by Katherine Norris | Sep 10, 2020 | Academics, Accounting, Careers In..., Current Students, MAcc, Outcomes, Professional Development, Student Spotlights, Student Spotlights, Uncategorized
Brooke Lenz
Brooke Lenz, a MAcc student from Lakeway, Texas has made the most of the internship opportunities available to COBA students. Last summer, she completed an eight-week internship with Harper and Pearson in Houston. This summer, she wanted to see how working at one of the “Big 4” accounting firms compared to her previous internship experience. Brooke recently completed a five-week internship with EY in Dallas and has been offered a position at EY post-graduation. We asked Brooke to share the highlights of her internship and to give some advice to current students who are looking at internship possibilities.
What were the greatest lessons you learned in the internship?
Communication is so important if you want to learn and succeed at what you are doing. Communicate when you have questions about things, communicate when you want clarity, communicate when you finish a task, etc.. It shows the person you are working with that you want to learn and you are willing to listen. Once you are given an assignment or shown how to do something, write it down so you don’t have to repeat any of your questions and so you don’t forget how to do something.
How has your time at ACU prepared you for this internship and for employment after graduation?
ACU has really helped shape who I want to be as an employee and co-worker. The professors do a great job of showing you that you can succeed in whatever you set your mind to all while maintaining integrity and high moral character.
What advice do you have for students who are preparing for an internship?
I would advise those who have upcoming internships to have confidence in themselves. Your grades are what qualified you for your internship, but how personable you are and how well you work with others is what solidified your internship. Be open to learning new things and remember to be yourself! Have fun, enjoy your internship experience, and bring a positive attitude to work everyday!
What’s been your favorite thing about your time at ACU and in COBA?
My favorite thing about ACU and being a COBA student has to be the relationships I have formed. I know that I would not have the personal connections and relationships I have with my professors at any other university. They truly care about you as an individual person, more than just your success in the classroom. They take the time to invest in each student and get to know them on a more personal level.
by Katherine Norris | Aug 6, 2020 | Academics, Careers In..., Current Students, Financial Management, Outcomes, Student Spotlights, Uncategorized
Haden Johnson is a senior finance major from Dallas, Texas. Haden spent his summer as an intern for Everlight Solar in Madison, WI and will potentially begin a career with them after graduation. We asked Haden a few questions about what he learned from his experience and what advice he has for other students who are looking to find an internship that may lead to a future career.
What were the greatest lessons you learned in the internship?
I learned that even if it isn’t school-related, the best thing we can work on is ourselves. Every day we have a two-hour training finding out how we can improve ourselves inside and, more importantly, outside of work. My favorite thing about Everlight is that they focus on the fact we are always learning, all the way from the CEO to the newest interns.
How has your time at ACU prepared you for this internship and for employment after graduation?
ACU has shown me how to be personable with everyone I interact with, and creating relationships that go far past “business.” ACU has allowed me to realize that every little moment I have to improve myself counts and can be worth a ton. My favorite thing about being a COBA student is seeing how well connected this college is, and how much the people in it care. Even the people you might not know will check-in and make sure you are doing well, and it makes being a student “easy.”
What advice do you have for students who are preparing for an internship?
My advice would be to take your time and find a company or culture that suits your strengths, and where you can see yourself coming out of the internship and being a much stronger person. Not only will it be beneficial for your resume and professional skills, but it will allow you to work on being the best version of yourself outside of work and school as well.
I took this summer as a step similar to the step it takes from going to high school to college. This summer I looked at having a professional internship as a stage to grow as a professional, but also as a person. I didn’t know hardly anybody in Wisconsin but decided to take a leap of faith to test myself and see who I can be. The first night here felt like the first night in my freshman dorm, a little uneasy and uncertain about the future. Luckily, the more I dove out of my comfort zone, the more I was rewarded. This company, Everlight Solar, invested a TON in me early on, and it has paid dividends in myself as a professional, but more as a person. The people and friends I have met have pushed me far past my limiting beliefs of who I can be, and will continue to do so. I am very happy to have the opportunity to start and continue my professional career with Everlight, and I highly recommend this company for anyone who wants to jumpstart their business career.
by Katherine Norris | Jul 30, 2020 | Academics, Careers In..., Current Students, Management, Outcomes, Student Spotlights, Uncategorized
Kennedy Barnett is a senior management major with an emphasis on leadership and communications from Rockwall, Texas. Kennedy has interned for Encompass Health-Home Health in Dallas for the last two years. She is hopeful that this internship will transition into a full-time position after graduation. We asked Kennedy a few questions about her internship and her preparation for a future career as a student at ACU.
