Recently the VU MBA program sponsored 3 MBA students to attend the National Black MBA conference in Atlanta. This is the first time that Valpo has sent students to this conference. MBA/JD student, Shantae Landingham, “really enjoyed attending the fair. The best aspect was the career fair as well as access to top employers.” Shantae said that she “Chose to attend the fair as a way to both network as well as job search.”
Shantae’s experience was very successful and she left with seven interviews, primarily in the tax planning and financial consulting industries which is her primary focus. Shantae also told us that this was the “Best conference I’ve attended.”
MBA student Sjeonshal Cherry also attended the National Black MBA Conference. While Sjeonshal is happily employed, she saw the value in attending, saying, “This was a good networking opportunity to rub shoulders with other MBAs, to feel out the job market; and see other what the employer trends are.” Because she has a job, she was checking out the competition and looking at how companies are assessing job candidates.
“They are looking for students who are working or have experience; especially those who work and go to school.”
Sjeonshal attended several workshops including, “public speaking for profit, LinkedIn, as well as other workshops called, “What just Happened,” regarding innovation and “Management Leadership for tomorrow.”
While the students were able to increase their knowledgebase by attending the conference, they were also able to see areas in which Valpo can become more involved. Suggestions for how VU can participate in the conference more include:
- Case competitions
- Attend conference as school; have a table and network with employeers
- Send professors to host workshops to promote Valpo
- Send more students to host and speak at booth
Next years conference will be held in Indianapolis and the University is already planning on becoming involved with the different activities offered during the weekend.
For more information about the Valpo MBA, please contact Cindy.Scanlan@valpo.edu or call 219)465-7952. For more information about the National Black MBA Conference, please visit: http://www.nbmbaa.org/
