by Allison Phillips | Oct 1, 2012 | Careers In..., Current Students
At COBA, we are deeply passionate about the fact that faith and business should intersect, which is why we invite speakers like Mike Wolverton, Executive Vice President of First Financial Banks, to speak to our students. We love hearing what these successful businesspeople have to say about business and the challenges and opportunities that are presented when you are a person of faith.
Mike Wolverton, First Financial Bank
Mike, who began his banking career by taking an entry-level job in consumer finance, is a textbook example of climbing the corporate ladder one step at a time. After his stint as a trainee at Wells Fargo, Mike was promoted to store manager, where he supervised a few employees. Next, he made the jump to regional manager, where he was responsible for forty stores, before being promoted once again. This time, he became a division manager, an incredibly powerful position that allowed him to manage a quarter of the country for Wells Fargo in the consumer lending division.
Mike made sacrifices for his career. One of the challenges for his family was moving nine times in 26 years. In spite of the challenges, it appeared that Mike’s sacrifices were paying off. After all, he was a division manager. However, in 2008, everything changed. Wells Fargo closed Mike’s division, a segment of the company that had been in business for over one hundred years. After twenty-six years of faithful service, Mike found himself out of a job.
During this difficult time, Mike clung to Jeremiah 29:11:
“’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’”
Wolverton speaks at COBA
After losing his job at Wells Fargo, Mike began working at First Financial, a bank that was ranked #2 in the nation in 2012 and that is headquartered right here in Abilene, TX. First Financial brought Mike in to grow their consumer lending business. Mike really enjoys his new position, and believes that First Financial is an incredible company. “They’ve been doing it right for a long time,” said Mike.
One thing Mike enjoys about his work at First Financial is that because the company has a culture of faith, he is able to pray with his team, something that wasn’t possible at Wells Fargo. Faith as a part of business is crucial to Mike, something that he advised students to incorporate into their lives.
“The work force today is really looking for hard-working, dedicated Christian individuals. Integrity today is more important than ever in business.”
Mike also believes that living out faith in the workplace eventually leads to corporate success. This success may take time, but eventually, being a person of faith will get you places. In his opinion, integrity will always win out in the end.
Stay tuned for more inspiring COBA speakers!
by Amanda Pittman | Jan 19, 2012 | Careers In..., COBA Events, College Decisions, Current Students, Special Speakers
After being pushed from the fall, due to their appearance in the World Series, we are thrilled to welcome the CFO of the Texas Rangers, Kellie Fischer, to our campus on Feb. 7th.
Here’s Kellie’s bio, from the Rangers website:
Kellie Fischer was appointed Chief Financial Officer of the Texas Rangers in March of 2005. She oversees all financial matters, human resources, information technology and legal operations for the Texas Rangers. Kellie joined the Rangers in 1999 and has served in many roles for the Rangers former parent company, Southwest Sports Group and the Dallas Stars.
We're excited to welcome Mrs. Fischer to our campus this semester
Prior to joining the Rangers, Kellie spent four years at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP in the audit division of the Dallas office. She earned her B.A. in accounting from Baylor University in 1995 and is a Texas CPA. Kellie serves on the Executive Board of Directors for the Arlington Chamber of Commerce, the Board of Directors for the Texas Rangers Baseball Foundation, the YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas, and the Baylor Hankamer School of Business Advisory Board. In addition, Kellie recently served on the Baylor Accounting Department Advisory Board.
In October 2010, Kellie was awarded Chief Financial Officer of the year for private mid-size companies by the Dallas Business Journal.
Kellie and her husband Scott reside in Dallas and are active in promoting cancer awareness for the American Cancer Society Relay for Life.
The luncheon event, where Mrs. Fischer will be speaking, is free and only open to ACU students and faculty. For more information, click here.
by Amanda Pittman | Oct 8, 2011 | Careers In..., COBA Events, College Decisions, Special Speakers
In early September, COBA hosted two successful event planners, Luanna Cole and Rachel Hollis, for a Career Connect: Event Planning event. Over 75 students turned out to hear these two women share advice, insights and experience from their careers in wedding and event planning. You can read more about the events here.
