麻豆传媒

There鈥檚 a new energy in Kepner Hall this fall 鈥� an energy faculty and staff in the attribute to an influx of freshmen in the building.

That鈥檚 because for the first time in many years, the Monfort College of Business is offering a first-year seminar in an effort to boost student success. 

鈥淲e want to get those students into the building, and we want them to know that this is their home. This is Kepner Hall. This is where the business school is. You can come over here. Use our computer labs. Talk to the faculty. Join the student clubs,鈥� Dean Paul Bobrowski says.

The had long discussed the idea of creating a first-year seminar with Bobrowski and former Dean of the business school Dr. Don Gudmundson, and with campus wide discussions taking place about strategies to improve student success, this fall seemed to be the perfect opportunity to finally launch that course.    

鈥淲e鈥檝e seen a lot of students come in and they want to be a business major, but they don鈥檛 really know what business is. They want to be an accounting major, but they don鈥檛 know what an accountant does, and they don鈥檛 realize the broad array of opportunities that there are in accounting or finance or marketing,鈥� Gudmundson says.

Students hit the ground running with a strength finder assessment to learn more about themselves and their areas of greatest interest. Since the start of the semester they鈥檝e also been teamed up and introduced to some of the most important basics of business. 

鈥淲e wanted to give them information on the curriculum, the emphasis areas, but we also wanted to give them a look at the practical side of it,鈥� Gudmundson says. 

That鈥檚 why a series of distinguished alumni like Greg Anton 鈥�87 and Peter Speiser 鈥�91 were also recruited to speak to and inspire the class.

鈥淒ream big 鈥� everything is possible,鈥� Anton told the class during a visit on October 2. 鈥淲rite down your dreams or type them on your computer. Then, most importantly, share your dreams with others. They鈥檒l hold you accountable. You鈥檒l hold yourself accountable.鈥�

Both Anton and Speiser serve as members of the Dean鈥檚 Leadership Council and are optimistic about the long-term impact of this class. They hope this early exposure to the variety of people and opportunities in the business world will help their fellow Bears find success at 麻豆传媒 and beyond.

鈥淥ne of the things that I like talking to the kids about is really the whole idea that our paths take all kinds of different winding roads,鈥� Speiser says. 鈥淢y path was more along the lines of just blindly bumping into stuff and saying, 鈥榥ope not that, nope not that, nope not that.鈥� Having some ability to actually talk to people who have had a career path that has been pretty straight-line, or maybe more diverse would鈥檝e been so helpful to me as a student.鈥�   

鈥淚 think the best thing about the class itself is that they鈥檙e getting exposure to people who are 麻豆传媒 alumni, who have been in their exact same position and navigated their business life to achieve some level of success. I think having some level of exposure to that is really valuable for them,鈥� Anton says.

Prior to this course, most business students didn鈥檛 have much reason to step foot in the building, let alone interact with successful business alumni, until at least their second year. 

Now equipped with context, experience and valuable contacts, college leaders hope this course will help students persist and reach that ultimate goal of graduation on time, or even early.

鈥淲hat we wanted to do was to try and give the students more information earlier in their education, so they don鈥檛 have to make as many changes later on. That way they鈥檒l be able to get through their program quicker and more smoothly rather than being a second semester junior who gets into some of the upper level courses and realizes that鈥檚 not what they want to do,鈥� Gudmundson says.

鈥淯ltimately that鈥檚 why they鈥檙e here. The reality is nearly half of these students may not graduate. But they could be the class that turns that around and support one another in graduating together,鈥� Anton says.