Wilbur O. and Ann Powers College of Business

Engagement is serious business for Student Advisory Board

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The 2018-19 edition of the College of Business Student Advisory Board is serious about their cohorts getting the most out of the Clemson University experience. Toward that end, the board is stepping up its game in getting business students more involved in all that’s available to them.

Student Advisory Board, College of Business,
The Student Advisory Board is making business student engagement a priority.

“We are better students, make the college experience better and are more marketable when we become involved,” said Parker Tilley, student advisory board chair, and a Winston-Salem, N.C., native. “By being involved, students are more tied to the community and get more out of their time here.”

In order to engage more students, the advisory board has stepped up communication efforts on the college’s web pages and social media channels, in addition to revamping the board’s make-up.

The Student Advisory Board is comprised of 16 members and serves in large part as a sounding board for student concerns. It works with the dean and faculty to improve student learning and to enhance the student experience.

Parker, a senior finance and accounting major, credits his engagement outside the classroom not just for rounding out his education, but for his internships, personal growth and for landing a full-time job before graduation.

“My involvement beyond the classroom made me a better student and more marketable to potential employers,” he said. “I learned early on to leverage Clemson’s very generous alumni base for guidance and did so through the college’s Tiger Ties mentorship program. It helped me land an internship at American Airlines.” Parker has already accepted a job offer from SunTrust to be a portfolio management analyst after he graduates in May.

For the first time, the Student Advisory Board will have two sophomore representatives, in an effort to get more underclassmen involved in college activities.

Abigayle Berendsen, a senior and marketing chair on the advisory panel, said beginning level pre-business students don’t feel as connected to the many activities that are available to them.

“It makes sense to get the sophomores and freshmen involved before they move into their majors,” she said. “The sophomore reps will help us engage more underclassmen so these students will be more aware of the programming and activities that are available to them. They shouldn’t have to be upperclassmen to benefit from all that the college has to offer.”

One of Abigayle’s roles on the board is to know what’s on the minds of marketing majors. Some of that involves current and future curriculum.

“Some marketing students are looking for curriculum that takes a deeper dive into such marketing niches as fashion and advertising. We’re also looking at two senior capstone courses that have redundancies for marketing seniors who must take both. We’ve started the dialogue and are hoping we can make changes going forward,” said Abigayle, who has accepted a full-time sales position with E.J. Gallo wineries upon graduation.

Helen Diamond Steele, advisor to the board and the college’s director of Student Enrichment, said the current board’s agenda is ambitious and clearly has their cohorts’ best interests at heart.

“From their own experiences, this board is very cognizant of the benefits students can derive from being fully engaged with all the college has to offer,” she said. “These are students who have taken full advantage of activities, internships and the many networking opportunities that have been available to them. The efforts they are making toward helping their fellow students benefit from the same, are commendable.”

The Student Advisory Board has open meetings every other Wednesday at 6 p.m., in 212 Sirrine Hall. Parker said business students are welcome to attend and share their ideas and concerns.

“The board is committed to making students’ College of Business experience the best it can be, and we want to hear from students, so we encourage all to become involved,” Parker said.

If students want to share ideas or ask questions of the advisory board they can do so by emailing businesssab@clemson.edu. The application process for two-year board appointments occurs every spring. The board is comprised of two students from each of the college’s majors.

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