Virginia Wesleyan University’s student-led business conference, “The Marlin Prestige,” begins on Monday and will continue throughout the week (November 13-17).
Our campus community and guests from the Coastal Virginia region are
invited to participate in workshops, presentations, and interactive
panels that embrace the fall 2017 theme, “Lighting the Future: Finding
Success through Ethical Business Practices.”
The Marlin Prestige
represents months of hard work by students in the Virginia Wesleyan
business course, “Principles of Management.” Students coordinate all
elements of the event, exercising key management skills such as product
development, networking, project and financial planning, and more.
Throughout
the semester I’ve had the pleasure of meeting with many of our
conference participants, including student leaders Kathryn Grainer,
Chief Executive Officer, Peyton Auxt, Chief of Staff, Caitlin Eversole,
Chief Finance Officer, and Arianna Diggs, Chief Business Intelligence
Analyst. Together with their classmates and Virginia Wesleyan business
faculty, this group has worked hard to create a conference that focuses
on the importance of business ethics as an essential component of career
development.
I am proud to share that among this semester’s
guest speakers and panelists are Virginia Wesleyan Trustee Ken Trinder,
President/CEO of EOS Systems, and alumna Sydney Covey,
Sustainability Program Analyst at Hourigan Construction and recipient of
VWU’s 2017 Graduate of the Last Decade (GOLD) Award.
They join
panel discussion speakers and presenters Ann Brogan of Crowley,
Liberatore, Ryan & Brogan, P.C.; David Byrd of the Virginia Stage
Company; Lanitha Hudson of the City of Virginia Beach Department of
Housing & Neighborhood Preservation; Bruce Alperin of Aramark; Erin
Gaines of Geico; and Michael Ewing of the Elizabeth River Project River
Star Committee. Virginia Wesleyan business professors Dave Garraty and
Linda Ferguson (Dean of the Birdsong School of Social Science) also join
this year’s program.
Daily activities will once again include
the popular “Shark Tank” presentations, which closely mirror the ABC
television series, and presentations by “Information Systems Programs”
(ISP) students. For more information and a complete schedule of events,
visit The Marlin Prestige webpage.
Many
thanks to Dr. Paul Ewell, Batten Associate Professor of Management,
Business, and Economics, and all business department faculty and
students for hosting this educational event for our community.
