Loyola Executive, Fall 2013

COMING FULL CIRCLE WITH CHRIS SCREEN ’72 MBA COMPETITION AND AWARD

• LSBDC GNOR TAKES TOP HONORS

• COB MAINTAINS PRESTIGIOUS BUSINESS ACCREDITATION

LOYOLA UNIVERSITY NEW ORLEANS Loyola University New Orleans President

The Rev. Kevin Wm. Wildes, S.J., Ph.D. College of Business Dean

William Locander, Ph.D. Director, Portfolio & Internships

Kathy Barnett, Ph.D. Associate Dean

Angie Hoffer Development Officer College of Business

Traci Wolff Lucas Director of Editorial Services

Eve Peyton Loyola Executive Designer

Craig Bloodworth Photographer

Harold Baquet Photo Contributors

Kyle Encar Crystal Shelton Contributors

Kathy Barnett William Locander Nathan C. Martin

COLLEGE OF BUSINESS MAGAZINE LOYOLA UNIVERSITY NEW ORLEANS Fall 2013 • VOL. 6

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NO. 2 • www.business.loyno.edu

COVER FOCUS 6 The Executive Network

FEATURES 12 Europe Is Our Classroom 14 Coming Full Circle Chris Screen ’72 is pleased to be back at his alma mater, this time as a faculty member.

16 LSBDC GNOR Takes Top Honors 18 MBA Team Experiences Entrepreneurship Firsthand 21 CoB Maintains Prestigious Business Accreditation 22 And the Winners Are...

24 CoB Students Take to the Highlands 26 Parting Thoughts, Graduate Reflections 30 2013 CoB Senior Reception On the Cover: The Executive Network Loyola Executive is published biannually for Loyola University New Orleans College of Business alumni and friends.

Please address correspondence to: Loyola Executive Office of the Dean 6363 St. Charles Avenue, Box 15 New Orleans, LA 70118 News and photographs for possible use in future issues may be submitted by readers.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Loyola Executive Loyola University New Orleans 7214 St. Charles Avenue, Box 909 New Orleans, LA 70118 Loyola University New Orleans has fully supported and fostered in its educational programs, admissions, employment practices, and in the activities it operates the policy of not discriminating on the basis of age, color, disability, national origin, race, religion, sex/gender, or sexual orientation. This policy is in compliance with all applicable federal regulations and guidelines.

REAL CAREER Difference Make a

Join us at an Open House

October 17 and November 21 6 p.m. - 8 p.m.

Miller Hall, Room 112 $50 application fee waived for Open House attendees

OUR EXCEPTIONAL MBA PROGRAM FEATURES:

n Innovative horizontal learning approach

n Malcolm Baldrige Framework for Performance Excellence

n 100 percent pass rate on ASQ Six Sigma and PMI Certified Project Management Professional exams

n Jesuit reputation and values

n Active participation in Angel Fund management To register or for more information about our Open House, visit: business.loyno.edu/mba/open-houses, e-mail mba@loyno.edu, or call (504) 864-7953.

From the Dean It is with great pleasure that I announce in this issue that we have been reaccredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, or AACSB. The AACSB is the most prestigious certification that any school of business can hold – one our college has held since 1950.

The spirit of innovation is alive and well in the college, with increasing emphasis on building our Executive Network (cover story), which will help our students find internships and jobs around the U.S. The network depends on executive volunteers who, when called up, mentor our students to find placements in their local communities.

As has been the tradition, professors Chris Screen and Jean Meyer led a very successful trip to Europe where our CoB students were able to experience international business firsthand.

Loyola University and the College of Business have been the strongest university supporters of the local Louisiana Small Business Development Center, or SBDC GNOR, which this year won the top award for the entire United States. Kudos to Carmen Sunda and her devoted staff for all of their hard work and the economic value they bring to the Greater New Orleans area and southern Louisiana.

National surveys show that a large percentage of students go to college in order to gain financial security during their lifetimes. In this issue, six of our recent graduates who have begun their careers in various industries share closing thoughts on their time at Loyola. Through our Business Portfolio Program, the college is working hard to provide such opportunities to all of our graduates so that they can lead productive and fulfilling lives.

Cheers,

William B. Locander, Ph.D. College of Business Dean

Fall 2013 www.business.loyno.edu

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The Executive Network Connecting CoB Seniors in their Job Search

The Portfolio Program is the inhouse professional development services program for all College of Business undergraduates with more than 500 students currently enrolled.

Career coaches work one-on-one with students on building students’ skills, including determining 6

career goals, résumé writing, interviewing, internship and job searches, and the one skill we deem to be most important in students’ professional development – networking.

Building a network can be a challenge for a college student who on average doesn’t have a great deal of real-world experience and who Loyola Executive

doesn’t necessarily know how to turn those experiences into contacts. And let’s face it: Many professionals out in the work world dread walking into that cocktail party and having to break the ice with an introduction – a feeling magnified in a student who is often somewhat intimidated by the entire process.

