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Conor Joslin ’23 Facilitates Alumni Panel for Club Hockey 

Club Hockey Team

On Wednesday, March 30, 2022, the Holy Cross Club Hockey team hosted the first-ever Club Hockey alumni panel coordinated by Conor Joslin ’23, intern for the Ciocca Center.

We are so fortunate that Joe Darcy ‘11, economics major, and Matthew Krebs ‘11, political science major, took the time to meet with current Club Hockey players to share their Holy Cross experience and careers in business. Both alumni speakers emphasized the importance of networking and connecting with fellow Holy Cross alumni to achieve success in the business world. Darcy is currently an Investor at IDEA Fund Partners and Krebs is a Director of Operations at Garrison Investment Group. Both provided current players with valuable feedback in regards to using your liberal arts education to your advantage, as it differentiates Holy Cross students from other applicants. By attending a liberal arts education like Holy Cross, students learn to communicate, read, write, analyze, present, and critically think at a very high level that other large business school students may not learn. Furthermore, they talked about the importance of networking and utilizing the Holy Cross alumni network. Holy Cross alumni love helping current students, so it is extremely important to put yourself out there and introduce yourself to multiple alumni.   Continue reading “Conor Joslin ’23 Facilitates Alumni Panel for Club Hockey “
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Ciocca Intern: Conor Joslin ’23

Male headshot

My name is Conor Joslin and I am currently a junior at Holy Cross majoring in Political Science while pursuing a Certificate in Business Fundamentals.

This semester, I am interning at the Ciocca Center for Business, Ethics and Society while taking the course Business of Sport with Doctor Robert Prior as a part of the Academic Internship Program, a requirement for the Business Certificate Program.

Throughout this semester I will be connecting and interviewing various Holy Cross alumni to learn about different career paths and how each used their liberal arts education to succeed in the business world.  Through the Business Certificate Program at Holy Cross, the multiple workshops I have completed, and the variety of clubs, there is such a vast network of successful alumni that I am eager to connect with. On a more personal level, I am very interested in the sales industry, along with some interest in real estate, which is why I am so fortunate for this opportunity to connect with so many brilliant alumni and learn about different career paths.

Take a look at these interviews by Conor! 
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Winter 2022 Offers Second Chance to Participate in Business Remotely

 

Zoom screen of participants with thumbs up.

Students found a second chance to participate in virtual winter programming during yet another year of an ongoing pandemic. Once again, the Ciocca Center for Business, Ethics, and Society offered five workshops for remote student participation.

Virtual opportunities to explore business over winter break included Fullbridge Professional Edge at Holy Cross, Corporate Finance & Banking, Marketing Communications & Sales, Interview Prep, and Business Strategy & Innovation.  Many of the students participated in more than one opportunity as they worked towards Business Certificate Program completion.

100+ alumni from around the world and nearly 200 students from all four class years participated in the exploration of business.  Students were eager to share their stories via Instagram takeovers ahead of their return to campus for the academic semester.  Read on to read some key takeaways from current students:

Alice Russo ’22, mathematics and economics major, pursuing the Certificate in Finance & Banking quoted Bill Cole ’07 during an asset management session.  She shared his advice to “invest in your network” and enjoyed the opportunity to connect with alumni with “at least two if not ten alumni, which was incredible, so willing to help and connect and offer advice. ”

Molly Skoglund ’22, economics major, business, ethics and society minor, pursuing a Business Fundamentals Certificate, reflected on her experience in the Interview Prep workshop.  She built her unique personal brand with Mimi Doherty ’02, practiced interview skills with Ben Cannon of Career Development, and is inspired to make career choices that make her happy with the advice received from Patty Carfora ’01.

Thanks to students for your understanding, alumni for your support, and Holy Cross for keeping the community safe. Cheers to 2022!
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Pothos Project Expands

PowWow Worcester mural

The fall 2021 Pothos Project was another collaboration with the Sustainability Office at the College.  The second iteration of the program boasts one faculty member, two teacher’s assistants, four Worcester businesses, six alumni, and 18 students!

