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.
Oregon State Management Club students (from left) Haley Chapman and Aleenna Chin fill stockings for Give 2 The Troops care packages Saturday Nov. 9. Photo by Sarah Caulfield.
(from left) Sara-Jane Barker, Anthony Fisher, Brittany Baimbridge, Kristy Ramirez and Martin Sanchez fill Give 2 The Troops care packages Saturday Nov. 9. Photo by Sarah Caulfield.
Robert Fredlund and Kristy Ramirez help build the Give 2 The Troops float for the Albany Veterans Day Parade Saturday Nov. 9. Photo by Sarah Caulfield.
Aleenna Chin puts a Give 2 The Troops flyer on the parade float. Photo by Sarah Caulfield.
College of Business student Robert Fredlund remembers how he felt the day he returned from Iraq.
It was February of 2011 and he had just finished a 10-month tour of duty with the United States Army. As he stepped off the plane, Fredlund heard something he wasn’t expecting on the runway.
“It was the first time I had stepped on American soil in about a year, and there was a group of people clapping for us,” Fredlund said. “It’s tingly, chills. It’s that feeling you are appreciated and it means a lot.”
For veterans in the College of Business — including students, faculty and staff —those small gestures can often be just as special as the parades and ceremonies that are a key part of Veterans Day traditions.
Oregon State College of Business student Robert Fredlund, a U.S. Army veteran, helps construct the Veterans Day float for Give 2 The Troops.
Fredlund started at Oregon State in the fall of 2012 and pursuing a dual major in Business Management and Entrepreneurship with a minor in Leadership. His personal experience led him to get involved with veterans’ organizations while at OSU, and try to pay back the kindness he’s seen as a veteran.
As the president of the OSU Management Club, Fredlund has organized activities through Give 2 The Troops, a group that sends care package to soldiers overseas.
The club has participated in packing parties and other events. This year the club used a meeting to handwrite notes for the boxes and helped build the Give 2 The Troops float for the Albany Veterans Day Parade.
“I saw it as an opportunity to apply the skills I’ve learned at the College of Business,” he said. “These projects are a good way to get real world experience but also give back to the community.”
Malcolm LeMay, director of operations for the college, spent 20 years as an aviator in the Marine Corps.
LeMay has made it a point to stay connected to veterans in the college and the community since coming to Oregon State. He served as president of the Military Officers Club of Corvallis, and makes an effort to meet with students who have served and are looking for advice.
“It’s neat to see recent vets going through here,” LeMay said. “You can tell the experience, the maturity and confidence they have.”
“We go out of our way to make it easy for returning veterans to get started with class,” LeMay said. “That’s more than just on Veterans Day. It’s year-round commitment to veterans and their skills.”
Dan Schwab, a College of Business advisor, has experienced that commitment firsthand.
Before coming to the college Schwab served three years as Commander of the OSU ROTC program, and then 10 years as OSU’s director of student conduct after retiring from the U.S Army as a lieutenant colonel in 2004.
“I thought it was a rewarding job because I was preparing future leaders, my replacements,” Schwabsaid. “It was a good transition job from active duty to a civilian job.”
A third-generation military veteran, Schwab said he has always felt a call to serve, which helped lead him to higher education after his military career ended.
“I like to serve something, to serve people,” he said. “That’s why I’m an advisor today. I feel I’m serving students.”
New College of Business Assistant Professor Charles Murnieks previously served students and his country as an instructor at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo.
Murnieks joined the Air Force Academy after high school as a way to give back to a country he felt had already given him so much.
“I entered the service because I felt there was something honorable in serving my country, and serving to protect it,” Murnieks said. “When I signed up I felt I owed the country this, I never felt the country owed me anything.”
After joining he realized he wanted to make the Air Force his career, and later was asked to join the academy as an instructor. The Air Force encouraged him to continue his education, supporting him as he earned his MBA from UCLA and his Ph.D. from the University of Colorado.
While he’s enjoyed his move to Oregon and out of the Air Force, Murnieks said he is grateful for the reminders of his service and thanks he’ll get from people he speaks with.
“I’m always struck anytime someone takes time out of their day to say thank you,” Murneiks said. “I’m always touched by that, because I don’t expect it.”
Management Club trip to San Francisco June 2012, visiting SF Travel, Zimride, Oracle, E & J Gallo Winery and Salesforce.
This June, 10 OSU Management Club members crammed into a van and took off for San Francisco, touring five companies in two days, getting face time with managers from diverse industries and seeing classroom concepts in the wild.
“This trip was a great way to build stronger connections with our alumni and get a greater understanding of how organizations are run,” senior Lyndsay Toll said. “Each was such a contrast to one another — a start-up, a Fortune 500, family business, not for profit, and array of industries.”
Planning for the trip started four months ago. The club was interested in putting together another roadtrip after a succesful tour of the Boeing Co. in Seattle last summer.
Club President Nathan Bauer said the club was interested in California but wasn’t sure who to start with. Working with College of Business Executive Director for Industry Relations Pam Knowles, the group targeted a number of OSU alumni in the Bay Area.
At Zimride. Talking with Harrison- Marketing.
At each stop, the students toured the operation and sat with company managers for question and answer sessions, gaining valuable career tips and networking opportunities.
The tour started with San Francisco Travel, the main promoter of tourism in San Francisco, one of the city’s biggest industries.
“It’s mind boggling the scale on which they operate,” Bauer said. “It was kind of a cool way to kick off the trip.”
From there it was a trio of technology companies, Salesforce, Zimride and Oracle. Salesforce is a cloud computing company specializing in customer relations management tools, while Zimride helps commuters find rideshares in their area. Oracle, No. 82 on the Fortune 500 (as of July 11, 2012), was one of early database providers and still a leader in business hardware and software.
The group at Oracle Headquarters (Redwood Shores).
The trip capped off with a tour of E & J Gallo Winery, including a panel discussion with five Oregon State College of Business alumni.
“Visiting such a variety of businesses provides a kind of education that you cannot get in the classroom,” junior Tiga Evans said. “It is a great experience that you’ll always be glad you had.”
Management Club is hoping to do a similar trip again next year and help establish a tradition of the summer road trip, possibly to Seattle.
For students interested in going Management Club, the group will meet Thursday nights at 6 p.m. in Bexell 207, starting the second week of classes.
