Business Certificate Opportunities: Past & Future

By Mackenzie Madden '22

Before heading back to the Hill, 187 motivated students participated in five concurrent virtual business workshops. The week of January 18-22 was led by 70 experienced alumni presenters and mentors across a variety of areas and disciplines. Our students left with greater knowledge and expertise thanks to our generous presenters. A large group of students participated in the Corporate Finance and Banking workshop, virtually touring banks and learning about the application process to top corporate finance, banking and asset management firms. Others participated in the Business Strategy and Innovation workshop, exploring a practical approach to strategy and innovation by diving into the case materials of four large corporations. Over 100 students took part in the Interview Prep workshop, which prepared students for interviews by working on their elevator pitch and practicing other interview skills. The Marketing, Communications, and Sales workshop provided students exposure to advertising, marketing, sales, and public relations. Teams participated in the PepsiCo challenge, each tasked with bringing SodaStream to campus for individual use. A special congratulation to the teams with the best long and short-term marketing plans, securing them each a SodaStream machine! Congratulations to the PepsiCo Challenge Winners:

Margaux Dowdle ‘23, Garrett Flynn ‘23, William Frost ‘22, Grace Kelly ‘22, Kelsey Minister ‘24, Margaret Mitchell ‘22, Molly O’Hara ‘23, Paul Pardo Cota ‘22, Aidan Sullivan ‘23 & Fiona Walsh ‘23

Fullbridge Professional Edge was back this January with students working throughout the week in teams, culminating with final projects demonstrating their growth in the basics of business. Congratulations to the following members of Team Under Armour, who received the top price of a $300 Apple Gift Card! Congratulations to the Fullbridge Professional Edge Program Winners:

John Fallon ‘24, Luke Hoeing ‘25, Madeline Morton ‘25 & Ellen O’Leary ‘25

Many of the students participated in more than one opportunity as they worked towards Business Certificate Program completion, including the month-long Excel Tutorial offered over January. The skills and experience they gained over winter break are great additions to their resume. Register for a Certificate at www.holyross.edu/business.

Not sure what to do over spring break? Consider participating in the first ever Celonis boot camp at Holy Cross. Focused on process mining, students will gather virtually to work on real-world problems using an analytical discipline for discovering, monitoring, and improving business processes. This will be held over spring break, March 7-9, with Bill Martin ’92, strategic account executive at Celonis. Watch for registration details from the Ciocca Center.

Entrepreneurship Week / March 25 - April 1: “Students can look forward to endless opportunities of networking with entrepreneurial alumni, in addition to getting resources and funding to improve or progress their business” shares Mary Anne Wiley ‘22, managing director of the student incubator. “HC Launch has multiple events hosted throughout the school year which allows students to exhibit and display their entrepreneurial spirit. Most of these events have cash prizes which our students can utilize to improve their business.” Join us for Entrepreneurship Week, March 25 - April 1, kicking off with the Innovation Challenge and concluding with the annual Shark Tank competition.

Ethics Workshops: The three business certificate programs all require an ethics component to help facilitate important conversations regarding leadership, authority, ethics, and legal issues within the corporate world. Learning through case-study discussion, accomplished alumni lead students through difficult conversations and reflection of their own moral compass. Join us this spring and register by March 24.