What were the greatest lessons you learned in the internship?
I have interned in the Professional Development department at Encompass Health for the last 2 years. In that role, I was able to interact with all departments and observe a lot of executive coaching and leadership development. I learned how to coach and give feedback, as well as how to show up professionally in the workplace.
How has your time at ACU prepared you for this internship and for employment after graduation?
Being able to successfully apply the things that I have learned in class motivates me to want to dig in and learn more. Dr. Marquardt’s Leadership in Organizations course and leadership theories have been especially helpful in preparing me for the workplace.
What’s been your favorite thing about being a COBA student?
The thing that stands out to me about COBA is the investment that the professors make in each of their students. They encourage, motivate, and build relationships with their students and it enriches our learning experience.
Kennedy with CEO of Encompass Home Health and ACU Alum and Board of Trustees Chair, April Anthony
What advice do you have for students who are preparing for an internship?
One of the most beneficial things for me has been sitting in on meetings or spending one on one time with people in positions that I could potentially be interested in. I would advise anyone entering an internship to go in open-minded and be willing to try out different positions or projects that might be outside of your comfort zone. You may discover that you are a great fit somewhere that you never would have considered otherwise!
I would like to encourage everyone to seek out an internship. It changes your mindset in class whenever you have some real-life experience that you can apply to the things that you are learning about. Interning at Encompass gave me a new perspective and made my junior year so much more enriching. I want that for each of you as well.
by Katherine Norris | May 14, 2020 | Academics, COBA Faculty, Faith Infusion, Outcomes, Poverty and Development, Research, Uncategorized
Do you ever wonder what COBA professors do when they aren’t teaching class? You may not know it, but many of our professors commit their time to conducting research of all different types. Dr. Monty Lynn recently co-authored a research article titled, “Better Together: Improving Food Security and Nutrition by Linking Market and Food Systems”. The article is a literature review of market and food systems informing on the latest impacts of COVID-19 towards global food security.
Dr. Lynn says, “The article is the fruit of a collaborative effort with technical advisors at World Vision and CARE, supplemented by faculty members at ACU and the Catholic University of America. To share the findings, the article authors will host a webinar in June to describe our work, mostly with a global CARE and World Vision audience. In the article, we combine two popular approaches in global food security which attempt to strengthen markets and nutrition, and we describe CARE and World Vision food security programming that illustrates the model. In the webinar, we will describe the latest information from CARE and World Vision on how the coronavirus pandemic and COVID-19 are impacting global food security.” Dr. Lynn notes that “It is a welcome and special opportunity to join a research team with two of the largest development organizations in the United States and to collaborate with my colleague, Dan Norell, a Senior Technical Advisor in Economic Development at World Vision in Washington, D.C.”
The article and webinar will explore the following:
- The Inclusive Market and Food Systems Model
- The importance of bringing the market to vulnerable households
- How empowering women multiplies nutritional outcomes
- How access does not necessarily equal consumption
- The impact of COVID-19 on programming and adaptive management for livelihood programs
Photo by Jeremy Enlow
International development is a topic that Dr. Lynn stays current with for his research and an International Development class that he occasionally teaches at ACU. His recent research shows that “Major gains have been made in global food security, reducing global hunger. Gains began eroding in 2015, however, and global food insecurity began rising again. Nearly one billion people are food insecure today and 140 million of those became food insecure because of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and mitigation efforts that have disrupted food production and supply chains.”
This blog post is just a glimpse of the information that is covered in the research article. We encourage you to read the full article HERE and join the webinar on May 19th at 12:30 pm EST, Washington, D.C. time zone HERE.
by Katherine Norris | Feb 20, 2020 | Academics, Accounting, City of Abilene, Current Students, Faith Infusion, Outcomes, Social Entrepreneurship, Student Spotlights
Claire Shudde
On January 27th, senior chemistry major Claire Shudde entered the Improve ACU Competition and left with a cash prize of $500 and the opportunity to make her idea come to life. The competition was co-hosted by the ACU Student Government Association (SGA) and the Griggs Center for Entrepreneurship and Philanthropy.
Mindy Howard, the Student Engagement Coordinator for the Griggs Center for Entrepreneurship and Philanthropy explained why they chose to create this competition. “We wanted to try and reach a larger sector of the student body and engage them in entrepreneurial thinking. The prompt was simply what are your ideas to improve ACU? We had 139 total entries and the finalists and winner were picked by the SGA student team. There were several really creative ideas submitted. Some of the top ideas included a community garden, a low-cost food pantry for students, and a student led spirit team at the ACU basketball games. Our hope was that students would take a moment to look around and see how their ideas could lead to real change at ACU. Every successful business, initiative or service starts with a great idea.”
