alumni – Page 6 – Ciocca Center for Business, Ethics, and Society Blog

April 15, 2021

Virtual Entrepreneurship Week Awards Over $10,000 in Prize Money

Congratulations to all of the students who competed during the annual Entrepreneurship Week, March 18-25, 2021, through the Ciocca Center for Business, Ethics, and Society and the Entrepreneurship & Innovation Program at Holy Cross. These virtual events attracted more than 65 students with 9 alumni involved as judges and mentors throughout the week.

Kicking off the week, HC Launch held its bi-annual Innovation Challenge in partnership with CodeSaders and the Green Fund. The challenge required Holy Cross students to come up with creative ways to build community and connect students during the COVID-19 pandemic. With 11 teams pitching their ideas to a panel of six judges, two being our very own co-presidents of the Student Government Association, students managed to develop and create detailed plans and events that centered around the theme of community. The winning idea of this competition will be immediately implemented with the help and mentorship of Dean Murray.

Normally, the Innovation Challenge would have been held in person, but due to COVID precautions was held virtually this year. The Ciocca Center’s Head of Entrepreneurship & Innovation Program, Ja-Nae Duane, kicked off the event by informing the teams and 70+ audience members of the ground rules, prizes and goals. Tom Cremins ’21 and Mary Anne Wiley ’22, HC Launch’s Managing Directors, led intermission and gave out raffle prizes to audience members while the judges deliberated.

Congratulations to the 2021 Innovation Challenge winners:

1st Prize: $1,000 for Fresh Fest: an outdoor festival to help freshmen to connect by Nick Bettenhauser ‘24 & Sasha Paradise ‘24
* Watch for this inaugural event scheduled for Friday, May 1, 2021!
2nd Prize: $750 for HC Jumpstart, a social connection to meet others on campus by Britt Axelson ‘21, Raphaella Mascia ‘21 & Connor McNerney ‘22
3rd Prize: $500 and “Most Creative Award” for Sader Sips: a senior-focused beer garden by Katelyn Cody ‘22, Julia Covelle ‘22, Allie Russo ‘22 & Karter Seitz ‘22
4th Place: ‘Special JudgesAward’ received for their outdoor movie night on the freshman field by Fabiola Trejo ‘22 and Victoria Covarrubias ‘22

Special thanks to our judges: James Keyes ‘77, Cheryl Martin ’84, Dean Michele Murrary, William Turtone, and co-presidents of the SGA, Noah Sisk ’21 and Victoria Tara ’21.

The next two events were casual pitch nights for students with early stage projects or ideas. These events are designed to helps students identify next steps, stress test an idea and find team members to help build it out. The first event was an opportunity for students to pitch to their peers and the second gave students pitch practice pitching their idea to an alum, Catherine Wilcox ’80.

To finish off Entrepreneurship Week, HC Launch held its eighth annual Shark Tank Competition. The event allows Holy Cross students to pitch their business ideas to a group of judges for five mins each, followed by three minutes of Q&A. Ten teams (five teams in the seed stage category and five teams in the early-stages category) competed for a combined total of $10,000 in prize money.

Congratulations to the Seed Stage Shark Tank Winners: a category focused on the market opportunity and concept validation of the business idea.

$500 to Greenlist: a browser extension for identifying environmental product info Nathan Lewis ‘22
$500 to That’s Yo Body: A motivation/fitness brand
Josh Azor ‘24
$500 to Chering: A web-app that helps thrift stores resell their clothing.
Jacob Azzi ‘23, Dana Dinardo ‘21, Raphaella Mascia ‘21, Genevieve Wagner ‘21 of Ohio State & Molly Zachlin ‘21of Notre Dame

Congratulations to the Early Stage Shark Tank Winners: a category for students with more developed business models.

