Summer Business Institute

Bridging the Gap

NON-BuSINESS MAJORS FIND THE BEST OF BOTH WORlDS AND BuIlD ON THEIR BuSINESS SkIllS

Cristina Dominguez (second row fourth from the right), now an Operations Analyst at Morgan Stanley, with her Summer Business Institute Class of 2009.

As A VillAnoVA UniVersity junior majoring in psychology, Cristina Dominguez hoped to enhance her prospects for employment. “I loved my psych classes but wanted something that would tie in business-related topics and make me more marketable,” says Cristina, a 2010 graduate from Puerto Rico.

Ameer Jones also wanted to gain a basic understanding of everyday business principles. The mechanical engineering student from Philadelphia knew that a business background could accelerate his chances for a more fulfilling future.

Bryan Wagner just wanted to “bridge the gap” between engineering and business. A civil engineering student from East Brunswick, N.J., Bryan worked in his parents’ business during summers and figured a formal business background could only help him achieve higher levels of success.

All three Villanova undergrads found their answers at the Villanova School of Business’ Summer Business Institute (SBI). Founded in 1997, SBI runs for 10 weeks each summer, immersing students in a rigorous curriculum designed to give non-business majors or recent graduates with non-business degrees a competitive edge in the corporate world. Villanova students who successfully complete the program earn a minor in business. Students from other colleges and universities receive an SBI Business Certificate.

Taught by the multidimensional Villanova School of Business (VSB) faculty, who draw from a wealth of real-world business experience, SBI coursework provides instruction in accounting, economics, finance, marketing, management, and corporate responsibility. Modeled after VSB’s top-ranked undergraduate program, the SBI curriculum offers a vital link between students’ chosen discipline and the world of business. Innovative thinking, ethical leadership, strategic management, and globalization are a few of the business essentials stressed at SBI.

A Worthy Investment

“Because it is offered as a stand-alone summer program, SBI allows students to fully concentrate on business integration, which would be hard to do during a regular semester when there are so many competing priorities,” explains Melinda German, associate dean for undergraduate business programs. “Because they fully understand the goals of non-business students, our faculty purposefully tailor the SBI curriculum, schedule, and activities to meet their needs. Despite ‘giving up’ a summer, our participants find this experience is well worth the investment.”

This year, Villanova’s program boasted

the second-highest number of students in its 14-year history. The 93 participating students included sophomores, juniors, and seniors from Villanova, Wake Forest, Penn State, and the university of Delaware. Some 44 percent were liberal arts students, 16 percent studied science, and 35 percent were engineering majors. One student came from the College of Nursing.

A mandatory professional development component of the program identified students to hone their interviewing, networking, and resume-writing skills under the guidance of professional career advisors. Students also drill on public speaking. Bryan Wagner, who attended SBI as a rising junior, identified this segment as crucial to his successful run for Villanova Student Body president during his senior year, as well as in landing a job with a prestigious company after graduation.

“Everyone had to work on public speaking—sometimes behind the podium, sometimes walking around the room, Oprah-style,” says Bryan, who now works as a technology consultant with Deloitte Consulting in Philadelphia. “I’ve been complimented by my employer and my clients on my public speaking ability and my ability to handle stress by stepping back and looking at the big picture—both skills I perfected while in SBI.”

LeAdInG WIth humILIty

Ameer Jones also exercised his SBI skills while still at Villanova. Since he took the program after his freshman year, he had opportunities to employ leadership methods learned in Professor Narda Quigley’s management class when he later was president of several student organizations. “She told us that sometimes as a leader, you have to be humble,” he adds. “That really resonated with me.”

Ameer, who now works for lockheed Martin in operational development, also notes: “While I attended SBI, we learned leadership, communications, teamwork, and ethics. I matured a lot from learning these principles. They are the basic core values of my company and the business industry today.”

But who says learning can’t also be fun? Ameer described an end-of-theprogram project in which he and his fellow students presented their ideas about the characteristics a great leader should embody. “Every single group did an amazing job,” he says. “Some dressed up as superheroes, some shared videotaped skits, and our group presented different aspects of leaders. I was the analytical type—dressed up with suspenders and thick glasses—channeling Steve Erkel.” like all SBI students, Cristina, Ameer, and Bryan were challenged by a highly demanding marketing project assigned by John kozup, associate professor of marketing and business law. Small groups were given materials one day and asked to submit an entire marketing plan the next. “My group worked on it until 3:00 in the morning,” Bryan explains. “The next day, Professor kozup provided feedback and we were up most of the night again preparing to present the following day. He told us it was good training for when our bosses throw a similar project at us one day. And you know what? He was right!”

More and more students now realize that whatever professional path they

Ameer Jones SBI ’07 graduated from Villanova University in 2010 with a major in Mechanical Engineering.

choose, adding a business background to their credentials will make them far more attractive to recruiters and employers, according to Narda Quigley, associate professor of management and operations. “Whether they select a career in business, engineering, law, healthcare, or education, the combination of skills students acquire at SBI will prepare them for success,” she notes.

Industry speakers from area companies also provide students with an external perspective for many of the business topics covered during the program. Cristina remembers one such speaker giving a talk about interviewing tips. “I completely remembered the presentation, and then sometime later, I saw the speaker at a Job Fair on campus,” relates Cristina. “I went up to her to say how much I enjoyed it. She’s now my boss at Morgan Stanley.”

The summer Bryan took SBI, he was asked to come up with “Ten Commandments for Ourselves”— fundamentals that would serve as rules for his life. The class then shrunk the statements into a 2x2 inch piece of paper and laminated them.

Three years later, sitting at his desk at Deloitte Consulting, Bryan still pulls the SBI souvenir out of his wallet as a fond reminder of his summer experience. V