Claire told us, “My idea to improve ACU is to have selected accounting and business students help lower income citizens in Abilene file their taxes. Filing taxes isn’t always easy and for people who either don’t have the education or ability to file for themselves, it can be a daunting task. If students at ACU — ideally selected by faculty who have witnessed the student’s desire and ability to serve the community in this way — can help locals file their taxes, they can gain real world experience while also benefiting the community.”
Shudde gave credit where credit is due for the idea. “I got the idea from a friend who attends St. Mary’s University in San Antonio. Their school is situated in an impoverished part of town and the students intentionally work on reaching out and ministering to the community. As a Christian school, I think ACU could follow suit and reach out to the community in this way. There is potential for this to be an incredible ministry in Abilene, and while accounting/finance majors help people with money, other students can minister to the people waiting.”
Claire continued, “I think the best way to establish this would be to partner with ministries like Love and Care or the Mission that are currently working and established. As a senior chemistry major, I am fairly far removed from accounting and finance, so I doubt I could be involved in the actual functioning of the tax clinic. Rather than be hands on myself, I would love to brainstorm with those who are knowledgeable in this area and will be in Abilene longer than me.
I think breaking the ACU bubble in this way will benefit both the community and the ACU students involved. My hope and prayer is that through simple actions such as helping a single mom file for a tax return, people can experience the love of God. Isaiah 1:17 says ‘Learn to do good, seek justice, correct oppression, bring justice to the fatherless, take up the case of the widow.’ While setting up a tax clinic does not fix all the problems in Abilene, I think it would be a chance for christians to live out this charge. I hope that in a few years I can look back and see ACU taking steps into the community beyond just a tax clinic.”
The ACU community often talks about the “ACU Difference”. Bright minded students who have a passion not only for ACU, but for making ACU and Abilene a greater place, are living, breathing examples of that difference. Congratulations to Claire Shudde on winning the competition! Want to learn more about the Griggs Center for Entrepreneurship and Philanthropy and how you can get involved? Click here to learn more.
by M. C. Jennings | Jan 30, 2020 | Academics, Alumni Spotlight, Careers In..., Current Students, Outcomes, Professional Development, Uncategorized
Christian Guerra speaks to students at a Lunch and Learn event.
ACU’s Career Center, Department of Engineering and Physics, and College of Business Administration worked together to host ACU alumnus Christian Guerra (’06) on January 28th. Christian serves as the Vice President and General Manager Operations for Avanzar Interior Technologies and returned to campus to address engineering, physics, and business students about the career opportunities available in automotive manufacturing. Christian was joined by other Avanzar team members including C.D. Rodriguez, who serves as the Human Resources Manager. Avanzar, an award winning manufacturer located in San Antonio, Texas, is a Toyota Motors production partner who manufacturers the seats for the Toyota Tundra.
The Toyota automotive manufacturing production standards are truly world class and give Avanzar employees the tremendous opportunity to learn best practices and work to produce top of the line products. Christian gave students insights into the internship and career opportunities available with their company as well as the company culture. Guerra was a student worker for former COBA Dean Dr. Rick Lytle when he was at ACU. He shared with students that Dr. Lytle impressed on him the need to be “Christ in the workplace”. Christian said that he puts this lesson into practice every day as he works to lead this family owned business with 1,100 associates in San Antonio and 200 associates in Mexico. He also reflected on his time in LYNAY and Dr. Gary McCaleb’s encouragement to go back to your community and help where you can. Christian took this advice, returned home, and is helping Avanzar provide an excellent work opportunity for employees in his hometown of San Antonio. This same work ethic is exemplified throughout the Avanzar organization. Berto Guerra, founder of Avanzar and ACU Board of Trustee, was honored by EY as the 2015 Manufacturing Entrepreneur of the Year.
Addressing work challenges through effective teamwork is critical at Avanzar. In their visit to the Engineering Department, the Avanzar representatives had a chance to observe current students working in teams to determine objectives and alternative solutions all while
Engineering, physics and business students were invited to learn about careers and internships with Avanzar.
operating with constraints during their engineering classes. The opportunity to work with ACU engineering, physics and business students aligns with the needs of the manufacturer both with regard to their work ethic and with their Christ-centered focus in the workplace. HR representative C.D. Rodriguez was impressed with the Engineering and Science facilities and enjoyed meeting the professors and students, stating that they will be back later this spring to conduct interviews. COBA looks forward to creating more opportunities for our students as we continue to collaborate with our partners in the ACU Career Center and across campus. To learn more about the ACU Career Center and job and internship opportunities, click here.
