Holy Cross – Page 5 – Ciocca Center for Business, Ethics, and Society Blog

September 21, 2021

Experiential Learning at Holy Cross

My name is Mackenzie Madden and I am a senior economics and psychology double major participating in the Business Fundamentals Certificate Program here at Holy Cross. Through my time at Holy Cross and through the Ciocca Center, I have felt the power of a liberal arts education while understanding the ways this type of education prepares students for business roles. I am actively searching for jobs within finance and consulting before graduating this spring. I am confident that I will be ready to work these jobs after the preparation the Ciocca Center has provided for me. From Fullbridge to the Global Supply Chain workshop to job shadowing and internship opportunities, the Ciocca Center has ensured that all students are exposed to business industries early on in their college career and gain exposure to the alumni network. Continue reading “Experiential Learning at Holy Cross”

August 17, 2021

Summer Internship Series: Alumni Connections in the Workplace

Last week my PepsiCo summer internship came to a close. After spending ten weeks cultivating a sales growth strategy plan for Bundaberg Brewed Drinks, I had the opportunity to present my recommendations to an audience of senior leaders at both PepsiCo and Bundaberg. It was honestly such a blast to show off my knowledge of the brand and my newly developed sales skills! While I’m confident that I added value to the Allied Brands Team with my project work, I wanted to use this blog post to reflect on the impact this internship had on me. More specifically, I want to highlight some of my key takeaways about business, sales, and PepsiCo. Continue reading “Summer Internship Series: Alumni Connections in the Workplace”

July 7, 2021

Summer Internship Series: Reflecting on Certificate Experience

Caroline Quinn ’22 is pursuing the Certificate in Business Fundamentals and is checking off the internship requirement this summer. Follow along as she reflects on her experience, lessons learned, and how her liberal arts education and Holy Cross network are helping her along the way.

Summer Series: Part One

I’m in the midst of my ten-week-long internship as a Sales Strategist with PepsiCo, and I’m happy to say that my experience thus far has been extremely captivating and enriching despite it being 100% virtual. For starters, I’m working on the Allied Brands Team which focuses on PepsiCo’s partners (like Ocean Spray and Voss Water) who independently produce/manufacture their products and then distribute/sell through PepsiCo. This is a symbiotic relationship with this arrangement because the Allied Brands benefit from PepsiCo’s nationwide presence and reach, and PepsiCo benefits from selling products that it doesn’t produce or typically sell. My particular project is oriented around an Allied Brand called Bundaberg Brewed Drinks. Before PepsiCo partnered with Bundaberg in 2017, it had never sold a craft soda. But now, PepsiCo is highly competitive in that market because of this partnership. Bundaberg’s top-selling product is ginger beer which is a premium, non-alcoholic, craft soda that is commonly used as a mixer. Regarding my project, I’ve been tasked with creating a feasible strategy to grow Bundaberg sales by 4X in the US. While this is a tall order, I am confident that I am putting together a really great pitch that I’ll present at the end of my internship. Much of my confidence can be attributed to the Ciocca Center and Holy Cross as a whole. Continue reading “Summer Internship Series: Reflecting on Certificate Experience”

June 30, 2021

Business and the History Major

“History on the Hill is a new Holy Cross newsletter published by History majors in order to highlight the range of work, experience, and reflections of history majors. It supplements the existing student-run journal, Of Life and History: The Undergraduate History Journal of the College of the Holy Cross. Professor Rupakheti, who played a pivotal role in initiating the journal, is also shepherding this new project. But, unlike the journal, History on the Hill is run by first-year and second-year students. We hope it provides opportunities for history majors to share their experience, knowledge, and reflection on various facets of their academic and non-academic life as history majors. At the same time, we also see this project serving as an information resource for the prospective majors.” – Mission statement from the first edition of the newsletter, written by Dennis Liu ’22 and Holly Tente ’23. Continue reading “Business and the History Major”

June 15, 2021

Think Like an Actress at the 16th Annual Women in Business Conference

The sixteenth annual Women in Business Conference will be held on Saturday, November 13, 2021. The student planning committee is hard at work identifying alumnae speakers, clarifying what exactly a hybrid conference looks like, and the exciting ways to engage students and alumnae from various industries and career stages. We are thrilled to be offering this year’s conference in a hybrid format to maintain the exciting geographical reach of the 2020 virtual conference as well as welcome those interested in joining us in person on the hill.