The Executive Network Program To ease the burden for our senior Portfolio students, Portfolio has created the Executive Network, a program in which CoB alumni volunteer their time to serve as resources for seniors who are developing and executing their job searches. The program was started in the fall of 2012 on a limited basis with 25 alumni volunteering to serve as Network resources (see sidebar if you are interested in serving in the Network). The program has since grown to include more than 50 alumni and 75 seniors. The nice thing about the program is that it creates an online network for students that stretches across the entire United States. Students are not limited by location but rather can connect with alumni in all parts of the country.

Student participation is voluntary – but pretty much a no-brainer. Who wouldn’t want a hand up in making contacts that will be of benefit for years to come? Recent graduate John Beverstock used the Network prior to graduation. “My experience with the Executive Network has been really helpful,” he said. “We all know we need to network, but it can be hard to figure where to start or who to contact to just set up something simple like an informational interview. The Network really helped me to get a grasp on the hiring process. Having this list of contacts provides an excellent opportunity to reach out to professionals Fall 2013 www.business.loyno.edu

that we would not have otherwise been connected with, often resulting in more leads, especially within the field of your interest.”

Students participating in the Network understand that the program is not a job offer service and there is no promise of employment “The professionals I’ve with professionals in the contacted have taken the Network. Rather, they time to explain how they understand it is the got started, where I should opportunity to connect be looking for entry-level with professionals in positions, and have given their fields for career me an overall better advice, feedback on understanding of how to résumés, and possibly leads on who is hiring. begin a career.”

Just as important, these –John Beverstock established professionals can serve as voices of encouragement while students are navigating the job search process.

The response from the CoB alumni base has been very positive, as well. “I see participation in the Network as a win-win,” said Joe Bisagna ‘04, director of sales at MarketBridge in New York City. “It provides me an opportunity to give back to Loyola and to make good on the favors that various Loyola alumni and staff provided to me when I started my career. In return, it provides me with immediate access to a talent pool of energetic and hungry job applicants.”

The Executive Network complements several well-established networking programs within the CoB: the Executive Mentor Program and the annual CoB Networking Night. The Executive Mentor Program partners first-year students with local business professionals who work with the students in small groups for the fall and spring semesters. Mentors meet with students three to four times a semester, taking them on field trips and bringing in guest speakers, exposing them to 7

Consider joining The Executive Network – A great way to give back to your College Portfolio Executive Network – Executive Interest Application Thank you for your interest in the Loyola College of Business Executive Network program. Networking for a college student as he or she prepares to embark on life after graduation can be a very rewarding experience.

The qualifications and roles and responsibilities for executive participation are outlined here.

Criteria: Your primary qualifications, role, and commitment to the program are summarized below: Qualifications: • Relevant experience in your field • Completed your undergraduate degree a minimum of five years ago • Project a positive, professional image • Ability to encourage students to persevere • Willing to dedicate five to eight hours a semester to work with a student (or two students) to coach the student through his or her senior-year job search.

• Willing to communicate with student via phone, email, and/or in person

Role and Responsibilities: • Primary role is to serve as a contact to the assigned student, including providing resources for networking, informational interview contacts, etc.

• Offer, when appropriate, to make connections for students to potential employers • Possess understanding of current, appropriate résumé and interview skills, and review résumé and conduct mock interviews when possible • Invite student, when appropriate, to professional networking events • Complete program evaluation and provide feedback on student • Report any problems to Portfolio office

Contact/Basic Information: • • • • • • • •

Name__________________________________________ Organization/Company______________________________ Title__________________________________________ Location________________________________________ Years with company________________________________ Email__________________________________________ Phone__________________________________________ LinkedIn account ___Yes ____No

Please contact Portfolio Program Director Kathy Barnett to request an electronic version of this form. Then email the completed form along with your résumé or bio and photo to: Dr. Kathy Barnett Loyola University, College of Business Portfolio Program kbarnett@loyno.edu 8

Thank you – you will be contacted by a member of the Portfolio Team in the coming weeks regarding next steps!

real-world business concepts that complement what the students are learning in their freshman business classes.

Included in the Executive Mentor Program is the Practice Networking Event where freshmen get to learn about and practice networking skills in a cocktail party atmosphere – with no actual cocktails, of course. At last fall’s event, one freshman made a contact with an executive mentor she had never met who, in turn, recommended her for a coveted internship with Essence Fest, held every summer in New Orleans.

The student interviewed and got her dream internship.

The annual CoB Networking Night, held every fall, provides junior- and senior-level Portfolio students with the opportunity to meet professionals in and out of their fields in a true networking environment. The event has grown to more than 125 professionals and students and is muchanticipated every year. The Portfolio office prints business cards for CoB students attending the event – a favorite component for students who use the cards the night of the event and beyond.

