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

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.”

February 10, 2021

How Entrepreneurial Thinking is Preparing Holy Cross Students to Wrestle With Problems of the Future

When Ja-Naé Duane introduces entrepreneurship to students at the College of the Holy Cross, she doesn’t start by talking about business ideas, product development or marketing strategy. Rather, she tells students: “Pick a problem.”

As head of the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Program within the Ciocca Center for Business, Ethics, and Society at Holy Cross, Duane encourages students to work on solutions only after they’ve wrestled with complex, global problems. For example: “Why don’t we have fresh water in all parts of the world? And what are the potential causes for the water wars that have started to exist?”

Duane, an entrepreneur herself, explains: “A true ethical leader needs to look at all sides and as many perspectives as possible in order to build something that is not only sustainable, but is also sustainably good for humanity.”

The Entrepreneurship and Innovation Program is one of many initiatives within the Ciocca Center, which combines the power of a liberal arts education with experiential learning to shape the next generation of ethical leaders and critical thinkers — and has offerings open to students from all class years and majors.

One way students are getting that hands-on entrepreneurial experience is by running their own incubator, HC Launch. Using a holistic approach, the incubator focuses on bringing students’ business ideas to life.

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.”

January 21, 2021

Caroline Quinn ’22 Shares Virtual Fullbridge Program Experience

My name is Caroline Quinn ‘22. I am a junior at Holy Cross, majoring in International Studies and working towards a Certificate in Business Fundamentals through the Ciocca Center for Business, Ethics, and Society.

In August 2020 I participated in the Fulbridge Professional Edge Program. This four-day-long intensive virtual program is designed to help prepare Holy Cross students for the business world by connecting the liberal arts to the working world. Speaking from my experience, Fullbridge did that and so much more. I was among the first group of students to participate in this program remotely. I logged onto the platform on the first day of the program, and I was surprised by how hands-on and engaging the Fullbridge team was. I could tell right off the bat that the coaches were so excited to be there, and that energy was contagious! Continue reading “Caroline Quinn ’22 Shares Virtual Fullbridge Program Experience”

September 16, 2020

Advisors Give BES Minor Application Advice

More than 40 students tuned in on September 15th for the Business, Ethics, and Society (BES) minor application workshop. The BES Team worked with the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies (CIS) to develop the workshop in response to the high levels of student interest in the minor. As Professor Hess said, “We wanted the students to understand how the minor works, and to have a chance to explore the many different opportunities it can provide.” Continue reading “Advisors Give BES Minor Application Advice”

August 30, 2020

The Summer of Entrepreneurship …and Beyond!

What does it take to launch a startup and keep it running? Students had two opportunities during summer 2020 to explore the step-by-step process of starting a business and the strength of businesses that develop strategies and innovate. “Our Entrepreneurship workshop starts where every business should start: with building you as a leader and cultivating your skillset,” shares Ja-Naé Duane, entrepreneur-in-residence at Holy Cross. “From there, we dive into the factors that impact starting a business and showcase stories of businesses to illustrate that there is no one way to start or grow a business.”

If you’re interested in pursuing the Certificate in Entrepreneurship, both of the following workshops count so consider registering for a future offering!

Continue reading “The Summer of Entrepreneurship …and Beyond!”

June 15, 2020

Business, Ethics & Society Minor Announces First Class of Students

We’ve just hit a big milestone for the minor in Business, Ethics & Society (BES), and unlike much else that’s going on in the world, it’s good news! So I’m interrupting your summer to tell you about it.

As you probably know, BES isn’t a traditional business minor. While it certainly includes plenty of practical components, it’s about much more than learning how to “do business” or how to get a job in business. BES is about what it means to do business, and what it might look like to do it well — for each of us individuals, and for all of us together. To be able to develop your own ideas about that, you have to know things about business, and about society, and about doing well. What does it look like, and what does it take, for each of us and all of us to “do well”? To flourish? And what can business contribute? It’s a demanding course of study and a selective process, but I am delighted to announce that we have just admitted our first students.

I am proud to introduce our first cohort, from the Class of 2022! Read on to see a list of names and projects. Continue reading “Business, Ethics & Society Minor Announces First Class of Students”