$3,000 to SaderSleeps: a mattress rental service for college students by Louie Fiacco ‘22 & Will Spangenberg ‘22
$2,000 to PakChat: a mobile app that allows different friend groups to meet other friend groups within their own community by Peter Blunt ‘21 & Chad Arle ‘21
$1,000 to FUD: an app using algorithms to identify common restaurant preferences by Chris Herndon ‘22 & Jean Baptiste “JB” Goriou ‘22

Congratulations to the Ignite Fund Winner: a category for students to work with funding and guidance through the JD Power Center.

$2,000 to SynchRUNous: an app for coaches to live track their runners by Meg Gerety

Special thanks to our Shark Tank Competition judges:

Matt Drinkwater ‘95: Former General Manager, Buzzfeed
Alex Hanlon ‘06: Executive, Reddit
Beau Lescott ‘95: President, Adaptive Portfolio Technologies
Michelle Stark Barrett: Director, Community Based Learning, Holy Cross
Jim Tselikis ‘08: Owner, Cousins Maine Lobster

Congratulations to everyone involved during the 2021 virtual Entrepreneurship Week and we hope to see you next year!

Update 6/24/21: Read more about the Shark Tank winners in WorcesterMag & the Worcester Business Journal! Congratulations and keep it up!

February 16, 2021

Student Spotlight: Emma Grayeb ’24

Name: Emma Grayeb
Class: 2024
Major: Economics & Anthropology
Certificate: Finance & Banking Certificate
Hometown: Darien, CT

Which Business Certificate Program are you planning to pursue?

I am planning on pursuing the Finance and Banking Certificate.

Which Business Certificate Program workshop experience was the most impactful and why?

Personally, I think that the most impactful workshop experience for me was the Corporate Finance and Banking workshop. One of the activities that we did was read and analyze a case study, which allowed me a glimpse of what private equity investors have to do as a part of their job. I have not done the Fullbridge program yet. I plan to accomplish this my sophomore year.

Do you believe your experience with Fullbridge and the workshops will help you be prepared for the business world?

I think that the workshops have helped prepare me. I would say that the alumni who come speak to us about their experiences in the business world provide incredibly valuable insight.

If a prospective student was visiting Holy Cross and asked you about the Ciocca Center’s certificate programs, what would you tell them?

I would tell them to absolutely get involved in one of the certificate programs. Not only does it increase knowledge of business concepts and jobs, but it also is a great opportunity to connect with Holy Cross alumni.

In addition to the Certificate in Finance & Banking workshops, Emma also attended the 15th annual Women in Business conference held in November 2020. Following this conference, she applied and was accepted to join the WIB planning committee as a freshman. The Ciocca Center is thrilled with Emma’s level of engagement, enthusiasm, and drive. We look forward to working with you over the next few years!

February 5, 2021

Ciocca Center Reaches International Audience Over J-Term

With COVID19 came a revised academic schedule which changed the opportunity for the Ciocca Center to offer workshops during the semester. The new January term over winter break became the opportune time for programming and the Ciocca Center did not disappoint.

Nine workshops during the month of January attracted 125 alumni from around the world and 200+ students from all four class years. Many of the students participated in more than one opportunity as they worked towards Business Certificate Program completion. The virtual program list included everything from Corporate Finance & Banking to Global Supply Chain Management, a Women in Business alumna speaker, and a month-long Excel Tutorial.

From Oregon to South Carolina, Europe, China, and India, alumni and students were able to connect with fellow Crusaders online. This expansion of alumni who might not normally have been able to participate in person increased the wealth of knowledge and expertise within the already robust Holy Cross network. “One perk of the virtual world we are living in” as Connor Fitzgerald ’16 shares after presenting during the Marketing Communications & Sales workshop, “is getting to present to some awesome Holy Cross students all the way from Nashville, TN!” Gathering the Holy Cross network often creates a sense of community, something we are all looking for during times of social distancing.

Of the many workshops, the Ciocca Center in partnership with the Office of Sustainability, offered a new three-week opportunity, the Pothos Project, for students interested in consulting. Fourteen students divided among three teams using a B-Corp assessment provided suggestions for how the Lobby Shop at Holy Cross could be more sustainable. The pilot program included alumni mentors as well as campus partners, an opportunity that integrated Conference Services into the co-curricular programs and provided students with a real-world consulting experience. “What a cool opportunity! I absolutely loved working on this project” shares Katelyn Cody ’22, who goes on to describe the work as having “real-world impact.”