Successful networking is a skill, and the Portfolio Program is committed to ensuring that our students develop that skill in a manner that will serve them long after they have left Loyola. We hope you will consider being a part of our networking programs.

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New Portfolio Publications

The Portfolio Program has published two new resources to assist students with transitioning into, and eventually out of, the College of Business: The CoB Portfolio Freshman Guide and the Portfolio Senior Job Search Workbook.

Fall 2013 www.business.loyno.edu

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Planning Worksheet page from Portfolio Freshman Guide

Planning Worksheet • What three things do you want to focus on your first semester in order to be successful? ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________

Portfolio Freshman Guide This guide provides the incoming freshman class with a guidebook of resources and tips for a successful transition into life at Loyola’s CoB. The Guide covers topics such as time management, using good judgment in both one’s academic and personal life, “what if” scenarios that describe typical problems or situations freshmen find themselves in and what to do if it happens to you, and a listing of CoB student organizations to join.

The Guide was handed out at the Portfolio Orientation meeting held the first week of classes and includes the following planning worksheet to encourage students to start thinking about what will better enable them to be a freshman success.

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• What do you most want to have accomplished by the end of your freshman year? ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ • What would be your dream internship? ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ • As a freshman, what do you THINK you want to do for your career? ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ • What is on your “bucket list” for your time at Loyola? For example: do you want to be king or queen of Mardi Gras? Okay – that won’t happen, but there must be some other things you want to see or do while at Loyola and in New Orleans. ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________

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Personal Marketing Plan page from Job Search Workbook

Personal Marketing Plan

Portfolio 400

Step 1: Student SWOT Analysis Worksheet You have all taken a basic marketing class and learned about SWOT analysis. Now it’s time to conduct a SWOT analysis on you and your personal brand. This worksheet is designed to help you evaluate your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats as you develop your individual action plan to launch your job or graduate school search. Using the guide below, identify your strengths and weaknesses (based on honest internal self-reflection) and opportunities and threats (based on comprehensive research) as they relate to your post-graduation plans. ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________

Step 2: Identify and list three specific entry-level positions that interest you.

In your list include the position title, company name, and source where you found the position. Suggested job search sites include Employola, Indeed.com, company websites, and your LinkedIn account. Vary your sources.

(Example: Forensic Accountant FBI/DC Federal Job Listings/FJL.com) ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________

Step 3: Identify two people you will contact for informational interviews who can give you advice on how to break into this market. List their names, their companies and job titles, and deadline dates to contact.

Your contacts may be people you know or will introduce yourself to on your own. (Think networking!)

(Example: Mrs. Sondra Gomez / Ernst & Young Senior Accountant September 22, 2013) ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________

Fall 2013 www.business.loyno.edu

Portfolio Senior Job Search Workbook Seniors will find this workbook a valuable tool in their job or graduate school search. Topics include a personal marketing plan exercise for students to determine and polish their personal brand, working a career fair, maximizing a LinkedIn account, using social media in a search, cover letters and résumés, interviewing, accepting or refusing an offer, negotiating that first salary, and budgeting on that new salary, among others.

At left is part of the 7-Step Personal Marketing Plan seniors are required to write.

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Europe Is Our Classroom

Another amazing CoB study abroad trip led by professors Chris Screen ’72 and Jean Meyer, Ph.D., took us to Barcelona, Nice, Monaco, and Venice – our students didn’t want to come home.

Sandy Chen and Cara Quintanilla look over raw glass at the Murano Barovier & Toso foundry.

Professor Meyer in Nice with the world’s largest flowerpot

The CoB group at the Barcelona Football Club stadium tour 12

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Madeline Smith in Ăˆze, France

Christian Olsen and Maria Mendoza on the waterfront in Barcelona

On the road between Nice and Monaco

Ah, Italy Fall 2013 www.business.loyno.edu

Trying the local eats in Monaco 13

Chris Screen ’72 is pleased to be back at his alma mater, this time as a faculty member.

Things have come full circle for Chris Screen ‘72. A native New Orleanian, Screen said Loyola was good to him while he was an undergrad studying political science – and in the years since. Just consider all the family connections to Loyola.

Screen met his wife, whose name is also Chris and who also graduated from Loyola in ‘72, while studying at Loyola. They have two daughters, one grandchild, and another on the way. Daughters Jennifer Costa, B.M. ’02, M.M. ’04, and Stephanie Screen, B.M. ’04, M.M. ’07, finished at Loyola with both undergraduate and master’s degrees from the College of Music and Fine Arts.

Stephanie now teaches piano and violin for Loyola in the preparatory department in CMFA. And last 14

but certainly not least, Screen’s father, John, graduated from Loyola’s College of Business in 1938. So Loyola has been the source of many positive experiences and celebrations for the Screen family, and most folks might have left it at that. But not Chris.

