81 Students & 50+ Alumni Participate in Fall Break Business Workshops

Group of professionally dressed students posing on the library steps.

Every fall break, the Ciocca Center holds concurrent workshops for students involved in the Business Certificate Programs to connect with alumni, make real-world connections, learn industry insights and practice presentation skills.  81 students and over 50 alumni participated in last weeks iteration, details below.

The annual Global Supply Chain Management Workshop helped 53 students understand that everything we wear, eat, drive, and consume comes through an organized supply chain from different parts of the world. The alumni presenters inlcluded Pete Mondani ’79, Bill Liesman ’72, Roger Lobo ’04, and Conor Moynihan ’13 – all practitioners in the field.  They shared the inner workings of a global supply chain and how it manages the distribution of various goods and services.  Teams of 4-5 students met with Holy Cross vendors, spanning from coffee to sweatshirts, to understand the inherent political, cultural, and ethical issues.  They even got off campus to experience a working supply chain during a company site visit to Polar Beverages with a tour by Chris Crowley, executive vice president of the company.

Concurrently, the annual Finance Boot Camp brought 28 students to NYC to meet alumni on Wall Street as part of the Finance & Banking Certificate program. Starting with an alumni-led current event discussion and professional communication overview, students were prepped on campus for the overnight trip to the city.  Alumni at JP Morgan, PIMCO, Barclays, KeyBanc and Morgan Stanley hosted the cohort to share industry insights, interview tips and discuss the various fields within the industry including sales and trading, investment banking, and wealth management.

Trey Rabuffo ’25 and Helene Cummings ’25 shared their student experience on the College’s Instagram account, which can also be seen on @holycrossbusiness.

Congratulations to all of the student participants and a big thank you to all of our alumni who are giving back to Holy Cross, like so many have done before them.

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”

*NEW* Workshop – Global Supply Chain Management

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Global Supply Chain Management Workshop: REGISTER NOW!
No resume, no cover letter, just register!

This new alumni led workshop will provide hands-on experience to help you understand how a global supply chain gets things made and delivered to where customers are. Everything we wear, eat, drive, and consume comes through an organized supply chain from different parts of the world.  Gain political, cultural, and ethical insights from experienced alumni from issues they’ve dealt with that are inherent in managing a global supply chain.

This new workshop will be two days, held over fall break and is open to all majors/class years.

BONUS: it counts towards the business workshops milestone for the COES Professional Certificate Program!

Program Dates: Monday & Tuesday, October 10 & 11, 2016

Online Registration Deadline: Thursday, September 29, 2016 by 11:59PM

CLICK HERE to register and learn more about the four alumni who will be leading this workshop!

Thanks to Ben Lodge ’18, our Student Assistant, for his detailed description of this new workshop. We are very excited to be expanding our workshop line-up and look forward to welcoming these alumni to campus this fall.  Hope you can join us!

Cassie Gevry
Associate Director, Entrepreneurial Studies