Diversity

Business Honor Society to Induct New Members and Award Scholarships

Posted on by Claire Hall

The University of Connecticut chapter of Beta Gamma Sigma, the international honor society for business programs accredited by AACSB International (The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business), will conduct its annual induction ceremony this year on April 26, 2013.

Membership in Beta Gamma Sigma is highly selective and confers recognition for excellent academic performance by the nation’s oldest and most widely known business student association. Only the top 10% of sixth semester juniors and top 10% of seniors are eligible to join. Being invited to join Beta Gamma Sigma is a sign of excellence. Receiving a BGS Scholarship in addition indicates that a student has earned the right to be considered as best of the best at one of the world’s finest business schools.

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of Beta Gamma Sigma. To commemorate the occasion and in keeping with its mission of recognizing and encouraging academic excellence, Beta Gamma Sigma is awarding $1,000 scholarships to two University of Connecticut School of Business students for their superior performances in the study of business. The recipients will be announced at the April 26, 2013 ceremony.

Beta Gamma Sigma membership provides recognition for a lifetime. This lifelong commitment to its members’ academic and professional success is defined in the the Society’s mission: to encourage and honor academic achievement in the study of business, to foster personal and professional excellence, to advance the values of the Society, and to serve its lifelong members.

With collegiate chapters on five continents, Beta Gamma Sigma today is truly an international society that remains dedicated to recognizing the most outstanding students of business and management. The University of Connecticut chapter was established in 1959.

Investing in Students

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This article first appeared in the UConn Business magazine, Volume 3, Issue 1 (Fall 2012)

The Travelers EDGE Program Builds UConn’s Business Leaders of Tomorrow

investingAs Armando Jimenez sees it, his first lucky break coincided with some bad news for his hometown of Hartford. That was the year his high school lost its state accreditation and Jimenez received a scholarship to attend Salisbury School instead.

Located in the Northwest corner of the state, the private school offered Jimenez the chance to participate in his first entrepreneurship program and be exposed to what he describes as a “different world” than the one from which he came. More importantly, though, it gave him a reason to work hard.

“I made Dean’s List every semester,” Jimenez said. “I wanted to make sure they knew their investment in me was good.”

Jimenez has spent the last few years making good on that initial investment as a student in UConn’s Travelers EDGE diversity initiative program. A management major now in his senior year in the UConn School of Business, Jimenez is one of 23 students currently receiving a four-year scholarship, mentoring, and internship opportunities through the program.

Being accepted into Travelers EDGE, Jimenez said, was his second lucky break.

“It’s an amazing program. The interesting thing about Travelers is that this is a company that’s really investing in the career of the student,” said Jimenez, who has completed two summer internships, at Travelers Companies Inc. and PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers), through the program.

Tara Spain, vice president of the Travelers Foundation, said the program began in 2007 with a directive from the company’s board of directors.

“They wtravelersEDGE-Venture-UCONN-2011anted us to do something that was good for the community, but also good for the company,” Spain said. “We feel like we get a lot out of it. It has helped to broaden our pipelines into the company for diverse talents and we’ve been able to strengthen the Travelers’ brand on college campuses. It’s great for the company, great for the brand, and great for our employees.”

The program targets underrepresented groups or first generational college students with the goal of making them more competitive in the business world. Jimenez, who is the first person to attend college in his family and a minority who was raised by a single mother in Hartford, fits both criteria.

“Neither of those factors alone would have gained him entry into the program, however, if Jimenez hadn’t displayed the kind of motivation and commitment to his education that earned him a place on the Dean’s List at Salisbury School,” said Seanice Austin, the director of Diversity Initiatives for the School of Business and manager of the Travelers EDGE program.

“We receive about 30 to 40 applications every year and we take five,” said Austin. “It’s very competitive.”

Students accepted into the program must participate actively and maintain a 3.0 GPA, Austin said. The average GPA of the students currently enrolled is 3.3, she said.

“We want students to be able to tell their own stories,” Austin said. “Once they are accepted, I work very closely with them to make sure they have all the resources and support they need.”

Jimenez agreed, and said he is already trying to give back a little bit of what he’s received. “I grew up in the Boys and Girls Club so I know that a simple “Hi” goes a long way, especially when someone is struggling,” he said.

For that reason, Jimenez started a program his freshman year, called Brothers Reaching Our Society, that provides peer mentoring and help with academics to other male students. “The idea is to do the same for those who come behind you as those who came ahead did for you,” Jimenez said.


   

WGC Names the School of Business 2012 Educational Institution of the Year

Posted on by Claire Hall

The National Black MBA Association Westchester/Greater Connecticut Chapter (WGC) named the University of Connecticut School of Business the 2012 Educational Institution of the Year.  This award recognizes different organizations and businesses for their successful efforts in encouraging the development of African American students.  UConn has provided commitment and resources towards both the programming and membership initiatives in relation to the WGC’s outreach to the high school, undergraduate, and graduate community in Westchester County and Greater Connecticut.

Last summer the Office of Diversity Initiatives (ODI) at the UConn School of Business hosted the National Black MBA Association’s Leaders of Tomorrow (LOT) 10th Annual National Business Case Competition.  The case competition, held on the Storrs campus, challenged high school students all across the country to excel at the highest levels of analysis, public speaking, strategic planning financial analysis, marketing, and management.  After being trained by members of the National Black MBA Association, Inc., the teams analyzed a graduate school Harvard-style business case.  They then presented recommendations, forecasts, and implications before judges from the highest levels of business and academia.  The winning teams received thousands of dollars in scholarship prizes.

