humans of New York blog in which a photographer roams the city collecting life-story summaries of people he meets. His work is fascinating and often deeply moving as his subjects share what they consider to be some of the most significant aspects of their lives.

Inspired by his efforts and his subjects’ photos and stories, we’ve launched our own version of the project, which we’re calling REAL People of the College of Business.

Our weekly series continues today with Kareman Rawy, the daughter of Egyptian immigrants. Kareman is from Brentwood, Calif. (the one in the Bay Area, not Los Angeles), is in her first year in the professional school and is serving as president of SIM Club (Students of Information Management).

Here’s more of her story, in her own words:

“My inspiration to help people started from helping my younger brother as a little girl. He is one year younger than me and even though he has cerebral palsy that made him unable to talk and walk, I always read to him dinosaurs, science, and astronomy books to comfort him. That’s when I realized that I have a passion for science, specifically astronomy, but I also want to make an impact in the world by making a business that is known worldwide like my late idol once created. The late Steve Jobs once said, ‘I want to make a ding in the universe.’ However, I hope that I can become the next big bang the universe will see and hopefully one day I can change and help the world in a big way like he once did.”

If you’re interested in being featured as one of the REAL People of the College of Business, please email Steve Lundeberg or come see him in Austin Hall 384D.

Kareman has found inspiration and compassion, in addition to knowledge, in the College of Business. — Kareman has found inspiration and compassion, in addition to knowledge, at the College of Business.

October 16, 2015October 21, 2015

REAL People: Katelin Bliss

Katelin Bliss and Toby in the courtyard north of Austin Hall.

Many of you are no doubt familiar with the popular Humans of New York blog in which a photographer roams the city collecting life-story summaries of people he meets. His work is fascinating and often deeply moving as his subjects share what they consider to be some of the most significant aspects of their lives.

Inspired by his efforts and his subjects’ photos and stories, we’ve decided to launch our own version of the project, which we’re calling REAL People of the College of Business.

Our weekly series starts today with Katelin Bliss, a final-term senior in finance. Katelin grew up in Salem, attended high school at Western Mennonite, relies on service dog Toby to monitor her blood sugar (Katelin is diabetic, and Toby’s nose detects when her blood sugar is too high), and spent a year midway through her college education to teach in India.

Here’s more of her story, in her own words:

“I chose the College of Business because I am really organized person and I love numbers. I figured a finance degree would be the best opportunity to organize numbers. The COB has been an amazing experience. All my teachers have helped me tremendously understand the classwork and have encouraged me through the ups and downs of college, along with my fears of what comes after college. My passion is to assist people in seeing their worth and value in a harsh world.”

If you’re interested in being featured as one of the REAL People of the College of Business, please email Steve Lundeberg or come see him in Austin Hall 384D.

Without Toby to watch out for her, Katelin wouldn't have been able to attend college. — Without Toby to watch out for her, Katelin wouldn’t have been able to attend Oregon State.

To Katelin, the Abacus sculpture is a fitting representation of the COB; she chose the college because she loves numbers.

October 12, 2015October 12, 2015

OSIG members bullish on NY trip

OSIG members with the Bowling Green Bull, a statue in New York's financial district. A bull is the symbol of financial optimism.

OSIG members with Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman.

Eight of the top-performing analysts from the Oregon State Investment Group, a College of Business club aimed at finance majors but open to anyone interested in investing, spent a week in New York in early September.

“The goal is for OSIG members to get out and network with alumni on Wall Street, and at other firms willing to host us,” said club president Blake Hendricks, who made the annual trip for the second time. “We have so much appreciation for alumni willing to meet with us, take the time to help us get our foot in the door. One of our alums, Matt Derr at Credit Suisse, he brought in a recruiter who gave us a whole presentation on how to get a job.”

In addition to connecting with alumni, a highlight of the trip was meeting Stephen Schwarzman, chairman and CEO of the Blackstone Group. With a net worth of roughly $11.6 billion, Schwarzman, known as the king of private equity, is tied with Rupert Murdoch at No. 38 on the Forbes 400 list of the richest people in America.

“He was a very outgoing guy and gave great insight on what private equity is like,” said Erik Paige, an OSIG portfolio manager who took part in the club outing to New York for the first time. “He said he’s not a technical guy, he’s a big-picture guy, and he always tries to surround himself with the smartest guys in the room. It was really interesting for me – he’s the first billionaire I’ve ever met.

“Being on the floor of the stock exchange was really cool as well,” Paige said. “My impression going in, from the movies, was that there’d be a lot of yelling and people crammed into one space, but actually, there aren’t that many people.”

Hendricks, like Paige a senior finance major, noted the “very broad scope of finance” the OSIG members were able to absorb in New York, including economic research (at Strategas Research Partners), private wealth management (U.S. Trust) and corporate finance (Google).

“Talking to the executives, it puts everything you learn in theory into reality,” he said.

Andrea Anthony, assistant professor of finance, accompanied the group.

“The students really came prepared with interesting questions and unique perspectives,” she said. “They presented themselves professionally and I think strengthened the name of Oregon State University at the firms that we visited.”