Twenty students wrap up first Summer Business Program

Fort Worth, TX

6/23/2006

Twenty college students moved from no business knowledge to confidence in their careers during the inaugural Summer Business Program at TCU. For four weeks, these non-business majors gained a new perspective on how business skills give you confidence and increase your marketability in any career.

“I learned to manage myself in any business and be comfortable with whatever workload they give me,” said Grant Sawyer, a senior psychology major. “I always thought about starting my own business someday, and now I feel that is within reach.”

“I knew nothing about business,” said senior history major Peter Healey. “This enabled me to converse like a professional and open doors to finding success.” Healy is now considering getting his MBA at the TCU Neeley School, as is another senior history major, Matt Gamble, who discovered an interest in international business.

Caleb Willis, a ’05 graduate of Texas A&M, said the Summer Business Program helped him see how important it is to have a good business sense in all that he does.

The Summer Business Program began with a team-building challenge course, then included classes on marketing, accounting, supply chain, finance, ethics, global business, PowerPoint, leadership, information management, strategy, entrepreneurship, business law, and economics.

Luke Shelton, a senior majoring in criminal justice, said, “I learned more about accounting in three days then I did in three years of school.”

Several students remarked that they enjoyed learning about marketing and the global aspect of business.

“As a liberal arts major, it proved to me that business can be fun. It really opened my eyes to the possibilities,” commented Steve Newton, a senior studying history and religion.

Erika Flukinger, a 2006 graduate in math and psychology, enjoyed the experience so much that she decided not only to pursue an MBA, she got a job in the Neeley School’s MBA Admissions office.

The students took field trips to DFW Airport, the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Mrs. Baird’s Bakeries, Ben E. Keith Foods, GM Assembly Plant, and the Federal Mint. They also heard from business professionals in advertising, retail, internet, entrepreneurship, nonprofit, professional HR management, a panel of MBA graduates, and staff from the Neeley School of Business.

“The class was much more than I thought it would be, in an awesome way. Everyone should take this,” said Alexis Foster, a senior majoring in economics and philosophy.

Eric Genova, an electrical engineering student at Villanova University in Pennsylvania, added, “I am happy I was accepted into the program and participated in the Summer Business Program. I had a blast at TCU and really felt like I walked away much more knowledgeable.”

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