And this past week, Rachel Hollis appeared on The Nate Berkus show, a nationally syndicated talk show focusing on interior design, decorating, entertaining and homemaking. Rachel is the Entertaining Contributor for Traditional Home magazine and she recreated a table scape from her September column for Mr. Berkus. Enjoy the clip! (Click on the sentence)
The Nate Berkus Show with special guest Rachel Hollis
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Rachel Hollis on The Nate Berkus Show
by Amanda Pittman | Sep 29, 2011 | Careers In..., COBA Events, Current Students, Special Speakers
Earlier this month we hosted our first Career Connect event of the fall semester. We were honored to welcome two very successful wedding and event planners – Luanna Cole of The Plantation House in Pflugerville, Texas and Rachel Hollis of Chic Events based in Los Angeles, CA. Event planning and hospitality are two industries that our students have become very interested in lately. As two seasoned and successful entrepreneurs and veterans of the wedding and event industries, Luanna and Rachel brought lots of stories, wisdom, advice and encouraging words to our students.
Luanna and her husband, Norris, has been owner/operators of The Plantation House for 17 years, having hosted over 700 weddings, receptions and corporate events at their venue. Rachel begin Chic Events almost 8 years ago in her basement and has planned and styled weddings, corporate events and parties for various celebrities, motion picture studios, non-profit organizations and magazines. She was named one of Inc. Magazine’s Top 30 Under 30 Entrepreneurs in 2008.
Event Planning panel featuring Luanna Cole (L) and Rachel Hollis (Center)
We sat down with two students who attended the event. Calli is a sophomore journalism and mass communication major from Carrollton; Kelsey is a senior management major from San Angelo.
1) What’s one thing you learned (or that really stuck with you) about the business of wedding and/or event planning?
Calli: “One thing that really made an impact on me about the business of event planning was how much of your time you have to invest in order to be successful, therefore those with passion for the business will most likely be more motivated to devote themselves to their work.”
Kelsey: ” I found it interesting that a common misconception in regards to event planning is that it is a glamorous line of work. Hearing Rachel and Luanna talk about their experiences allowed all of the girls in the room to recognize that a great amount of time, energy, and hard work is placed into their event planning jobs. I enjoyed learning tactics that each of the women used to balance their careers and family lives. It was interesting to hear that from an early age, Luanna involved her children in the process of setting up events at their home. Her stories about her daughters ending their dates by inviting the guys over to help set up an event were quite comical. It was neat to see that each member of the family contributed in some way to ensure the success of their family owned business.”
Career Connect: Event Planning
2) Did you learn something that will change how you approach the rest of your time here at ACU or has encouraged to try something you wouldn’t have otherwise?
Calli: “Yes. I learned that I want to attain as much experience in the field as possible before I graduate so that I feel prepared for the “real world”.
Kelsey: “I was encouraged to dream big just as Rachel and Luanna did, but to realize that with big dreams comes great responsibility and time commitments. Pursuing a career that you are passionate about has many phenomenal rewards but comes with a lot of hard work.”
Luanna Cole shares with ACU students interested in event planning
3) Did these events encourage you to pursue this career track? If so, how?
Calli: “I definitely want to get more hands on experience. Both Rachel and Luanna encouraged us to work in all sides of the field such as the florists, rental companies, caterers, photographers, etc.”
Kelsey: “I am not drawn to this particular career track, but I feel like the speakers gave great advice that can be carried over into any future career.”
Rachel Hollis sharing with ACU students
4) How does hearing from industry professionals (no matter the industry) enhance what you are learning in the classroom?
Calli: “I have never really heard experience first hand like this so I was incredibly inspired to hear what they had to say. It affirmed every idea i had about the field and reassured that this is exactly what I want to do with my life.”