Retired at 55 from a career as a lawyer, he asked himself, “Now what am I going to do?” He knew from his experience teaching at legal conferences and Sunday school that he loved teaching. So when the opportunity presented itself, Screen jumped at the chance to begin a second career teaching at Loyola, joining the College of Business in 2006.

“I really like Loyola, and any way that I can serve and give back, I want to do,” he said. “Teaching Loyola Executive

Loyola students about business law allows me to do just that. I believe I can make a difference and am having a positive impact on the Loyola community.”

With a law degree from Tulane, Screen brings a wealth of legal experience to his classes. He worked for the New Orleans law firm Milling Benson Woodward, at one point owned his own firm, and then finished up his law career with 26 years in Entergy’s legal department. His interest in constitutional law led to his developing a business elective, Business and the U.S. Constitution. In the class, Screen covers how U.S. Supreme Court rulings affect business and everyday life in the United States. And it’s not just business students in that class. A good number of the class is composed of students from all majors who are minoring in legal studies.

Screen also offers a service to his students beyond the textbook material. Any student taking one of Screen’s classes who expresses an interest in attending law school is required to visit one-on-one with the professor. At that meeting Chris makes sure the student knows all the positives and negatives associated with law school, what a career in law is really like, and the job market outlook.

Each and every potential law school student comes away from those meetings with a much better sense of what to expect.

Screen’s willingness to give back to Loyola and the greater community doesn’t stop at teaching. His service roles include serving as chair of the CoB Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business Assessment of Learning Task Force, an academic adviser, the faculty adviser to the student organization Enactus, the CoB’s faculty senate representative, the faculty adviser to the finance committee for the Board of Trustees, an active participant in both the English as a Second Language program and the St. Bernard Project, and a previous member of Loyola’s University Parking Committee. “I miss my time on the parking Fall 2013 www.business.loyno.edu

committee,” Screen said. “Oh, the stories people come in with – they were just so unbelievable at times. It was very entertaining.”

As a testament to his commitment to service, Chris has been the recipient of both the University Senate Service award in 2011 and the 2013 CoB Faculty Service Award.

But perhaps what he is now best-known for in the CoB is his stewardship of the college’s study abroad trip to Europe. Now in his fourth year as lead coordinator, Screen is charged with all aspects of organizing the trip, including selecting the cities and businesses to tour, marketing to students, and making sure everyone gets there and back.

Screen said that in putting together the annual summer academic program, he first selects what he calls a “home run city,” such as London or Paris, that always generates a lot of interest. He then picks two to three interesting destinations to add to the mix.

The 2013 program included Venice, Nice, Barcelona, and “I really like Loyola, and Monaco. He is still tossing any way that I can serve around ideas for the 2014 and give back, I want program. “It’s great getting to to do.” travel to all these places as part of my job, but the best –Chris Screen part of the trips is seeing our students experience new cultures for the first time,” he said. “Witnessing their excitement when they realize they are in a place where no one speaks their language and then, of course, the exposure they get to businesses in foreign countries that operate very differently from the U.S. – I want to help them experience and process all these new things successfully. That really is the highlight of these trips for me.”

From walking the Loyola campus first as a student and then as a parent and now as a faculty member, Chris Screen has truly come full circle. And he has enjoyed every bit of his walk along the way.

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Louisiana Small Business Development Center Greater New Orleans Region Takes Top Honors Small business drives the economy. Nowhere is that more evident than in the New Orleans region. While many local businesses reinvented themselves to survive and thrive post-Katrina, New Orleans has also evolved into a destination city for small entrepreneurial start-ups.

Fortunately for the many small-business owners in the region, there is a one-stop shop they can turn to for

group as the GNOR,” William Locander, dean of the Loyola College of Business, said. “I was not surprised that the group was the recipient of the top center award. They work tirelessly to promote the efforts of the region’s smallbusiness community.”

The Louisiana Small Business Development Centers are a cooperative agreement funded by the Small

Director Carmen Sunda receives Small Business Development Center Award

training and one-on-one assistance in how to stay in business long-term: the Louisiana Small Business Development Center, Greater New Orleans Region. And now, that shop boasts the prestigious title of being named the Top Small Business Development Center in the nation, earning the U.S. Small Business Administration’s SBDC Excellence and Innovation award.

Loyola University New Orleans College of Business serves as one of three host institutions in the metro area to the LSBDC GNOR. “We are extremely pleased to be associated with such an innovative and accomplished 16

Business Administration, Louisiana Economic Development, and host institutions. In addition to Loyola University New Orleans, the GNOR is in a collaborative partnership with two other host institutions, Xavier University of Louisiana and Delgado Community College.

