The Eastern Michigan University College of Business hosted a business conference on Thursday with some of its most successful alumni. Each alumnus in attendance gave a series of lectures throughout the day about the lessons they have learned in the business world after leaving EMU.
“The lecture topics cover every aspect of business,” said Melissa Heatlie, a second-year MBA student and the lead business ambassador at the event. “Dean Tidwell wanted to showcase our wonderful alumni and teach our business students what they could be in the future.”
The event kicked off at 6 a.m. when Paul W. Smith of WJR-760 AM broadcasted his show from the second floor of the College of Business. From there, the event ran until 4 p.m. and featured several lectures from over 40 of the College of Business’s alumni.
Cintia Bergamasco, a graduate student studying business administration, was very impressed with the speakers.
“When I see these successful professionals who graduated from our school, I see what I can really accomplish,” Bergamasco said.
One of the speakers in attendance, Thomas Wells, 1984 EMU College of Business graduate and manager at Cisco Capital Channel Operations, is a perfect example of the success that can await EMU College of Business graduates.
“We are helping the current students understand what we all had to learn through trial and error, but mostly error,” Wells said.
Wells is also the treasurer of the Alumni Association and an advisor at the College of Business. He said this business conference was a great idea.
“It brings a lot of alumni back and gets them involved, which can only do good things,” Wells said.
Wells was very impressed with the students he spoke to on Thursday.
“They were very enthusiastic and asked a lot of insightful questions,” he said. “I hope they do it again next year, and I hope they ask me back.”
Heatlie felt Wells and the rest of the alumni in attendance were able to cover a broad spectrum of topics in the business world, and that helped give the students more professional development.
Overall, Heatlie said she was very happy with the outcome of the event.
“I’d like to think it was a hit,” she said. “Attendance was great, and we saw a lot of interest.”
Maggie Zhou, a student at the College of Business, said she took full advantage of the event.
“The main thing we heard today was the importance of networking, and I made some good contacts at this event,” Zhou said.