Kelsey: “Hearing real life experiences straight from a successful business person, enables us (students) to learn far more about a specific industry and/or valuable life lessons that could not be communicated as effectively from a textbook or lecture. One of my favorite parts about listening to the “powerful” speakers that ACU brings to campus, is hearing how the individual overcame a variety of failures and conflicts to get to where they are today. The wisdom that we receive through hearing about other’s past failures gives us the opportunity to avoid making the same mistakes and the ability to put into practice the tactics that the speaker has found to be the most effective. We are encouraged to live humbly just as the speakers do. It seems like usually one of the main differences that sets ACU speakers apart from other successful career people is the fact that the speakers we listen to are so down to earth and exhibit humility as they share their stories with us.”
by Amanda Pittman | Sep 9, 2011 | Careers In..., College Decisions, Current Students
Aaron is a sophomore marketing major from Burleson. He came to ACU interested in pursing a career in sports management or sports marketing. After attending a job fair in Dallas centered around the corporate side of sports, Aaron made connections with the front office of FC Dallas. He accepted the unpaid internship because he was excited about the opportunity and experience and knew it would be a great resume builder. We’ve asked Aaron to share about his summer internship experience with us:
Every experience gained throughout this internship was a vital building block in my understanding of life, business, and personal goals. This thirteen-week experience of trials, setbacks, and successes was a much-needed real world encounter. I came into this internship with expectations of what a professional soccer team would be like, and I was very please with what I found.
Aaron at Cowboy Stadium for an FC Dallas game
The business side is completely different from the game played on the field. These two sides have to work together in order to compete well against other teams and stay profitable and sustainable. FC Dallas has the one of the most consistent organizations in the MLS with numbers to back it up. They’re growing in popularity every year, and are consistently staying competitive. These are great signs for what the future holds for the game here in the United States of America.
When I first interviewed for the Team Administrative & Player Personnel Intern position, I wanted to make it clear that I wanted to learn the business of sports. Wherever they were going to put me, I was going to soak up as much information as possible through this experience. Come to find out when I started I was given just what I was asking for. My position gave me the ability to work and help with the team at practices and games.
FC Dallas at Cowboys Stadium
I also worked in the corporate office dealing with scouting databases, budgets, and logistics for the Team Administration and players to which it gave me the other perspective. Both sides of the puzzle were at my grasp to learn from multiple supervisors that were either directors, managers, or coaches. All of which have amazing stories that helped with me understanding more insights in today’s complex sports niche. I am extremely thankful for the trust that they gave in me with passing sensitive information in order for me to learn.
Time was my only downfall to this experience with which I wanted more time to be a part of this great organization. These thirteen weeks flew by with so many different scenarios that I was able to learn from for future successes. The projects given to me to be responsible for at FC Dallas were great challenges for me to start, but now the projects must be passed to the next intern for furthering them in benefiting the company. There is still much to learn about this sport and how things are done, but I have a feeling it wont be my last time in this related field. I thank God for my opportunity with FC Dallas, and I hope that I made a lasting impression.
by Amanda Pittman | Aug 3, 2011 | Careers In..., COBA Events, College Decisions, Current Students, Special Speakers
The College of Business Administration is excited to announce our Fall 2011 Distinguished Speaker Series special guest. On Thursday, November 3, Cheryl Bachelder, the President of Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen and chief executive of AFC Enterprises, Atlanta will be visiting our campus, teaching in a Consumer Behavior course, engaging students in one-on-one mentoring conversations and will speak at luncheon in the Hunter Welcome Center.
Cheryl Bachelder via New York Times, Dan Dry
We couldn’t be more thrilled and honored to host Mrs. Bachelder. Take a few minutes to read more about her in this recent New York Times article and here, in this article in the Franchise Times Magazine. Mrs. Bachelder has worked for Proctor & Gamble, RJR Nabisco (general manager of the LifeSavers division), and Domino’s Pizza. We are looking forward to hearing from Mrs. Bachelder and we hope you can join us for lunch on Thursday, Nov. 3rd.
