Engagement for Days

This week the college will be in peak engagement mode hosting a full slate of events geared at helping business students build their networks, meet alumni and learn about potential career paths and job opportunities from our corporate partners.

This afternoon in The EXCHANGE our alum and Dean’s Advisory Board member Jorge Amaro ’13MBA, CEO and founder of Ai3, will sit down for a fireside chat with our new Director of The EXCHANGE Justin Barwick as part of our Grant Thornton Speaker Series.

Tuesday is Darden Day in the College where students will have the chance to hear from marketing, finance and supply chain leaders at one of the most recognizable and successful brands in full-service dining. Visit https://business.ucf.edu for the full list of Darden Day events and to register for a session.

On Thursday, the college takes over The Venue for our Spring Invitational – the exclusive internship and career fair for Business Knights featuring 60+ employers with internships and positions. Business students must qualify to attend the exclusive event by getting a resume review, attending an Invitational Qualifier session through the college’s Office of Professional Development or earning a Golden Ticket from a faculty member. Don’t have your Golden Ticket yet? Email cbaemployerrelations@ucf.edu to find out how you can qualify.

And for good measure, we’re hosting a Dean’s Speaker Series on Wednesday morning featuring UCF finance professor Kevin Mullally. He’ll share which factors matter most when predicting investment performance and why you might want to find out what age they started kindergarten before hiring your next mutual fund manager. Join us at the Citrus Club in Downtown Orlando for breakfast at 7:30. I promise you’ll learn a thing or two and you’ll love the bacon. Register here.

A Changing of the Guard

Jennifer Johnson who ran The EXCHANGE for us moved on to a new opportunity a few weeks ago. Jen made The EXCHANGE what it is today: A place where students can start to plan for the future by hearing from people who live the professional lives they hope to have upon graduation. 

Jen had an extensive network of connections, an eye for what matters to students, a colorful story of her own and a devotion to our students and their experience. Under her leadership, The EXCHANGE has exceeded expectations. It is a place where people want to come to speak and students want to engage in a type of learning they don’t get elsewhere. Jen was a joy to work with. She left a great legacy here, and I am forever grateful for her efforts.

Today, we welcome a new director to The EXCHANGE – Justin Barwick. Justin has been a speaker at The EXCHANGE, which is presented by FAIRWINDS Credit Union. That’s fitting because he comes to us from our friends at FAIRWINDS Credit Union.  I will be interviewing him this afternoon as part of the Grant Thornton Speaker Series. Like all guests, I want him to tell us about his professional path, how he ended up in this new role, and what he hopes to accomplish with The EXCHANGE.  

Jen, we miss you. Justin, your job is to build on her success while making the place your own.