MSBA meets NYC: Recap Part 2

If you missed our first recap post, read it here!

The last few days of our trip were nothing short of incredible. We visited more amazing companies and spoke to inspiring business leaders and entrepreneurs. We hope you enjoy this second picture recap!

Our first stop Thursday morning was to Creative Drive, where Paul Price, CEO gave the class an overview of the company and culture.

After a wonderful visit at Creative Drive, we stopped for lunch in the city before heading to our next stop, Carat. We were so thankful to be addressed by Ed Gorman, EVP and Managing Director, Linda Cronin, Senior VP, and our very own MSBA alumn Winfred Amoako, Associate of Digital Activation and Planning.

Our next visit was to Jefferies. We are so thankful to them for hosting us, and especially to Peter Forlenza for leading our group session!



We finished out a packed Thursday with a relaxed dinner with Beth Warren of Creative Realities, Inc, during which she gave students an overview of the company and what they do.



Friday morning began with a visit to Madison Square Garden, where we were hosted by the always-gracious Adam Sciorsci.


Our final stop was to the office of Made by Many, hosted by Leslie Bradshaw.

All in all, it was a wonderful trip, and we want to again extend our extreme gratitude to all of the companies that hosted our group. We can't wait for next year!

Stay tuned for our next blog post, which will feature a little project we've been working on!

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Empowering Women Enrtrepreneurs at CUA

Cross-posted on Business@CUA

By Guest Blogger: Julie Larkin CUA, Student Experience Manager , MSBA Graduate, and Founder of Girl Talk.

"Julie, what are you talking about? You just started a business!" I took a minute to ponder this, and then slowly allowed the realization to sink in.

I had just finished explaining to Stew McHie, the director of the Masters of Science in Business Analysis Program at Catholic University, how I had never pictured myself in business. I detailed my experiences studying psychology and working in Campus Ministry as a student minister. Surely my vocation was counseling or something that involved directly caring for others. I never imagined that my life would have anything to do with crunching numbers all day. (Little did I know what business as a "force for good" actually meant!)

I then went on to describe to him the program that I had started during my time as a student minister, called Girl Talk. This organization began in March 2012, after some jarring experiences with my freshmen female residents involving attempted suicide, sexual assault, heartbreak, and eating disorders. I heard story after story from these women of loneliness and their struggles with self-worth. No one will ever love me. She's way prettier than I am. I can't even look in the mirror I'm so ugly. Sound familiar? It broke my heart to hear them beating themselves up and doubting their self-worth to the point of self-harm. These women believed that they were the only ones who had ever felt like that, but they needed to know that they were not alone...Enter Girl Talk.

It took a lot of late nights of planning and crafting. My friends helped me design tons of cute invitations with glitter and bows, late nights of baking, music playlists and all sorts of prep in between. We gathered all my residents together for a fun night of hanging out in the lounge, devouring Red Velvet cupcakes, and most importantly, sharing stories. I shared with them the times that I felt ugly, heartbroken, and just simply not good enough. I shared how there were so many times that I felt inadequate, that my friends had felt this way too—that everyone struggles with their self-worth in some way! I reminded them that in fact, they were each beautiful, valuable, and loved. No matter what.

At the end of the night, the girls would not let me leave until I told them when our next Girl Talk would be. They were so hungry for this message! To know that someone they looked up to struggled as well. To know they were not alone. So we got together again and we talked about body image. Then we got together again and we talked about relationships. We kept getting together to share our personal stories and continue the conversation. The next year my fellow student ministers asked me if I could help them start Girl Talk in their residence halls, and by the end of the following year, Girl Talk existed in every female residence hall on Catholic University’s campus.

Back to Mr. Business. I finished explaining this whole history of Girl Talk, and then Professor McHie gave me a huge smile, and shared this little secret with me—I had inadvertently created a business without even realizing it! My passion for these women in helping them recognize their self-worth had fueled the flame for an organization that had the potential to reach women far and wide beyond my expectations! I may not have been looking to make a profit necessarily, but I still needed to understand the essential business principles of management, marketing, finance, and accounting in order for Girl Talk to grow and succeed. So how would I help women? 

