Holy Cross – Page 7 – Ciocca Center for Business, Ethics, and Society Blog

February 19, 2020

Women in Business Volunteers at National Organization

Earlier this month, members of the Women in Business student committee spent a morning at Dress for Success Worcester. Dress for Success is a non-profit national organization dedicated to promoting female financial independence and career achievement by providing free professional clothing to wear in the workplace and to job interviews. In addition to providing clothing, the organization also assists women with resume building and interview preparation to increase their chances of being hired.

WIB committee members volunteered at the Worcester branch where they organized, steamed, and polished clothing and shoe donations. We were also able to learn more about what the organization does for the women it supports and opportunities to further get involved. We learned various helpful career and resume tips from Dress for Success staff members. For example, Justina Lachapelle and Beth Butler, executive director and program director respectively, explained the difference between branding and marketing and how understanding the distinction between the two can be important when developing your own personal brand for purposes such as job interviews.

Spending the morning with Dress for Success was a great way to bring in the new committee members and to better get to know one another outside of our weekly meetings. It was a great opportunity to give back to an organization that does so much to support female empowerment in the professional world.

As a committee, we are currently working to plan the 15th annual Holy Cross Women in Business Conference which will take place on campus Saturday, November 7th, 2020. We have confirmed our morning keynote alumna speaker (stay tuned for an announcement!) and are planning plenty of new programming and surprises! I hope you will celebrate 15 years with us!

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Thanks to Grace Ingram ’20, WIB Committee Co-Chair, for sharing her experience. We look forward to the 15th annual conference this fall!

November 27, 2019

The HC Student Investment Fund Competes in Michigan

Left to Right: Jack McConville ‘20, Liam Busconi ‘21, LJ Foley ‘21, Maggie Burd ‘20 & Jack Mucci ‘21

Five students in the Holy Cross Student Investment Fund (HC SIF) competed at the annual ENGAGE, Annual Undergraduate Investment Conference in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The two-day event, October 18-19 of 2019, consisted of various panels, speakers and nearly 30 schools, including Texas, Notre Dame, Virginia, Elon, Washington University. HCSIF pitched AT&T based on broader macroeconomic themes and a thesis on future company transition influenced by an activist investor letter, a thesis eventually proven true in the short term by the market. You can view their pitch deck here: AT&T Engage Undergraduate Investment Pitch.

This spring the student group plans to compete in CQA, a virtual portfolio competition, as well as at the annual UMASS Isenberg Stock Pitch Competition. Additionally, the group plans to visit alumni in Boston and NYC for site visits and alumni networking opportunities. Stay tuned!

November 22, 2019

Insightful Interview with Ted Lynch 84

Interested in finance? Take a listen to an interview by Leif Johnson ’21 withTed Lynch ’84. Leif first met Ted, Managing Director at Bank of America, during the annual spring Corporate Finance & Banking Workshop in Boston. Ted has been a great mentor for many students, including Leif, and he is eager to share new opportunities with Holy Cross students.

“Holy Cross will teach you to think critically and persuasively, no matter your major.” – Ted Lynch ’84

Leif Johnson ’21 and Ted Lynch ’84 at a Holy Cross event.

Continue reading “Insightful Interview with Ted Lynch 84”

October 15, 2019

Alumna Spotlight: Seton McFarland ’16

Seton McFarland ’16, second from right, on an alumni panel at UBS.

Alumna: Seton McFarland ’16
Major: Accounting
Profession: Analyst, UBS

Who/What inspired you to enter the business world? Both of my parents worked in business, so I definitely gravitated to what I was familiar with coming out of college. Within the business world, I chose to enter into the financial services industry because it complemented my strong interest in economics. Continue reading “Alumna Spotlight: Seton McFarland ’16”

September 1, 2019

Ciocca Center Intern: Leif Johnson ’21

Each semester the Ciocca Center hires a new intern to complement the Academic Internship Program through the JD Power Center on campus. Partnering again with Prof. Dan Ricciardi’s course offering, Leif Johnson ’21 is currently enrolled in “Managing Business in Society” and is interviewing alumni to show how a Jesuit liberal arts degree is an excellent foundation for a career in business. Check out his fall alumni interviews:

STUDENTS: Interested in the internship? View the description and consider applying next semester.

ALUMNI: Interested in being interviewed? Reach out to business@holycross.edu

August 20, 2019

Summer Internship Reflection: Nalani Ramos Ruiz ’21

My name is Nalani Ramos Ruiz ’21, double majoring in Sociology and Psychology with a concentration in Latin American, Latinx, and Caribbean Studies. 2019 marks my sixth year with Raytheon Company and my second summer as a college intern. In addition to creating valuable connections, my education at Notre Dame Cristo Rey High School and years at the College of the Holy Cross, involvement with the Ciocca Center Business Certificate Program, and experience on the Women in Business Planning Committee have all helped me to succeed in a company focused on the defense industry and the protection of our war fighters. Continue reading “Summer Internship Reflection: Nalani Ramos Ruiz ’21”

