Elon Business Fellows elevate experiential learning with trip to NYC

On Oct. 3, the Elon Business Fellows traveled to New York City for a weekend of networking and experiential learning.

<p>Elon Business Fellows on Wall Street<br /> <em>From left: <span style=”color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; display: inline !important; float: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);”>Justin Schweitzer, Michael O&rsquo;Brien, Nick Zimmerman, Scott Dawson, Cabriel Sullivan, John Johnson, Kimberly Gersh, Marie Daigle, Kenneth Straub, Marisa Lake, Kelly Foran, Brendan Keefe, Manasi Bhagia, Julie Rodriguez, Katherine Larson</span></em></p>
As part of the Elon Business Fellows program, students visited New York City from Oct. 3-5. Throughout the weekend, students networked with employees at major companies like Google, AOL and Simulmedia, as well as with senior-level managers at some of the top firms on Wall Street, including J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse. Other companies visited included Bloomberg, Iconix, Blackrock, Richard Bernstein Advisors, Huffington Post Media Group and the New York Stock Exchange. In addition, students connected with several Elon alumni active in the business world.

Professor Wonhi Synn, Associate Professor Neeraj Gupta, Associate Professor Sharon Hodge and Associate Director of Career Services Jane Mehringer accompanied the fellows on this year’s trip.

Manasi Bhagia ’15 expressed her gratitude for the opportunity, saying, “As fellows, we should feel lucky that we have the unique opportunity to talk to individuals on the senior managem

<p>Elon Business Fellows at Google<br /> <em>From left:<span style=”color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; display: inline !important; float: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);”>&nbsp;Kelly Foran, Julie Rodriguez, Marie Daigle, Katherine Larson, Manasi Bhagia, Scott Dawson</span></em></p>
ent team for these remarkable companies, a chance that not many LSB students get.”

Beyond establishing network connections, students in attendance also enjoyed a glimpse of what it is like to work in “the real world” of business and post-graduate employment.

Kenny Straub ’15 explained, “You really don’t realize the value of learning experiences outside of the classroom until they are staring you right in the face. This has been true for me through studying abroad, internships, and now our Business Fellows trip to NYC. With graduation less than a year away, this crash course on ‘the

Senior Business Fellows Manasi Bhagia and Kenny Straub
real world’ has been the most beneficial experience I have had to date.”

Overall, this year’s trip resulted in fellows broadening their academic and professional horizons and building their knowledge-base, as well as their professional network.

Bhagia stated, “I know I speak on behalf of all the business fellows when I say that this weekend was a truly rewarding experience in terms of our personal and professional development.”