New this time around was a career session held by three alumni at Mercer, a consulting firm focused on healthcare, to help students explore opportunities, understand the application process and recruiting timelines.

In addition, students were partnered with local Worcester businesses including TidePool Bookstore, Glazy Susan Donuts, K Sense Co., and the Holy Cross Athletics Office.

Esmeralda Garcia ’24 shares her experience with the Pothos Project on the Sustainability Blog.
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Ciocca Intern: JP Cunningham ’23

My name is JP Cunningham ‘23 and I am a junior at Holy Cross majoring in International Studies, with a thematic focus of International Political Economy and a regional focus of Europe. I am also in the process of pursuing my Certificate in Business Fundamentals, having completed the Excel Tutorial and the Fullbridge Program and Global Supply Chain Management (GSCM) workshop.  So far, my experience with the Ciocca Center has been very enlightening in helping me gain real-world business experience. For example, the Fullbridge Professional Edge Program was a very exciting, fast-paced workshop that allowed me to put myself in a realistic office-like environment and work with a team on a growth opportunity for a specific company.  In addition, the GSCM workshop provided an in-depth look at the many components of the global supply chain as well as the opportunities to meet with different supply chain managers, including a site visit to the Polar Beverages manufacturing warehouse right here in Worcester. This workshop was very interesting given the many complexities and relevant issues within the supply chain in today’s post-pandemic climate.

Through the Academic Internship Program, I am taking the course Sports Marketing & Sponsorship with Dr. Robert Prior while I am interning in the Ciocca Center for Business, Ethics, & Society for the internship requirement. Throughout the semester, I will be conducting interviews with alumni to shed light on their various career paths and stories throughout their professional careers while tying the liberal arts to the business world. I think this will be a great opportunity for me to explore different fields of business and expand on different skills. I am hoping to get my foot in the door of the business and finance world in the coming months and am excited to see where this unique opportunity takes me. 

JP Cunningham ’23 interviewed several alumni for the internship:
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Experiential Learning at Holy Cross

STUDENT HEADSHOT

My name is Mackenzie Madden and I am a senior economics and psychology double major participating in the Business Fundamentals Certificate Program here at Holy Cross. Through my time at Holy Cross and through the Ciocca Center, I have felt the power of a liberal arts education while understanding the ways this type of education prepares students for business roles. I am actively searching for jobs within finance and consulting before graduating this spring.  I am confident that I will be ready to work these jobs after the preparation the Ciocca Center has provided for me. From Fullbridge to the Global Supply Chain workshop to job shadowing and internship opportunities, the Ciocca Center has ensured that all students are exposed to business industries early on in their college career and gain exposure to the alumni network. Continue reading “Experiential Learning at Holy Cross”
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Summer Internship Series: Reflecting on Certificate Experience

Caroline Quinn ’22 is pursuing the Certificate in Business Fundamentals and is checking off the internship requirement this summer.  Follow along as she reflects on her experience, lessons learned, and how her liberal arts education and Holy Cross network are helping her along the way.

Summer Series: Part One

I’m in the midst of my ten-week-long internship as a Sales Strategist with PepsiCo, and I’m happy to say that my experience thus far has been extremely captivating and enriching despite it being 100% virtual. For starters, I’m working on the Allied Brands Team which focuses on PepsiCo’s partners (like Ocean Spray and Voss Water) who independently produce/manufacture their products and then distribute/sell through PepsiCo. This is a symbiotic relationship with this arrangement because the Allied Brands benefit from PepsiCo’s nationwide presence and reach, and PepsiCo benefits from selling products that it doesn’t produce or typically sell. My particular project is oriented around an Allied Brand called Bundaberg Brewed Drinks. Before PepsiCo partnered with Bundaberg in 2017, it had never sold a craft soda. But now, PepsiCo is highly competitive in that market because of this partnership. Bundaberg’s top-selling product is ginger beer which is a premium, non-alcoholic, craft soda that is commonly used as a mixer. Regarding my project, I’ve been tasked with creating a feasible strategy to grow Bundaberg sales by 4X in the US. While this is a tall order, I am confident that I am putting together a really great pitch that I’ll present at the end of my internship. Much of my confidence can be attributed to the Ciocca Center and Holy Cross as a whole.  Continue reading “Summer Internship Series: Reflecting on Certificate Experience”
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Think Like an Actress at the 16th Annual Women in Business Conference