Girl Talk Launch Party Invite

I went to Business School! After an accelerated nine-month program, I received my masters of science in business analysis (MSBA). I not only learned these invaluable, practical skills that complemented and enhanced my background of psychology and ministry, I found that I actually really enjoyed them. Business was a natural fit for me because it involved working with people, building relationships, and thinking creatively to solve problems. I am so grateful for that eye-opening conversation I had with Stew McHie. Thanks to him, I now have a business degree, am working in the School of Business and Economics as the Student Experience Manager, and am launchied my 501c3 non-profit, Girl Talk on November 13th . 

So many women will now have the opportunity to recognize their self-worth and become their best selves, thanks to this discovery of business as my vocation. 

I guess business really can be a force for good.

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Annual MSBA meets NYC Trip: Recap Part 1

The MSBA program's annual week-long trip to New York City is one of the experiences that sets it apart.

The class of 2016 boarded a train at DC's Union Station and headed for New York to visit companies in a variety of industries and broaden our students awareness of the kinds of industries and opportunities that are available to them. 

Each company and speaker was incredibly gracious in sharing their time, personal experiences, backgrounds and career paths with the students. They provided valuable insight and advice to our students on searching for jobs.

In Part 1 of our recap, you can see pictures of our visits to DDB, Interbrand, Tiffany & Co. and Fox Business News. You'll also read more about the networking event held at Public House.

An annual tradition - a beer at the Blarney Rock Pub across the street from the Hotel Penn upon arrival to NYC!

Day 1 - our morning brief before visiting DDB. The Student Planning Committee organized and led these meetings each morning before the day's activities.

Program Director Stew McHie preps the students

On our way to DDB!

We spent our first day at DDB Worldwide, where MSBA alumn Patrick Six led the day's activities. We had the privilege (and last minute surprise!) of hearing from DDB Worldwide chairman Keith Reinhard. Mr. Reinhard spent time sharing stories with the class and giving them advice on pursuing their careers.

An important part of our annual trip is the networking reception, held this year at Public House.  Over 50 MSBA alumni, CUA alums, company hosts, and friends and colleagues that live in the city were in attendace and shared their experiences with some of the students that are interested in seeking work in NYC. 

MSBA students with Tiffany & Co.'s Michael Connolly

Stew McHie with MSBA alumn Winfred Amoako

Day 2 began bright and early at Interbrand. Pictured here are a few students with the MSBA Program Director Stew McHie and Director of Career Development Marykate Kelly.

At Interbrand, students had the opportunity to work on a case-study for. Students split up into separate groups, came up with a strategy and presented it at the end of our visit.

MSBA student Adriana Del Castillo leads her group in brainstorming

MSBA student Alex Hetzel presents his team's solution

Alissa Norris did a great job summarizing her team's strategy!

Stop number two was Tiffany & Company! And it wasn't just the girls who were excited! We heard from Vice President - Treasurer Michael Connolly, a CUA alumn, and Bernadette Hitt, the Group Director of Merchandising for the Americas, who was also a CUA alumna.

Michael Connolly, a CUA alumn and Vice President - Treasurer for Tiffany &Co.

Our last stop of the day was a Fox Business News. As always, Josh Bellis gave us an amazing overview of what working at FBN entails, and gave a grand tour of the place! Always a highlight of the trip, speaking with Gerri Willis of Fox Business Network, pictured below.

We ended day 2 with a fun-filled evening and another annual tradition - bowling in Times Square!
Stay tuned for Part 2 of the trip, coming later this week!

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Blog Series Part III: How My Liberal Arts Degree is Helping Me in Graduate Business School

Part 3 of our blog series "How My Liberal Arts Degree is Helping Me in Graduate Business School" is written by CUA MSBA student Alexander Ruhling. (In case you missed them, read more about non-business majors turning to a business career in Part1 and Part 2 of the series).

