The Martha and Spencer Love School of Business hosted the LSB Connect Conference in Greensboro, N.C., on Feb. 23.
The conference focused on professional development and included educational sessions, an etiquette luncheon and networking with employers and alumni.
The main focus of the conference was to equip students with the skills necessary to compete in a demanding workforce. Through the workshops in the conference, students gained knowledge of various career paths related to their major, networking experience and increased self-awareness.
The sessions included a motivational presentation by Scott Wittig, author of “The Second Day” and “Holy IT!,” who noted that following the desired career and life path revolved around the three keys of passion, purpose and project. He urged students to “go after the passion more so than going for the job.”
A StrengthsQuest workshop aimed at identifying the student’s top five strengths and providing advice on how to use the strengths to their full advantage. This session was led by Elon University Career Fellows Katie Smith and Mikki Hornstein, who shared how to use these strengths effectively in interviews, a job and even in group projects.
The students obtained useful information regarding interpersonal communication skills and online communication. Gary Miller, senior assistant dean of the academic advising program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, presented on how to use social media in one’s internship and job search. He explained the many benefits social media can provide and said, “There’s no reason you shouldn’t leverage this as part of your career development.” Gary Tomlinson of Tomlinson & Associates presented “The Art of Telling,” which encouraged students to think of communication in terms of an outcome. He said that being an effective speaker and an active listener were “the two most important skill sets to the quality of your life.”
Susan Richardson P’12, founder of Etiquette Essentials, LLC, hosted an etiquette lunch, in which she provided students with lessons on how to present themselves when on a lunch interview or business meeting. She emphasized that manners set can set you apart from your peers.
Following all of the sessions, the students participated in round-table discussions with employers, many of whom are Elon alumni. Topics discussed included internships, jobs and job searching. The day concluded with the students practicing their networking skills at a reception with employers.
The round-table discussions were led by the following alumni and employers:
•Juan Arrieta ’06, Burt’s Bees
•Melissa Bryant ’12, Credit Suisse
•Brett Crosby ’07, Credit Suisse
•Alex Dempsey ’12, PricewaterhouseCoopers
•Matt Gillette ’11, Bank of America Merrill Lynch
•Scott Hockemeyer ’11, PricewaterhouseCoopers
•Ben Lunka ’10, 7 Mile Advisors
•Darryl Smith ’86, UPS Capital Insurance Agency, Inc.
•David Szwejbka, Northwestern Mutual
•Gary Tomlinson, Tomlinson and Associates
•Jennifer Tucci ’09 G ’12, Easter Seals
“The LSB Connect Conference was an incredible learning experience,” said Richard Segal ’15. “All of the lessons I learned will undoubtedly help me throughout my career. I owe the event organizers and Love School of Business a big ‘thank you’ for their time and effort spent organizing and putting on such a great event.”
“I actually really enjoyed my time at the conference,” said Erin Scally ’15. “The speakers were engaging, relatable, and at the end of the day I walked away with some really great career advice.”