Carmen Sunda, center director of the LSBDC GNOR and a faculty member in Loyola’s CoB, was honored along with members of her team by the city of New Orleans with a proclamation in July 2013 and by the state of Louisiana at an awards ceremony at the Loyola Executive

governor’s mansion in May 2013. Sunda traveled to Washington, D.C., the week of June 17 to receive the well-deserved national honor. The D.C. award ceremony was held in conjunction with National Small Business Week. Sunda credits her team as the reason the GNOR center was selected from nearly 1,000 centers across the nation for the award. “We think of ourselves as the boots on the street,” she said. “We just roll up our sleeves and try to do what needs to be done.”

That can-do attitude has led the GNOR office to gain expertise in multiple areas vital to small businesses in Louisiana, including financing and disaster preparation and recovery. The office’s expertise in accessing capital and loan packaging makes LSBDC

and profits since the 2011 buyout. Since October 2005, the LSBDC GNOR has assisted more than 7,500 small businesses, generating more than $120 million in capital formation and creating or retaining more than 6,000 jobs.

And as if owning your own business weren’t tough enough, owning a business along the Gulf Coast presents even more challenges, hence the LSBDC GNOR’s dubious honor of being the leading center in the nation with expertise in building resilient businesses and in disaster preparation and response.

With five hurricanes and the BP oil disaster since 2005, the LSBDC GNOR has set the standard nationally for how an SBDC collaborates with SBA Disaster, state,

Louisiana Small Business Development Center Greater New Orleans Region members

GNOR one of the leading providers of loan packaging and technical assistance for community lenders, local bankers, and state financing programs.

This was essential to the success of Loyola alumnus Eric Amerland ’07, who was looking to purchase the company he then worked for, Merchants Security Services. With the help of LSBDC GNOR, Amerland was able to secure financing for the transaction and is now the owner of the local firm, employing more than 85 people in the New Orleans metro area and presenting a consistent record of increased revenues Fall 2013 www.business.loyno.edu

and local officials in responding to disaster events.

Sunda traveled to Kansas in April 2013 to train the Kansas SBDC state network in disaster preparation and response.

Congratulations to Sunda and her team for all their accolades and for being such a prevailing resource to small-business owners in the New Orleans region.

Theirs is certainly a job well-done!

For more information on the LSBDC GNOR, visit www.lsbdc.org/gnor/

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MBATeam Experiences Entrepreneurship Firsthand and Coaches Local Businessperson to $50,000 Prize Joshua Daly, Christine Lazzaro, Jessie Millsap, Conrad Pramono, Haritiana Rakotomamonjy, and Sarah Zarate work on project to reverse coastal erosion.

“New Orleans Entrepreneurship Week was a wonderful opportunity to experience New Orleans’ culture and entrepreneurial spirit firsthand. In addition, participating in the program helped me understand the magnitude of coastal erosion in Louisiana and the urgency to do something about it.”

–Haritiana Rakotomamonjy

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A team of enterprising Loyola MBA students had the opportunity to make a difference in saving Louisiana’s coastline, which is being lost at an alarming rate to coastal erosion. The team of six graduate students, guided by CoB Assistant Professor of Management Dr. Felipe Massa, took part in the annual Idea Village IDEAcorps during New Orleans Entrepreneur Week, held in the spring of 2013. Winning entrepreneurs receive financing for their start-ups.

The CoB team was matched with Louisiana-based entrepreneur Webster Pierce Jr. Pierce has invented The Wave Robber, a patented modular shoreline protection and sediment retention system known as the Wave Suppression Sediment Collection System. The device, which suppresses ocean wave

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action while also retaining sediment carried by the wave, could potentially provide land restoration along the shore of Louisiana’s already-depleted coastline. Pierce is also a client of the SBDC GNOR, working with consultant Wayne Aucoin.

At the annual entrepreneurship event, Loyola’s MBA team was charged with determining how Pierce could turn his invention into a full-fledged business. Massa selected a sixmember MBA team from applications received in the fall semester based on the diversity of the applicants’ skills, backgrounds, and passion for entrepreneurship.

Prior to and following the competition, the team attended Massa’s MBA class where they were trained in the craft of new venture consulting, acquiring the necessary tools to carry out

Fall 2013 www.business.loyno.edu

“NOEW is a stellar way for MBA candidates to get hands-on experience with consulting-type work and to become more familiar with team dynamics. It is a great way to feel the real-life pressures of project managers and entrepreneurs, as we had to produce game-changing deliverables in just a week!”

–Christine Lazzaro

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their team’s mission. Massa used case studies and brought in guest entrepreneurs during the class in order for the team to practice some of the “how-to skills” of business modeling and analysis. By having classes before, during, and after the conclusion of the competition, the team was able to apply the tools to Pierce’s business immediately upon beginning the competition and continue working with the entrepreneur to implement changes even after the other teams had left town.

“During the week of competition, the team works mostly on their own with the client,” Massa said. “It is a long and intense week that demands a great deal of focus and diligence.” And although the team was told who their client would be and were able to meet with Pierce a couple of weeks before the competition, everything that gets done for the competition has to happen within that one-week period.