Alex, who received his Bachelor of Arts in Music, writes about how his degree helped him become the dedicated worker he is today.

And now, calling to the stage, Alex Ruhling!

Music to Management: Finding a Career from an "Impractical" Major

Q: How many music majors have been asked what they want to do with their majors?

A: How many Popes have been Catholic? It's truly that simple.
I remember the first few times I told people I was going to major in music, and my immediate answer to their immediate question. "Ahh... well... ummm.... I'm not sure! I mean... I have plenty of time..." etc. etc.

The truth is, I still really don't know what I want to do with the big piece of paper somewhere back home that says "Bachelor of Arts in Music" on it. I'm not Dmitri Hvorostovsky or Anna Netrebko or any other of these big name opera singers that had a God-given voice far beyond their years and could walk onto international stages in their early 20's. I'm just an average 20-year-old trying, as they say, to "make it," singing gigs here and there for measly amounts of money, knowing full well that I cannot possibly make a living like this. The question, then, becomes: is it worth it to pour thousands of dollars, hours, and brain cells into a degree that lands me out of college seemingly no better off than where I was when I started?

The answer is: yes. Undeniably yes.

How many other majors force students to sit in a 6 by 6 room and push themselves to new physical and intellectual limits for hours in front of a mirror, a score, and a piano, only for a glimpse of "progress?" We have no textbooks, no documents, no case studies. All we bring is a feeble memory of whatever our voice teacher said the last time we met for an hour of confusing vocal boot camp, a backpack full of music by dead Italians and Germans, and a frustratingly limited understanding of the beautiful delicacies of the human voice. We sit in the practice room, we make horrible noises, we get frustrated, we throw our sheet music across the room in a monochromatic maelstrom, and then after an hour we finally find the single sweet moment we have been dreaming about. And then, it's back to the grind again.

That right there is more than enough of a reason to embrace the undergraduate music life. In business, we hear about the baseball analogy of management. If a hitter gets an official hit only one time and royally screws up another three, he's doing pretty well. If for every success he only blows it twice, he's at the top of his game. My voice teacher tells my frustrated perfectionist self that if his students retain a measly 1% of what they learn each week, they are golden. A manager will face difficult decisions daily, even hourly. How many bad decisions will he make? Probably most of them.

Even Hank Aaron, Bryn Terfel, and Jack Welch have had to toil brutal hours in the face of almost certain failure. But they all learned that the work and the frustration and the disappointment makes that one home run, that one high A, and that one lucrative venture all the sweeter, all the more joyous, and-most importantly- all the more powerful reminder of doing all for the glory of God.
So maybe that piece of paper with the big "B.A. in Music" on it doesn't say "B.A. in Specific Skills Required for Fantastic and Immediate Job Security."

Instead, it says: "Hire me. Because I may not be an expert in articulating financial statements or putting together an Excel spreadsheet, but as sure as hell as you're reading my resume right now, I know how to work. I know how to fight impossible odds for impossible hours and push myself for that one sweet moment of success. So hire me. Because when that moment comes again and again, you'll be glad you did."

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"How My Liberal Arts Degree is Helping Me in Graduate Business School" Series, Part 2

Welcome to part two of our blog series "How My Liberal Arts Degree is Helping Me in Graduate Business School". In today's post, CUA MSBA student Dave Gogats let's us in on how majoring in English has helped him adapt to the business world. Take it away, Dave!
   