October 2, 2020

Brittany Alkes ’15 Shares Sales Industry Insights

Nick Bettenhauser ’24, George Caldwell ’24, and Cole DiGregorio ’24 are current freshmen who are not wasting time. The three Sales Group chairs are making the most of our virtual semester by connecting with alumni, getting advice, and creating opportunities. Just one month into the fall semester and the group invited Brittany Alkes ’15, client development consultant for Thomson Reuters, to speak to the Sales Club on Thursday, October 1.

Brittany Alkes ’15 shared valuable advice, including:

Branding: start now! Create a LinkedIn account and start connecting with Alumni
Be Active: when on LinkedIn, be active and post articles that will gravitate towards your clientele
Personalize, Listen, Read, Share: share things that represent you, your company, and the beliefs of both
Holy Cross: work on skills like selling yourself and branding before you graduate
Alumni: add every alum you meet on LinkedIn

Stay tuned for more events! Make sure you are on the mailing list by registering for a student business club.

September 30, 2020

Real Estate Club Hosts Panel and Networking Event

On Tuesday, September 22nd over 40 students attended the annual 2020 Real Estate Panel and Networking Reception. This year, unlike in years past, the event was held virtually on Zoom with many more alumni panelists involved. The event started with an overview of the real estate market in the United States today by Cameron Lawson ’17 (Fun Fact: Cameron started the RE club on campus!). He explained that the US housing market was worth over $34 trillion dollars. He also went on to explain that the US real estate market can be broken down into 5 sectors: offices, industrial, multi-family, retail, and hospitality. He also talked about the many career opportunities that are involved in real estate for those who were interested. Cameron’s overview helped paint a clear picture for students to know how the real estate industry has an effect on every aspect of American society.

The panelist section of the webinar included:

Colin Blair ‘00 of Cushman & Wakefield
Cassandra Clark ’02 of JP Morgan
Paul Formichelli ’96 of JLL
Bill Garey ‘12 of Taurus Investment Holdings
Cameron Lawson ’17 of National Development
Rob Rossi ’16 of Taconic Capital Advisors
Robert Valenti ‘11 of Kosmont
James Whelan ’00 of JP Morgan

Each panelist gave a brief informative presentation of how they ended up in their respective line of work which helped students understand the many different paths you can take to end up in the Real Estate industry. While all of the panelists are now currently in the Real Estate industry, almost all of them did not expect that they would end up working in real estate while at Holy Cross. The panelists also gave students advice on the best ways to enter into the Real Estate sector coming out of college, including using the feature on Handshake (Enter Link) for those applying for internships.

There are loads of upcoming events and meetings, so consider joining a student business club!

Learn more about student business clubs.

June 8, 2020

Ciocca Center Announces Virtual Summer Opportunities

The Ciocca Center for Business, Ethics, and Society has been an important partner in helping students to stay ahead of the consequences caused by the pandemic. There have been many unexpected twists and turns leaving students unsure of Certificate Program progress, summer internship plans and what to expect this fall when classes resume. The Ciocca Center has partnered with various Holy Cross offices to try to mitigate some of these new realities with additional funding and new opportunities.

Read on to see what’s happening and get involved! Continue reading “Ciocca Center Announces Virtual Summer Opportunities”

May 11, 2020

Holy Cross Graduates Students with Certificates in Business, Entrepreneurship and Finance

The Ciocca Center for Business, Ethics, and Society at the College of the Holy Cross works with nearly one in six students, or about 500, to provide technical skills and hands-on experiences to complement the liberal arts education. Students from all majors, including Chemistry and Economics, to English and Studio Art, are encouraged to get involved as early as freshman year because you can major in anything and succeed in business.