Fierce+Females+workhsop

The sixteenth annual Women in Business Conference will be held on Saturday, November 13, 2021.  The student planning committee is hard at work identifying alumnae speakers, clarifying what exactly a hybrid conference looks like, and the exciting ways to engage students and alumnae from various industries and career stages. We are thrilled to be offering this year’s conference in a hybrid format to maintain the exciting geographical reach of the 2020 virtual conference as well as welcome those interested in joining us in person on the hill.

What can you look forward to? Read on for exciting announcements about the fall Women in Business conference!  Continue reading “Think Like an Actress at the 16th Annual Women in Business Conference”
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Jack Browne ’22 Reflects on Alumni Network Available through the Ciocca Center

Jack Browne ‘22 is an international studies major with a concentration in Latin American Studies who is also pursuing a Certificate in Business Fundamentals through the Ciocca Center for Business, Ethics, and Society.  Jack spent the past year working to complete the requirements over the course of the ongoing pandemic.  The virtual workshops included alumni presenters from across the country to present industry-specific sessions and attend networking events. “One aspect of the business workshops that have been particularly helpful to my development,” starts Jack, “is how alumni are brought in to speak on their fields of expertise and their professional journey.  It was very reassuring for me to connect with recent graduates during the Marketing Communications & Sales workshop who now work at PepsiCo and hear about these individuals having success in the world of business without having gone on to business school.” 

“The concerted integration of Holy Cross alumni into the Business Certificate Program reinforces the reality that graduates of the school care about current Holy Cross students.” – Jack Browne ’22

The Business Certificate Programs provided by the Ciocca Center offer excellent opportunities for students to network with alumni and help kickstart their careers. With the help of hundreds of alumni across the various Business Certificate Programs, students can see that the Holy Cross liberal arts education supports a variety of career interests. Jack goes on to say, “The workshops provide students with a blueprint to learn more about industries, interact with alumni, and develop skills in professionalism that I have used firsthand to navigate interviews and internship applications.” 

Jack has completed nearly all of the Certificate requirements this academic year, many of which were held virtually.  He hopes to apply the knowledge gained through these experiences during an upcoming summer internship. Good luck! 

— — —

Many thanks to Conor Hatton ’22 , marketing assistant for the Ciocca Center, for interviewing and writing this student’s experience.

 

 
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Virtual Entrepreneurship Week Awards Over $10,000 in Prize Money

Congratulations to all of the students who competed during the annual Entrepreneurship Week, March 18-25, 2021, through the Ciocca Center for Business, Ethics, and Society and the Entrepreneurship & Innovation Program at Holy Cross.  These virtual events attracted more than 65 students with 9 alumni involved as judges and mentors throughout the week.

Kicking off the week, HC Launch held its bi-annual Innovation Challenge in partnership with CodeSaders and the Green Fund. The challenge required Holy Cross students to come up with creative ways to build community and connect students during the COVID-19 pandemic. With 11 teams pitching their ideas to a panel of six judges, two being our very own co-presidents of the Student Government Association, students managed to develop and create detailed plans and events that centered around the theme of community. The winning idea of this competition will be immediately implemented with the help and mentorship of Dean Murray.

Normally, the Innovation Challenge would have been held in person, but due to COVID precautions was held virtually this year. The Ciocca Center’s Head of Entrepreneurship & Innovation Program, Ja-Nae Duane, kicked off the event by informing the teams and 70+ audience members of the ground rules, prizes and goals. Tom Cremins ’21 and Mary Anne Wiley ’22, HC Launch’s Managing Directors, led intermission and gave out raffle prizes to audience members while the judges deliberated.