The highlight of the competition this year for Pierce and the MBA team was the third annual Water Challenge, a collaboration between The Idea Village and the Greater New Orleans Foundation that “aims to identify and support entrepreneurial solutions that apply innovative approaches to how we live with water.” And we do live with a lot of water in southern Louisiana.

“I’ve never been part of a team that In this year’s Water Challenge, Pierce pitched the Wave Robber concept to the panel of judges after being coached by created so much impact in such a the team and using a presentation they crafted. The team’s short period of time. I attribute most efforts paid off in a big way for Pierce, who was selected as the of this to our amazing entrepreneurs, Water Challenge winner and received $50,000 in seed money as his prize. In addition to this competition, Pierce and the who impressed us every day with MBA team participated in the Big Idea event, held at the end their energy, openness, passion, and of New Orleans Entrepreneur Week, where Pierce placed in willingness to roll up their sleeves as the top three.

The Loyola students were excited to work with a product we tackled both the nitty-gritty and that could have a positive and meaningful effect on the state the big picture questions around and beyond. “We feel very lucky to have been paired with not their business. It didn’t hurt to have only an important product but a passionate, caring entrepreneur who brings heart, drive, and expertise to the a multifaceted, deeply committed project,” team member Sarah Zarate said. “We do believe the Loyola MBA team and a ton of problem the product addresses made a compelling case for our support from the folks at Idea team. We wanted to win, but helping owner Webster Pierce develop his business and sell his product to help prevent Village.” coastline erosion was our end game.”

“The Entrepreneurship Workshop class and the New Orleans Entrepreneur Week competition were excellent learning experiences.

Learning to quickly understand the challenges and opportunities facing a start-up and to come up with workable solutions for an entrepreneur was exciting and extremely valuable, and working with Mr. Webster Pierce on such an important venture for our region was an honor.”

–Joshua Daly

–Conrad Pramono

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Loyola Executive

CoB Maintains Prestigious Business Accreditation The Joseph A. Butt, S.J., College of Business at Loyola University New Orleans has maintained its business accreditation by AACSB International—The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. Loyola is part of an elite group of more than 650 business schools in nearly 50 countries and territories with the accreditation.

“We all celebrate this accomplishment,” said College of Business Dean William Locander, Ph.D. “This accreditation ensures that the College of Business will continue to have a strong assurance of learning systems in place. It will also allow us to continue to focus on what makes our business program so exceptional, including a revised MBA program and our ongoing approach to experiential learning.”

“It takes a great deal of commitment and determination to earn and maintain AACSB accreditation,” Robert D. Reid, executive vice president and the association’s chief accreditation officer, said in a press release. “Business schools must not only meet specific standards of excellence, but their deans, faculty, and professional staff must make a commitment to ongoing continuous improvement to ensure that the institution will continue to deliver the highest quality of education to students.”

Founded in 1916, the AACSB is the longest-serving global accrediting body for business schools that offer undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degrees in business and accounting.

Loyola College of Business faculty Michelle K. Johnston, Ph.D., associate professor of management; John Levendis, Ph.D., associate professor of economics; and Chris Screen, visiting assistant professor of business law, were tasked with handling the accreditation maintenance process.

Fall 2013 www.business.loyno.edu

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And the Winners Are..

Our College of Business students pack a lot of accomplishments into their time at Loyola. The faculty and staff of the CoB celebrate these accomplishments once a year in May. We are happy to share these photos from the 2013 CoB Annual Awards Ceremony.

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Society of Louisiana CPAs’ Education Foundation Scholarship: Jeremy Thibodeaux to Jami Becnel

Alumni Association Graduation Award: Thomas Moran to Alyssa Labat

Beta Gamma Sigma Scholarship: Associate Dean Angie Hoffer to Albert Clesi

Delta Sigma Pi Scholarship Key: Grace Palombo to Dwight Davison and Gavin Pitre

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Beta Alpha Psi Outstanding Sophomore Award: Gavin Pitre to Jackie Gross

Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society Outstanding Junior: Gavin Pitre to Mary Crapanzano

Economics Club Award for Outstanding Member: Dr. Dan D’Amico to Pedro Benitez

CoB Faculty Award for Outstanding Advising: Dean William Locander to Dr. Daphne Main

Bank of Louisiana Award for the Outstanding Economics Graduate: Dr. John Levendis to Dwight Davison

John X. Wegmann Award for Outstanding Baccalaureate Graduate: Associate Dean Angie Hoffer and Dean William Locander to Gavin Pitre

Fall 2013 www.business.loyno.edu

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CoB Students Take Students today know that education and learning extend far beyond the classroom and, in the case of two CoB marketing majors, extend all the way to Scotland, Ireland, and many other far away destinations. Kate Trotter and Kristi Weston took time away from their Loyola studies to participate in study abroad programs. Kate spent a year at Edinburgh Napier University in

Kate Trotter Hometown: Milwaukee Major: Marketing Grad date: Spring 2014 Study Abroad Courses: Mostly business classes, including marketing ethics, communications, and international marketing and operations management. She also did work in a course on Scottish culture and history and even managed to take a wine studies course.