A recent study of the working Holy Cross alumni database found that three out of four work in business roles, making it particularly useful for students to study business. With three Certificate Programs to choose from students can focus their experience on different industries, including 1) Certificate in Business Fundamentals, 2) Certificate in Entrepreneurship and 3) Certificate in Finance and Banking.

This year, due to COVID-19, many seniors experienced the Business Ethics & Principled Leadership workshop through a virtual session. We appreciate their commitment to completing the program and flexibility as the Center quickly transferred the material to a digital platform.

Today, the Ciocca Center is proud to award 68 Certificates from the three programs. See a list of students below. Continue reading “Holy Cross Graduates Students with Certificates in Business, Entrepreneurship and Finance”

May 5, 2020

Student Investment Fund Presents Nationally

When you can’t take your annual trip to NYC you take advantage of the option to invite more alumni to your virtual presentation. This is exactly what the Holy Cross Student Investment Fund did on Monday, May 3, 2020.

Prof. David Chu, director of certificate programs, and Cassie Gevry, associate director of the Ciocca Center for Business, Ethics, and Society at Holy Cross, opened the webinar with a warm welcome. Maggie Burd ’20, Jack McConville ’20 and Jack Boyd ’21 then took center stage to speak with over twenty alumni based in Boston, NYC, Chicago, and the San Francisco bay area. They started out with the timeline of events and competitions they participated in over the year, shared the resources they have received through generous alumni donations, discussed how they plan to grow and diversify the student club, as well as thanked the founders – Andrew Smith ’19 and Sean Manning ’19. Closing the webinar, Prof. Chu moderated alumni questions for the students to answer.

We are excited to work with the next line up of HCSIF executives: Jack Boyd ’21, Liam Busconi ’21, LJ Foley ’21 and Hayden Ivatts ’21. Many thanks to our graduating seniors, we hope you will return as alumni to share your experiences and help current students explore the finance industry.

May 1, 2020

Annual Mock Super Day Held Virtually

Connecting via Zoom during COVID-19 has become the new normal for Holy Cross students and this year the the annual Mock Super Day was a virtual event held on April 29th by the Finance Club through the Ciocca Center for Business, Ethics, and Society at the College of the Holy Cross. Club chairs Allie Silge ’20 and Piotr Pogorzelski ’20, worked with Pam Ahearn, director of employer engagement in the Center for Career Development, to organize seven alumni and 11 students to participate in the event. Ahearn hosted the event and mapped out the evening to have each student interview with each alumni via breakout rooms.

Special thanks to our alumni interviewers for sharing their time, knowledge and advice — Brendan Grady ’89 of KeyBanc, Sydney Latour ’17 of J.P. Morgan, Ted Lynch ’84 of Bank of America, Jay Mackie ’19 of Barclays, Matt McCrann ’94 of Citi Bank, Pat O’Reilly ’16 of UBS and Dan Vucovich ’18 of Barclays.

We have enjoyed working with our graduating Finance Club chairs over the year – Piotr Pogorzelski’20 is an Incoming Investment Banking Analyst at Barclays Investment Bank and Allie Silge ’20 is an Incoming GTP Analyst at UBS. Best of luck on the next chapter! We hope you will share your story and success with current students as alumni have with you. Congratulations!

April 29, 2020

Students Win Business Ethics Competition

The International Business Ethics Case Competition, IBECC, was founded by Tom White ’69 over 23 years ago. Students from the College of the Holy Cross have competed since 2011, typically with a first round on campus with the winning team sent to compete internationally. Unfortunately, like so many other events in 2020, IBECC was moved to a virtual format and the Holy Cross teams opted not to move forward.

Two students, Katelyn Cody ’22 and Robin Lu ’22, worked with Prof. Karen Teitel and decided to participate as individuals in the optional Moral Compass Competition. Students were mixed up with students across schools, a good way to know other people. Katelyn Cody ’22 team (Bagel Running) won and Robin Lu ’22 team (Pot and Glove) was one of two runners up.

Continue reading “Students Win Business Ethics Competition”