students – Page 4 – Ciocca Center for Business, Ethics, and Society Blog

May 2, 2022

Open Letter to Business Certificate Program Graduates

Dear Business Certificate Program graduates,

Congratulations! After years of workshops, tutorials, internships, coursework, and job shadowing experiences, we are proud to name you as a graduate of the Ciocca Center for Business, Ethics, and Society at the College of the Holy Cross.

As a graduate, you are among a select group of students who will be receiving a Certificate in Business Fundamentals, Certificate in Entrepreneurship, and/or Certificate in Finance & Banking.

While others were vacationing, you had decided to immerse yourself in business, expose yourself to new concepts, build transferable skill sets, and network with successful alumni in the field. This dedication has made all the difference. Your liberal arts education from Holy Cross has equipped you with the skills to communicate effectively, problem solve, and think critically – the soft skills you can’t learn on the job. To complement this, your business certificate will be a differentiator in the job market and has provided you with competitive technical skills. Take this opportunity to appreciate all that you have accomplished.

The journey from Holy Cross is a shared experience – past, present and future. Much like the time you spent with alumni professionals, our hope is to one day welcome you back to campus to speak with current students. Your story will be one others can relate to because you have chosen to achieve both your academic interests and unique career goals. We are extremely proud of you and your pursuits, and wish you the best as you embark on your next journey!

Please be sure to stop in Stein 129E to pick up your hard copy certificate, graduation pin and say farewell.

Congratulations again on this tremendous achievement and please stay in touch,

Prof. David Chu, Cassie Gevry, Prof. Ja-Naé Duane & Kathy Kinnarney
Ciocca Center for Business, Ethics, and Society Continue reading “Open Letter to Business Certificate Program Graduates”

April 25, 2022

Prof. Chu Reflects on Career at Holy Cross

Group of students with Prof. Chu — Prof. Chu with participants of the 2011 Summer Business Program.

Conor Joslin ’23, the student intern for the Ciocca Center for Business, Ethics, and Society, interviewed Prof. David Chu upon hearing about his retirement at the end of the current academic year.

CJ: Let’s start with a little background about your pre-Holy Cross life.

DC: I grew up in Hong Kong and came over to the United States for college. I went to a small college called Anderson College, where there were 2,000 undergraduate students. Anderson College is a liberal arts institution and I majored in accounting and business, which enabled me to study accounting and business while fulfilling all of the liberal arts requirements; so I had a very well rounded education. Then I went to graduate school at Indiana University in Bloomington where I got my MBA and went on to get a PHD. I then taught at Indiana University while my wife was finishing up her medical training. After that, we decided to look around, and Holy Cross offered me a position, which I was very thankful for. My wife also got a job at what was then called the Fallon Clinic, and we moved out here. I started in the fall of 1991, and it has been a great career since.

CJ: What are your roles and responsibilities as the director of the Ciocca Center? What are the more challenging aspects of your job? Continue reading “Prof. Chu Reflects on Career at Holy Cross”

January 30, 2022

Winter 2022 Offers Second Chance to Participate in Business Remotely

Students found a second chance to participate in virtual winter programming during yet another year of an ongoing pandemic. Once again, the Ciocca Center for Business, Ethics, and Society offered five workshops for remote student participation.

Virtual opportunities to explore business over winter break included Fullbridge Professional Edge at Holy Cross, Corporate Finance & Banking, Marketing Communications & Sales, Interview Prep, and Business Strategy & Innovation. Many of the students participated in more than one opportunity as they worked towards Business Certificate Program completion.

100+ alumni from around the world and nearly 200 students from all four class years participated in the exploration of business. Students were eager to share their stories via Instagram takeovers ahead of their return to campus for the academic semester. Read on to read some key takeaways from current students:

Alice Russo ’22, mathematics and economics major, pursuing the Certificate in Finance & Banking quoted Bill Cole ’07 during an asset management session. She shared his advice to “invest in your network” and enjoyed the opportunity to connect with alumni with “at least two if not ten alumni, which was incredible, so willing to help and connect and offer advice. ”

Molly Skoglund ’22, economics major, business, ethics and society minor, pursuing a Business Fundamentals Certificate, reflected on her experience in the Interview Prep workshop. She built her unique personal brand with Mimi Doherty ’02, practiced interview skills with Ben Cannon of Career Development, and is inspired to make career choices that make her happy with the advice received from Patty Carfora ’01.

Thanks to students for your understanding, alumni for your support, and Holy Cross for keeping the community safe. Cheers to 2022!

November 17, 2021

16th Annual Women in Business Conference

The 16th annual Women in Business conference featured energizing speakers, breakout discussions and live networking opportunities hosted virtually and on campus.

Drawing hundreds of participants from across the country and beyond, this year’s Women in Business conference followed a hybrid model, with on-campus and virtual events, including dynamic speakers, industry-specific breakout discussions and networking opportunities via the Whova app and Zoom.

“This year students were able to create community together on campus while alumnae were able to join virtually, allowing us to stay safe while also creating meaningful connections and lasting memories,” said Cassie Gevry, Associate Director for the Ciocca Center for Business, Ethics, and Society. “We look forward to bringing the community together again while still offering the virtual option to welcome everyone to contribute to the important conversations and support each other.”

Read more in the newsroom: NBA’s Kate Jhaveri ’95 Talks Leadership, Careers at 16th Annual Women in Business Conference
Watch the keynote address on YouTube

November 10, 2021

Pothos Project Expands

The fall 2021 Pothos Project was another collaboration with the Sustainability Office at the College. The second iteration of the program boasts one faculty member, two teacher’s assistants, four Worcester businesses, six alumni, and 18 students!

New this time around was a career session held by three alumni at Mercer, a consulting firm focused on healthcare, to help students explore opportunities, understand the application process and recruiting timelines.

In addition, students were partnered with local Worcester businesses including TidePool Bookstore, Glazy Susan Donuts, K Sense Co., and the Holy Cross Athletics Office.

Esmeralda Garcia ’24 shares her experience with the Pothos Project on the Sustainability Blog.

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”

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 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.