English, a Major of Adaptability 
by David Gogats

“How’s the job at Starbucks?” and “When’s your book coming out?” are two questions every English major loves to hear. Every one of us who has gone through four years of Shakespeare and Dickens knows the routine and how to combat people’s opinions of our seemingly useless degree. The statistics are usually on their side too. As an Atlantic article earlier this summer pointed out, as parents’ incomes increased, the practicality of their children’s majors went down, with English topping the list of uselessness.(http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/07/college-major-rich-families-liberal-arts/397439/)

No English major I’ve talked to has ever regretted his or her path though. They’ve gone into varying careers where every skill we have learned through undergrad has been used. One English major I met was a biology textbook editor at one time and now considers herself a “mini expert” in stomach diseases. The literature aspect of an English degree was just a means to an end by doing something we love. Through the many sleepless nights of researching Renaissance poetry that no one wants to read, except apparently my professor, to then writing about it has given me skills that I would not get from any other major. Although it is probably true that I may never find someone who has read what I have read during undergrad, it’s not about what I’ve read or written but that I know how to do it now. It’s not about researching, reading, analyzing, and writing it’s about how to do those well, even if you don’t like the subject.

When looking at the skills an English degree gives you, it seems that it might be more useful than it appears. Another article, from U.S. News, quotes a student who found that “his undergraduate major in political science at University of North Carolina—Chapel Hill ‘unequivocally’ did not help prepare him for law school” rather it was his “minor in English, which required him to read ‘voluminous amounts of literature,’ that had better prepared him for the intense reading requirements of studying law. (http://www.usnews.com/education/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/articles/2012/10/29/future-law-students-should-avoid-prelaw-majors-some-say)

As we fight to keep our English degrees useful and relevant it turns out that it might not be that hard. Now that I’m a business student, I find that my four years spent reading Hemingway and Hawthorne have better prepared me than I had originally thought. Whether it’s a reading a textbook on Quantitative Analysis or writing a business memo, being an English major comes with many skill sets, one of its most useful being adaptability and being able to change up how I use my skills learned from undergrad.

We’ve read things that are boring as can be, but as dull as it is, we can turn it into something. English majors everywhere can rejoice when reading and editing textbooks or speech writing that at least they’re not about Renaissance poetry (at least I do anyway).

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Studying History: Storytelling in the Office

In the first post of our blogging series by MSBA students about how their undergraduate majors are serving them in graduate business school, Joe Fiocco talks about the value of having a Bachelor's in History.

History looks like Dungeons and Dragons to people who don't enjoy it: a collection of lingo you have to memorize and regurgitate. What most don't realize is that a background in history has tangible benefits for a career in business though. Just ask Carly Fiorina or Martha Stewart.
I don't like stating my position without evidence, analysis, or context. Reading primary source documents and arguing my interpretation cultivates an attention to detail and the ability to track changes in behavior and trends over time. In a business context, employers desire employees who can detect nuance and analyze figures beyond what numbers express. A background in history lets an employee weave different factors of the environment together into a clear narrative, whether it’s assessing new technology, scoping out the competition, or organizing a marketing survey.
Studying history facilitates communication, for writing and presentation demonstrates understanding of the source material. The business climate places a premium on condensing information for those purposes. History majors understand the importance of a logical assembly and argumentation of the facts. That’s why businesses would seek out a history student to draft and prepare reports, memos, speeches, or presentations. In my new program and my internship, I intend to showcase my talents to the fullest.

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Why Businesses Prefer A Liberal Arts Education

A lot has been written about the powerful combination of a liberal arts and business education, including this article from CNBC. http://cnb.cx/ZpH69o   While these articles are compelling, I find the even more compelling arguments come from the students themselves.  

Recently our Master of Science in Business Analysis students were asked to write a linked in blog post about how their liberal arts undergraduate degree would help them succeed in the business world.  I was optimistic they had given this some thought.  But I was amazed at the depth of thought and the practical applications they saw in their undergrad degrees in history, english, philosophy, music, engineering and more.  

I count myself among the skeptics when we started this program.  Now, 6 years and 120 students later, I can honestly and empiracally say the intersection of liberal arts and the business world is a formula for individual and business success.  We will publish some of these thoughtful articles in the coming days.

Stewart McHie, Director- MSBA 

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