By Alora Peters, Editor-in-Chief
On March 1, students and employers came together for the 2023 installment of Saint Leo University’s annual Business Day.
Professors and instructors in the Tapia College of Business canceled classes to encourage their students to attend event programming throughout the day.
“We told them … ‘This is not a day off. This is a day to take advantage of opportunities,’” said Kim Payne, a visiting instructor of marketing.
The theme of this year’s Business Day was “Promoting Success and Avoiding Pitfalls,” with active participation standing out as a recurring key to success.
“Participate!” said Peter Marian, an instructor of management at Saint Leo. “We have been planning this for months. There are a lot of behind-the-scenes that goes into it, coordinating with 30 outside companies. We are doing this for our students, and, if they do not participate, why are we doing it?”
Student attendees recognized that meeting potential future employers was one of the most important parts of Business Day.
“Business Day, I feel … is a good step in the door,” said Tyler McPherson, a junior majoring in sports business.
Business Day events were geared towards helping students establish a connection with professionals.
“I’m really hoping that they [students]learned to network,” said Dr. Tonya Mazur, an assistant professor of management and chair of the Business Day planning committee. “Networking is really uncomfortable for a lot of us, and, with these events, they have the opportunity to network with real industry professionals and get some real-world experience … and learn how to get out of their comfort zone and integrate the skills they’ve learned in their classes in a real-world scenario.”
Programming throughout the day – including breakout sessions and a luncheon with potential employers – provided students with many opportunities for networking.
“When the networking luncheon was over at 1:30 p.m., there was still a room full of students and faculty and businesspeople who were still networking, which was awesome,” said Payne.
Following the luncheon, students interacted with business representatives and hiring managers during the afternoon’s Career Fair.
“It’s really cool for these companies to take time out of their day to provide for us and to also see us as investments,” said J. Paul Schellenberg, a senior majoring in business management.
Faculty in the Tapia College of Business believe their students have marketable skills that will make them attractive candidates to employers.
“I think we teach a lot of the skills necessary in the real world,” said Mazur.
Mazur emphasized the “active learning” that is incorporated into the classroom experience for Saint Leo’s business students.
“We practice handshaking. We practice elevator speeches and personal branding,” said Mazur. “I think, with our small class sizes, we can really individualize our feedback … and, by the time [students]get into that real world scenario, it has been perfected … It sets them apart from a [class]that has 150 students as opposed to a maximum of 25.”
Events like Business Day help students to practice the concepts they are learning in their courses.
“It reinforces the things we are teaching in the classroom,” said Marian. “It’s nice to hear professionals in the industry reinforce what we are teaching.”
Additionally, the planning and marketing of Business Day itself allowed students an opportunity to practice the skills they were learning in the classroom, as multiple students were involved in the event’s production as interns.
“It took a team to launch the event,” said Mazur. “There is no one person who can be credited with the success of today … I am so proud of our team.”
Business students were not the only members of the Saint Leo community who benefited from the event.
“I came out here with absolutely no expectations,” said Arielle Jacus, a sophomore majoring in social work and minoring in psychology. “My major and minor have nothing to do with business, but, at the strong recommendation of my teacher, Dr. Mazur … I came with a desire just to learn more leadership skills to apply to my major.”
Despite having a different field of study, Jacus found many of the business representatives and speakers at the event a source of inspiration for her future work.
“I’ve actually seen in a lot of the leaders that have spoken an aspect of faith in their leadership,” she said. “They do not just live out their faith life by going to church, by praying in their homes, but they make their work into their prayer … That is so beautiful, and I want to apply that to whatever career I choose.”
In conclusion, Business Day 2023 was a success in the minds of faculty, staff, employers, and students.
“I hope Saint Leo has [another]Business Day soon, and I strongly recommend any students, even if they’re not business majors or minors, to come out,” said Jacus.