Traveled to: Dublin, Belfast, London, Manchester, Paris, Barcelona, Budapest, Brussels, Leuven, Bruges, Amsterdam, Prague, and Krakòw, as well as many cities in the northern highlands of Scotland, including a visit to the infamous and magical Isle of Skye.

Coolest thing she did: Traveled by herself for a week. It was truly frightening and thrilling at the same time, and she reports that she got very lost several times but it was all worth it.

Most amazing experiences: Visiting the Széchenyi thermal bath in Budapest, Hungary, and taking a cable car ride up to the top of the Montserrat Mountains of Spain, home to the Benedictine abbey of Santa Maria de Montserrat.

Advice for others studying abroad: Travel alone at least once – even if just for the weekend – it’s a real confidence boost; put the camera down from time to time and experience the moment; plan ahead, but once you get there, be flexible and remain open to all you can experience.

Biggest take-away: “This year really changed me. I am a better person because of this experience, and I would recommend it to anyone seeking an adventure of a lifetime. I have the confidence now to go into life without a lot of the fears I had before I studied abroad. But more important, I have gained a stronger sense of independence.

I am so blessed to have had this opportunity to study abroad, and I can only begin to thank God, my family, and all of those who helped make it happen.”

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to the Highlands Scotland, and Kristi spent a semester at the University of Ulster in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Both used their time at their respective universities to explore beyond the confines of the classroom and have real-life experiences in fascinating destinations. They even looked for the Loch Ness monster on one trip while traveling together but sadly had to report they did not find it – this time.

Kristi Weston Hometown: San Fernando, Trinidad Major: Marketing/Economics Grad date: Spring 2014 Study Abroad Courses: Global marketing, cultural awareness, corporate governance, and advertising and promotion.

Traveled to: Bern, Lucerne, Geneva, Berlin, Prague, Budapest, Krakòw, Barcelona, Paris, Amsterdam, London, Bristol, Bath, Liverpool, Dublin, and Galway.

Coolest things she did: Climbed Mount Rigi in Switzerland and had a breathtaking view of the Swiss Alps and beautiful Swiss lakes, had dinner with the mayor of Belfast, and spent St. Patrick’s Day in Dublin!

Most amazing experience: Tapped into her love for history and visited the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland and the Anne Frank house in Amsterdam. It was a truly humbling, emotional, and eye-opening experience.

Advice for others studying abroad: Save and spend your money wisely – traveling costs money, and if this is in your plans, cut back spending on the other less important things. If you don't have a meal plan, buy groceries and cook. Find out if you actually need to buy required books, kitchen utensils, etc., or if you can borrow while there. Find ways to hold on to your experience even after it’s over – Kristi journaled, took photos, and blogged. It made the transition back to her old life much easier as there were tangible things capturing her memories.

Biggest take-away: “You have to step outside your comfort zone.

For example: I am afraid of heights, but I decided to climb a mountain – several, actually. I never thought I could do something like that. But I did, and it changed me. This study abroad taught me so much about myself.”

Fall 2013 www.business.loyno.edu

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Parting Thoughts…

Grace Palombo, Marketing, BBA ’13 Hometown: Baton Rouge, Louisiana Loyola’s College of Business afforded me a quality education and hands-on experience through the guidance of CoB professors. The small class size that is a big part of the CoB is so beneficial because it allows students to form a relationship with their professors. The CoB faculty was always available to answer my questions and help me both in and outside the classroom. There is much personal guidance throughout the many programs offered by the CoB. Thank you, CoB, for all the advice and guidance throughout my college career.

Gavin Pitre, Accounting/ Finance, BAcc ’13 Hometown: Cut Off, Louisiana The College of Business really cares about what happens after graduation in terms of your career development. The Portfolio Program played a large role in my professional development as I was interviewing for and securing internships. The staff in the Portfolio office helped me polish my résumé, write effective cover letters, and hone my interview skills. They were never too busy to answer my questions or offer career advice. Were it not for their help, my transition into my professional career would not have been nearly as smooth as it was.

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Graduate Reflections …

Maggie Conley, Marketing/ Management, BBA ’13 Hometown: Kensington, Maryland The College of Business requires that every student complete at least one internship, and that internship in turn counts for three hours of credit toward your degree. I interned with Tales of the Cocktail, a New Orleans-based organization dedicated to the craft of the cocktail. I was a logistics intern working on numerous large-scale special events the organization holds throughout the year. I learned a lot about brand management and what it takes to successfully host a world-class event. The internship provided me with experience and life skills I couldn’t get in a classroom. It helped me to narrow down my career choice and gave me the opportunity to discover what I really want to do in life.