What can you look forward to? Read on for exciting announcements about the fall Women in Business conference! Continue reading “Think Like an Actress at the 16th Annual Women in Business Conference”

May 22, 2021

Women in Business Committee Thanks Senior Leadership

Many thanks to our graduating seniors for their strong leadership through the transition to virtual and for celebrating the 15th annual conference with such success. When asked to reflect on their four years on the hill, our Women in Business Conference committee seniors shared dorm memories, favorite Kimball meals and most memorable professors/courses. Please join us in thanking and congratulating our graduating committee members! From left to right: Margaret Anderson ’21, Grace Ingram ’21 & Nalani Ramos Ruiz ’21. We wish them all the successes and happiness as they transition to the next phase, and hope to welcome them back for future conferences! Continue reading “Women in Business Committee Thanks Senior Leadership”

May 21, 2021

Ciocca Center Graduates Business Certificate Program Students

61 students at the College of the Holy Cross completed the Business Certificate Program through the Ciocca Center for Business, Ethics, and Society.

We are proud of the hard work these students have done and their commitment to completing the Business Certificate Programs offered through the Ciocca Center for Business, Ethics, and Society. The liberal arts education is complemented by the experiences and skills gained through the Business Certificate Program and an excellent opportunity to connect with the alumni presenters. Each student received a pin to wear on graduation day as well as an official certificate noting this achievement.

Graduating during a pandemic is an added hurdle to securing a full-time position. We encourage all participants to stay positive and connected with the Holy Cross alumni network, faculty and staff, particularly the Center for Career Development. We are all here to help students succeed and are available as resources for you. Congratulations!

Read more to see a list of students and Business Certificate Programs. Continue reading “Ciocca Center Graduates Business Certificate Program Students”

April 26, 2021

Networking and Collaboration: WIB and Dress for Success Story

The Women in Business student organizing committee welcomed Dress for Success Worcester to their weekly meeting on April 12, 2021. The committee met with Justina Lachapelle, Beth Butler, and Nellie Philius who chatted with the group about Dress for Success’s day-to-day activities and their new ways of supporting women during the pandemic.

Following this informational review of the organization, they offered a fun and thought-provoking workshop on vision boards. The team at Dress for Success shared that they like to create a transformational experience for all the women they service where they help with resume and cover letter writing, offer tips on personal branding, and fit them for an interview suit and a week’s worth of professional attire. The women serviced have to be referred by a Dress for Success Agency Partner, such as the College, are unemployed and seeking work, or under-employed. They help women set up SMART goals, an acronym for: specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound goals that the women can work towards.

The vision board served as the perfect way for the WIB student committee to share how they are feeling in the semester and provide a space for the new members and the current members to interact in an interactive setting.

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Thanks to Nalani Ramos Ruiz ’21 for maintaining the Women in Business and Dress for Success Worcester relationship and sharing this committee experience.

April 22, 2021

Jack Browne ’22 Reflects on Alumni Network Available through the Ciocca Center

Jack Browne ‘22 is an international studies major with a concentration in Latin American Studies who is also pursuing a Certificate in Business Fundamentals through the Ciocca Center for Business, Ethics, and Society. Jack spent the past year working to complete the requirements over the course of the ongoing pandemic. The virtual workshops included alumni presenters from across the country to present industry-specific sessions and attend networking events. “One aspect of the business workshops that have been particularly helpful to my development,” starts Jack, “is how alumni are brought in to speak on their fields of expertise and their professional journey. It was very reassuring for me to connect with recent graduates during the Marketing Communications & Sales workshop who now work at PepsiCo and hear about these individuals having success in the world of business without having gone on to business school.”

“The concerted integration of Holy Cross alumni into the Business Certificate Program reinforces the reality that graduates of the school care about current Holy Cross students.” – Jack Browne ’22

The Business Certificate Programs provided by the Ciocca Center offer excellent opportunities for students to network with alumni and help kickstart their careers. With the help of hundreds of alumni across the various Business Certificate Programs, students can see that the Holy Cross liberal arts education supports a variety of career interests. Jack goes on to say, “The workshops provide students with a blueprint to learn more about industries, interact with alumni, and develop skills in professionalism that I have used firsthand to navigate interviews and internship applications.”

Jack has completed nearly all of the Certificate requirements this academic year, many of which were held virtually. He hopes to apply the knowledge gained through these experiences during an upcoming summer internship. Good luck!

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Many thanks to Conor Hatton ’22 , marketing assistant for the Ciocca Center, for interviewing and writing this student’s experience.

February 19, 2021

Student Spotlight: Nick Bettenhauser ’24

Nick Bettenhauser ’24 participated in several of the J-Term business workshops offered by the Ciocca Center towards completion of the Certificate in Business Fundamentals.

In a recent article published by The Spire, he commented that “my favorite one was Fullbridge. It started out learning the ins and outs of business including learning some calculations and definitions. My favorite part was when we were assigned a company and a group. We were to research the company, find a problem, and propose a solution. My group was assigned to Diadora, an Italian sportswear company. Being a small company our group had a hard time obtaining the financial information needed to assess Diadora but our hard work turned into some great results as we had a very successful presentation to the judges. It felt like a virtual Shark Tank.”