On Wednesday, November 8, the School of Business organized its inaugural “Creative Minds Conference,” which consisted of a major opportunity for students from throughout the Woodbury community to interface with local business executives.
The conference was developed at the suggestion of School of Business advisory board member Michael Cusumano. The organization of it was spearheaded by the Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization (CEO), in collaboration with the Business and Professional Women of Woodbury (BPWOW), the Accounting Society, the BBA Student Advisory Board, and the MBA Association, under direct supervision of Dean Joan Marques.
About 20 business executives, including advisory board members, alumni and associates, met with more than 75 students, reviewed resumes and provided career advice. The highlight of the evening was a contest called “So You Think You Can Sell?” where 15 students from across the Woodbury community had the opportunity to gave one-minute sales pitches in which they had to “sell” random items on the spot. The pitches were incisive, eloquent, and, at times, hilarious. The contest consisted of two rounds. In the first round, the entire audience was able to vote with the tallying coordinated by the Accounting Society. In the finale, the top three candidates had to sell one more round of even more challenging items.
The winner of the content, Doug Ford (Management), received a full time job courtesy of Green Payment Solutions. The first runner-up, Aalilyah Thomas (Communications) received a $500 gift card courtesy of Industrial Metal Supply. The second runner-up, Greg Petrosyan (Marketing) received a $250 gift card courtesy of Cusumano Real Estate Group.
Throughout the conference, students had the opportunity to get professional headshots taken, a project sponsored by CEO, with make-up assistance from BPWOW.
Because of its success, the Creative Minds Conference will become an annual fall-semester highlight for the School of Business.