My name is Maeley Nakamura and I am a freshman at the College of the Holy Cross. I plan to declare economics as my major, and I am also pursuing Certificates in Business Fundamentals and Entrepreneurship through the Ciocca Center for Business, Ethics, and Society.
The Ciocca Center offers students opportunities to successfully incorporate a business education into any Holy Cross major through workshops, events, and clubs. For me, the Ciocca Center presents an incredible opportunity to combine critical business skills and experience, with Holy Cross’ well-rounded liberal arts education, which will help me ethically contribute to society and focus on more than just the bottom line.
For me, the Ciocca Center presents an incredible opportunity to combine critical business skills and experience, with Holy Cross’ well-rounded liberal arts education, that will help me ethically contribute to society and focus on more than just the bottom line.
Participating in the Fullbridge Professional Edge at Holy Cross Program is the first step to earning any of the business certificates. Fullbridge is a world-leading education technology company that has partnered with Holy Cross to help students augment their course knowledge with simulated business projects and teamwork through a simulated workweek. This program provides real-world experience and helps students prepare for internships and jobs. Fullbridge organizes an exciting competition where students form a team, conduct data analysis, develop a business plan to increase a company’s revenue, and present a sales pitch to a panel of business professionals.
In January 2023, my team project was actively engaged in the development of recommendations for our client, The North Face, where I learned effective business approaches, and directly applied them to our team’s sales pitch. Our growth idea was an opportunity to improve their revenue and diversify their offerings.
I was beyond lucky to be on a team that created an environment filled with encouragement and hard work. They provided me with a lesson in self-awareness where I had to effectively apply my own talents, unique personality traits, and work habits with my other team members. I determined how to make my identity fit into the workplace and help my team, as well as how to highlight those skill sets when it comes time to interview for an internship or job. During different exercises, we learned to look into every aspect of business (financial, creative, presentation development, and public speaking) to support our clients as well as take risks and look for new ways to help them achieve their objectives.
I also found that business is a broad environment to work in and that it is critical to determine exactly what I find engaging in business so that I can focus my efforts. For instance, I want to learn more about marketing and further develop my public speaking skills. The Fullbridge program goes hand in hand with Holy Cross’ liberal arts education because it demonstrates the benefit of being a well-rounded business person. Beyond that, the Fullbridge program is especially effective in acknowledging that many of the world’s future business opportunities and work activities may not yet exist and that innovation, focus on fundamentals, and flexibility will allow us to become more creative and succeed.
Want to learn more? Join me for an info session where you will have the chance to win $100 off program tuition! See you there!
Event Details:
Fullbridge Professional Edge Info Session
Tuesday, March 21, 2023 @8:00-8:30pm on Zoom
Details via Handshake
