New SBA Career Day Builds Connections Between Students, Employers, and Jobs
Gaining industry-level experience in the field as an undergraduate is a hallmark of the Widener student experience. Through faculty mentorships and personalized degree plans, students build tracks to their dream careers.
Along the way, they have access to unique opportunities, like the School of Business Administration’s (SBA) new Career Day, to put coursework into practice and build a professional network before earning a degree.
The inaugural SBA Career Day, which debuted as a major event at Widener’s 2021 Homecoming celebration, welcomed students, faculty, alumni, and industry experts to campus. Business professionals came from leading companies including the Philadelphia Phillies, IBM Federal, TD Bank, and PwC, within the PricewaterhouseCoopers network. Students had the opportunity to engage with experts in a series of sessions that covered leading topics from sports management analytics to cryptocurrency to startups.
Whether you’re a student or panelist, Anthony Wheeler, dean of SBA, says the event is a career-building incubator for everyone.
This is a great opportunity for us to show our alumni, students, and corporate partners that this event is a place where you can find a new employee, or get a new job. Once you graduate from here, or even if you never graduated from here, Widener is a place where you can find value.” — Anthony Wheeler, dean of the School of Business Administration
Juniors David Fletcher and Joseph Mastrobuoni found tremendous value in the in-person networking.
“I’ve met people throughout this entire event that made me see a different view of what it’s like out in the field,” said Mastrobuoni.
Fletcher added that through the entire experience “we’re making connections with [students] as well as people already in the workforce [that] give us opportunities for when we graduate, or even before we graduate, to start something.”
Hearing from former students who used their education and experience to become successful business professionals showed Mastrobuoni where his Widener track could take him.
“It gives us more motivation for our future,” Mastrobuoni added.
Among participating alumni was Jill Alspach ’14 who spoke on a panel focusing on business startups. In addition to sharing her experience and insights, the MBA graduate, who now works as managing partner at Spock Logistics, wanted to instill in students the value of attending and learning from such events.
This is the easiest way to get new ideas, learn something new that’s outside of the classroom, and network. It’s all about who you meet and how you can make that impression" — Jill Alspach '14
Judah Woodard, who aspires to start his own business, attended Alspach’s panel. The sophomore business major walked away not only with a broader professional network, but one-on-one guidance on how to bring his entrepreneurial ideas to fruition.
“I liked how they were able to answer our questions and give me advice on my sneaker business,” Woodard said.
According to Wheeler, that level of attention and the individualized approach reflects SBA’s and the university’s commitment to individuals’ – not just students’ – success.
“We continue to take your success personally, no matter where you are,” Wheeler said.