August 4, 2019

Startup Spotlight: Matt Gasparrini ’20

I have always had new ideas. Along with those ideas comes with the excitement of trying something new, of creating something novel. Most of my ideas (even my best ideas) … are garbage. They wouldn’t make it in the real world. They wouldn’t succeed outside of my own head. Because at the end of the day, nobody has room in their kitchen for an English muffin separator or fireplace tools with a built-in vacuum. My latest idea was the least glamorous of them all. A dog food company. The dog food idea was inspired by my own dog Gracie. Gracie had boring kibble every single day, she was also sick a lot of the time too. I fed her kibble because it’s what everyone feeds their dogs and because it was cheap. It turns out that kibble was making Gracie sick. I had heard about homemade dog food and gave it a try. On the homemade diet, Gracie had more energy, a shinier coat, and was overall healthier. I looked for similar fresh dog food on the market and found only very expensive products that used expensive ingredients. I knew that feeding a fresh, homemade dog food was simply better for the overall health of the dog. I decided to create a dog food with simple, inexpensive ingredients. Continue reading “Startup Spotlight: Matt Gasparrini ’20”

July 8, 2019

Holy Cross Student Investment Fund Gains Traction

The HC Student Investment Club (HCSIF), is set to begin it’s third year this fall through the Ciocca Center for Business, Ethics, and Society. The goal of HCSIF is for students of all majors and class years to gain experience in the fields of asset valuation, equity research and portfolio management with the Bloomberg Terminal on campus. And as of last week, the students also have access to Capital IQ, an investment analysis tool used to inform investment strategies.

Students are taking the initiative to immerse themselves to gain technical skills and access to the alumni network and all of the hard work seems to be paying off as students are landing internships and full-time jobs. Co-founders, Andrew Smith ’19 and Sean Manning ’19, have secured employment at Goldman Sachs and Raytheon respectively, and the three new student leaders are interning at the following firms this summer.

2019-2020 Holy Cross Student Investment Fund Leaders

John McConville ’20: Equity Research Analyst, CTMA
Margaret Burd ’20: Securities Division Summer Analyst, Goldman Sachs
John Boyd ’21: Summer Analyst, inspire11

HCSIF March 2019 Isenberg Pitch Competition Winners

Continue reading “Holy Cross Student Investment Fund Gains Traction”

May 23, 2019

Holy Cross Graduates 46 Business Certificate Program Recipients

Established in 2006 with limited offerings for students to explore business at Holy Cross, the office was recently named the Ciocca Center for Business, Ethics, and Society. Parents, students and alumni alike have found the Center’s experiential learning opportunities to be a valuable addition to the liberal arts education and student interest in these business certificate programs is booming. As of the spring 2019 semester, there are more than 470 students participating, and they come from all majors. Enrollment in the workshop about supply chain management doubled from 2017 to 2018, from 20 to more than 40 students. The workshop on business ethics and principled leadership had so many students enroll that Prof. David Chu, Director and Prebusiness Advisor, hopes to offer multiple sessions in the future.

“With the center, we’re going to be able to significantly expand opportunities to meet student demand. The purpose of the center is to provide students with multiple pathways to learn about business — pathways that can complement any major in the curriculum. We don’t try to replicate a business school curriculum; we take a distinctively liberal arts approach” Chu comments.

Today, the Ciocca Center is proud to graduate 46 students from the Business Certificate Programs. See a list of students below. Continue reading “Holy Cross Graduates 46 Business Certificate Program Recipients”

May 6, 2019

Ciocca Center Offers Alumni-led Tutorial

Classroom

This spring semester the Ciocca Center offered a new course through the Academic Internship Program. Professor David Chu, Director of the Certificate Programs and Prebusiness Advisor at Holy Cross, partnered with Katharine Quigley ’13, Digital Marketing Manager at Centage, to teach an Introduction to Online Marketing tutorial.

Complementing the Ciocca Center’s mission to connect the liberal arts to the job market, this new tutorial covered introductory marketing content through various readings and in-depth discussions with a focus on the Google Ads Platform. The five students then applied this to the design, implementation and assessment of an actual online marketing campaign for a non-profit, West Seattle Junction.

“A strong liberal arts education prepared me for an ever-changing digital marketing landscape.” starts Katharine. “It was rewarding to help current Holy Cross students learn new digital marketing concepts and vocabulary, and then see them pair those tools with their existing critical thinking and leadership skills to make a real impact on a nonprofit client.”

Thank you to Katharine for reaching out and offering to work with students on this technical topic. She worked with Professor Chu to identify readings, design a syllabus and spent every Wednesday night on campus working with students interested in a career in marketing communications.

Who were the lucky students involved? 18 students applied for this opportunity and only five were selected: Joe Egan ’19, Tim Haemmerle ’19, Olivia Lozy ’20, Lilly Puccia ’19 and Madeline Thero ’19.

UPDATE: Each of the students involved won a “Top Marketer Certificate” from Google! The award is based on successful completion of the Google Ad Grants Online Marketing Challenge, passing the Google Ads Fundamentals Assessment, and a positive client experience survey rating from their nonprofit. Congratulations on the excellent work!