The University of Connecticut continues to show its support of the WGC and its dedication to helping encourage higher education in the youth of our community.  The Office of Diversity Initiatives enhances the School of Business’ outreach to high-quality student applicants and prospective faculty through its initiatives with high schools, colleges, universities, and minority business/professional organizations.  ODI’s goals include outreach and service excellence. This is accomplished by increasing the admissions of high-quality minority students at the undergraduate and graduate levels in the School of Business, and by providing scholarships, fellowships, mentors and role models to help foster high retention rates and success within the University of Connecticut and the School of Business.

The Student Experience at the 2011 Regional NABA Conference

Posted on by Claire Hall

2011 Regional NABA Conference

On October 6th-9th, students from the University of Connecticut School of Business and other schools and colleges from the eastern region of the Unites States had the opportunity to attend the 2011 Regional National Association of Black Accountants (NABA) conference in Bethesda, Maryland. The conference included two and a half days of workshops, seminars and interview sessions.

The program was designed to help better prepare minority students for careers in accounting and financial management.  The major objective of the conference was to encourage student involvement in NABA and to assist in the development of leadership skills.  The other objectives include providing an opportunity for students and professionals to share their goals and objectives, a forum to discuss student issues and to present positive alternative resolutions, opportunities for students to develop and exhibit their organizational and planning skills, and to provide a cost-effective method for students to interview for different corporations for entry-level positions and internships.

In the paragraphs below, UConn students recount their experiences at this year’s NABA conference.

Christopher Sanchez ‘12 (Accounting) – My experiences at the 2011 Regional NABA conference were truly unforgettable. There was not a single element of the conference that was not perfect. Not only was the landscape and the hotel beautiful, but the seminars were all extremely touching and helpful. Even more importantly the atmosphere really changed me and molded me into a much more professional and career focused individual. Surrounding yourself with so many professionals who want to assist you is important, and I believe that NABA provides this to their students more than any other organization I have ever had the privilege of being associated with. The networking and career opportunities that were available to everyone this weekend were something unlike anything I have ever been exposed to before, leading me to believe that through NABA students are definitely destined for success. All of my experiences from this conference have done nothing but further my appreciation and admiration for NABA, and it has definitely made me realize that I want to become more involved and continue taking part in NABA post-graduation.

Venice Sterling ’13 (Psychology) – For me it was more than the all of the great companies that were at the conference, giving advice and conducting interviews; it was important to see all of the other NABA chapters in attendance at the conference. Knowing that NABA is such a huge part of so many individuals’ lives helped brand the experience for me. There were many other chapters from different schools such as Morgan State University, Maryland University and many more. The experience was one that I cannot forget. The interactions that took place and the enthusiasm that each school had for their own individual chapters helped to create a live environment. Everyone represented his or her school well, and this is something I believe UConn should also be able to do. One of the sessions that I attended was “NABA on your campus”, and my intentions were to learn how I could help build our NABA Chapter up even higher and be more active in our community. The most important thing that I learned at this conference and in this session was being able to appeal to different individuals through different programs and activities. Though our chapter here at UConn is well on its way, I still believe with some more work we can be one of the schools that had over 20 members at the conference, in the future.

Christina Headley ‘14 (Accounting) – My experience at the Eastern Region Student Conference for National Association of Black Accountants was a weekend filled of enlightening and informative sessions, combined with opportunities to network with peers with similar interests as mine. The energy during the entire weekend was high and the session that began it all was the opening conference about personal branding. A quote that stuck out to me during the session was entitled “Words to Brand By”, they stated, “You must make your name a best-selling product…something others aspire to be or seek value from… be someone that matters…”

These words resonate with me because throughout the conference this notion was enforced on many occasions. The importance of your colleagues and employers knowing who you are and that you are a quality individual, can say a lot about you. This is true especially when they are able to speak on your behalf when you are and are not present. Also being able to speak with representatives from the big four accounting firms and institutions such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was a great way to learn about and network with them. Many of the companies that are sponsors of NABA also facilitated sessions not only about their companies specifically, but also information that we as young professionals may find useful. The sessions ranged from how to handle conflict to even studying abroad. Overall, the conference exposed me to a world of accounting professionals and an organization that has helped to support me in my career pursuits.

O’Rayne Clarke ’14 (Accounting) – Going to the Northeast Regional NABA conference was truly a blessing. It has increased my knowledge through its many seminars. The information that was provided had a wide range of topics that will be useful in my personal, professional, and academic life. Learning more about NABA and seeing the passion of the professionals, volunteers, and students has inspired me to help with the growth of NABA here at the University of Connecticut. Another great thing about this conference was that I was able to network with professionals and also students. The length of the conference made it easier to build relationships that will last beyond our departure. Many of these things are things that all who participated in this conference could possibly agree upon. One way that my experience may have been different from most of my peers, was that I had already obtained an internship prior to attending the conference. The conference presented students with the opportunity to network with different companies, gain an interview and possible a job offer. When I went into the career fair I bumped into my recruiter from KPMG. We talked for a while then she asked if I wanted to assist with recruiting by sharing my experience and knowledge on the accounting profession, and I immediately agreed. I enjoyed assisting with recruiting because people seek knowledge that I had obtained through my internship experience. Undergraduates and even graduate students came to me seeking advice and this felt great, being that I was only a sophomore. Overall, the trip was a wonderful experience and I would recommend that future NABA students take full advantage of this opportunity.

Overall the conference was a learning experience. This is something that we all look forward to attending in the future, be it as Alums or still as an undergraduate member. We believe that this experience has helped us to have a greater connection to our chapter and a greater respect for the behind the scenes work. The networking opportunities were endless, the spirit of each individual school was incredible, and the overall session taught us about branding ourselves as a person. We would like to thank the Office of Diversity Initiatives, the Travelers EDGE program and the University of Connecticut for helping to fund this amazing experience.

Photo: Students Christopher Sanchez, Venice Sterling, Christina Headley, and O’Rayne Clarke.