Monica Nguyen, Accounting/ Pre-law, BBcc ’13 Hometown: Mobile, Alabama I was involved in several organizations as a student and recommend to others that they get involved on campus, especially within the CoB. It is a chance to meet new people and make a difference within your college. As a member of Beta Gamma Sigma, Beta Alpha Psi, Delta Sigma Pi, and the Global Business Association, I developed strong leadership skills that will stay with me for a lifetime. The networking opportunities I have through these organizations, both locally and nationally, appear endless. Student organizations provide a wonderful opportunity to be able to begin to learn and grow skills that make up the better business leaders.

Fall 2013 www.business.loyno.edu

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Parting Thoughts…

Dwann Wagner, Management/ Marketing, BBA ’13 Hometown: New Orleans, Louisiana My four years at Loyola have truly been lifechanging. The opportunities offered by Loyola and the CoB really set it apart from other schools for me.

Small class sizes allowed me one-on-one access to my professors. Through my participation in student organizations, I developed team and leadership skills that I can put into practice in business and life, not to mention the amazing people I met along the way.

My classes and internships left me prepared and ready to start my professional career. I couldn’t be happier about my years at Loyola.

Wilda Valdez, Finance/ International Business, BBA ’13 Hometown: Tegucigalpa, Honduras While studying at Loyola, I was able to take one semester and study abroad. I studied at ESCE in Paris, France. It was an amazing experience, and I recommend completing a study abroad as part of every student’s college experience. My semester in France really opened my eyes to a new way of seeing life and made me realize there is more to the education experience than just grades.

Get out and explore!

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May 2013 CoB Graduate Employment Data The College of Business is proud to share a sampling of where our May 2013 CoB graduates are employed. Several of our students have been hired by Fortune 500 companies, including Entergy, Hewlett Packard, and Google.

NAME

MAJOR

COMPANY

LOCATION

Kieran Harper Julie Fridge Erica Kissee Monica Nguyen Mary Ring Maria Solis-Zavala Pranita Vilkhu

Accounting Acct Acct Acct Acct Acct Acct

Postlethwaite & Netterville Postlethwaite & Netterville Kissee & Co CPAs Entergy Office of the Comptroller of Currency Ernst and Young Carr Riggs Ingram

New Orleans Metairie New Orleans New Orleans San Antonio New Orleans Metairie

Merrill Lynch Google TwinEngine

Miami San Francisco Houston

Uebanizaciones Hasbun Google Regions Bank Whitney Bank CafĂŠ Giovanni KLR Group Compleat Hospitality Besselman & Associates C.E. Zuercher and Associates

Honduras Ann Arbor, Michigan New Orleans New Orleans New Orleans Houston Metairie Metairie Skokie, Illinois

Maria Arazoza Alex Hillis Rachel Roth

Economics

Edmundo del Carmen Michael Carney Dwight Davison Alex Failla Crystal LoCicero Jay Mukherjee Yvonne Singer Taylor Watson John Zuercher

Finance

Daniel Afanador Samantha Bui Chelsea Fielding Priscilla Monzon Eli Nasser Dillon Warren

Econ Econ

Finance Finance Finance Finance Finance Finance Finance Finance

Int. Business Livingston International IB IB IB IB IB

Center for Teaching & Learning Center for Teaching & Learning World Tile and Stone Moroch Partners Hewlett Packard

New Orleans China China Puerto Rico Atlanta Conway, Arkansas

Marketing

Ponchatoula Police Department Organic Zehnder Communications Burger King Corporate Hewlett Packard San Angel GT Gulf Coast Office Products Apres Visuals

Ponchatoula New York City Nashville, Tennessee Miami Conway, Arkansas Guatemala Mandeville Jackson Hole, Wyoming

Megen Berner Molly Katz Maggie King Grace Palombo Megan Sherman Jose Toriello Dalton Truax Kailey Tuthill

Mkt Mkt Mkt Mkt Mkt Mkt Mkt

Sebastian Bernal Bradley Brunet Braden LaRuffa Linda Mejia Manuel Viota Dwann Wagner

Mgt Mgt Mgt Mgt Mgt

Fall 2013 www.business.loyno.edu

Management Point Eight Power MCC Pittsburgh Pirates Caridad del Cobre ViotaGallery AXA Equitable

Belle Chasse Metairie Pittsburgh Honduras Puerto Rico New Orleans

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2013 CoB Senior Reception

Smile and say, “Diploma!�

New Orleans native Alex Failla and his parents

Daniel Afanador and his family

All the way from Germany, the family of Marc Luettecke poses with the graduate.

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And Celebration With Family

Maggie Conley, center, and her family from the Northeast U.S.

Claire Witkewicz celebrates with her family.

Connie Gonzalez with her mom

Elisa Rodriguez poses for a graduation family photo.

Fall 2013 www.business.loyno.edu

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