Congratulations to the 2021 Innovation Challenge winners:

  • 1st Prize: $1,000 for Fresh Fest: an outdoor festival to help freshmen to connect by Nick Bettenhauser ‘24 & Sasha Paradise ‘24
    * Watch for this inaugural event scheduled for Friday, May 1, 2021!
  • 2nd Prize: $750 for HC Jumpstart, a social connection to meet others on campus by Britt Axelson ‘21, Raphaella Mascia ‘21 & Connor McNerney ‘22
  • 3rd Prize: $500 and “Most Creative Award” for Sader Sips: a senior-focused beer garden by Katelyn Cody ‘22, Julia Covelle ‘22, Allie Russo ‘22 & Karter Seitz ‘22
  • 4th Place: ‘Special JudgesAward’ received for their outdoor movie night on the freshman field by Fabiola Trejo ‘22 and Victoria Covarrubias ‘22

Special thanks to our judges: James Keyes ‘77, Cheryl Martin ’84, Dean Michele Murrary, William Turtone, and co-presidents of the SGA, Noah Sisk ’21 and Victoria Tara ’21.

The next two events were casual pitch nights for students with early stage projects or ideas. These events are designed to helps students identify next steps, stress test an idea and find team members to help build it out. The first event was an opportunity for students to pitch to their peers and the second gave students pitch practice pitching their idea to an alum, Catherine Wilcox ’80.

To finish off Entrepreneurship Week, HC Launch held its eighth annual Shark Tank Competition. The  event allows Holy Cross students to pitch their business ideas to a group of judges for five mins each, followed by three minutes of Q&A. Ten teams (five teams in the seed stage category and five teams in the early-stages category) competed for a combined total of $10,000 in prize money.

Congratulations to the Seed Stage Shark Tank Winners: a category focused on the market opportunity and concept validation of the business idea.

  • $500 to Greenlist: a browser extension for identifying environmental product info Nathan Lewis ‘22
  • $500 to That’s Yo Body: A motivation/fitness brand
    Josh Azor ‘24
  • $500 to Chering: A web-app that helps thrift stores resell their clothing.
    Jacob Azzi ‘23, Dana Dinardo ‘21, Raphaella Mascia ‘21, Genevieve Wagner ‘21 of Ohio State & Molly Zachlin ‘21of Notre Dame

Congratulations to the Early Stage Shark Tank Winners: a category for students with more developed business models.

  • $3,000 to SaderSleeps: a mattress rental service for college students by Louie Fiacco ‘22 & Will Spangenberg ‘22
  • $2,000 to PakChat: a mobile app that allows different friend groups to meet other friend groups within their own community by Peter Blunt ‘21 & Chad Arle ‘21
  • $1,000 to FUD: an app using algorithms to identify common restaurant preferences by Chris Herndon ‘22 & Jean Baptiste “JB” Goriou ‘22

Congratulations to the Ignite Fund Winner: a category for students to work with funding and guidance through the JD Power Center.

  • $2,000 to SynchRUNous: an app for coaches to live track their runners by Meg Gerety

Special thanks to our Shark Tank Competition judges:

  • Matt Drinkwater ‘95: Former General Manager, Buzzfeed
  • Alex Hanlon ‘06: Executive, Reddit
  • Beau Lescott ‘95: President, Adaptive Portfolio Technologies
  • Michelle Stark Barrett: Director, Community Based Learning, Holy Cross
  • Jim Tselikis ‘08: Owner, Cousins Maine Lobster

Congratulations to everyone involved during the 2021 virtual Entrepreneurship Week and we hope to see you next year!

Update 6/24/21: Read more about the Shark Tank winners in WorcesterMag & the Worcester Business Journal!  Congratulations and keep it up!