The College of Business and Communication’s Executive Student Board launched the first official event for its new Career Advancement Network, known as CAN, last Thursday.
The Executive Student Board for the College of Business and Communication formed this August, but was in the works much earlier. Brother Harrell, Associate Dean of Student Success, as well as President Brock Neiderer and
"I pitched the idea in May," Neiderder said, "and we started trying to recruit shortly after that."
After the interviewing process, Neiderer and Chamberlain chose a candidate to represent each of the six departments within the College of Business and Communication. The candidates were selected based on academic success, internships, professor recommendations and their willingness to volunteer 5 hours a week to help jumpstart the initiative.
The student board is working on several initiatives aimed at improving the work and networking culture within the college. CAN is the first of those initiatives.
This new program offers students a chance to connect with peers in their major and learn about upcoming mentoring and panel opportunities. The kickoff included raffle prizes, such as a Kelly Canyon ski pass and gift cards to IBC businesses.
Madie Wright, a BYU-Idaho student who represents the communication department on the Executive Student Board, has worked on branding for the event and website design.
"Seeing all our hard work for this event made me believe that all our other initiatives will be successful and impactful," said Wright.
President Meredith previously met with the executive student board before the kickoff event in support of their efforts and initiative.
“CAN is designed to help students build meaningful relationships, explore career paths, and mentor one another in a spirit of ministering and service,” according to the Career Advancement Network website.
Panel director Corinee Bernards, an economics and data science major, said the program builds on mentoring that is already happening around campus.
Bernards shared an experience when she met another student who had questions about Bernard's major. She was able to help this other student and answer all of her questions.
“I’ve seen this work in a very organic way,” said Bernards. “With more structure, meet-and-greets, panels and mentorship, I think this will help students build confidence and build their careers.”
Bernards oversees the program’s student panelists: upperclassmen who visit introductory classes to speak about majors, internships and career preparation. Mentors, Bernards said, focus on answering questions and supporting students one-on-one.
Jolie Cice, the business management representative on the student board, helped plan and refine the kickoff event.
“Our department chairs are really enthusiastic about getting students involved,” said Cice. “We were able to get announcements out through Canvas, faculty and class visits. We’ve been working for weeks to get this program launched.”
Executive board president Niederer said CAN is meant to change BYUI’s culture by helping students see that networking can be simple.
“What we’re trying to do with this kickoff is show students it starts small, talking to the people in your classes, your faculty, your friends,” said Niederer.
Niederer shared that peer mentorship fills gaps that students often don’t realize exist until it's too late.
“Imagine a senior with three internships and industry contacts. How much could they help a freshman who’s just getting started?” Niederer said. “Or imagine a senior with no experience, realizing too late that they needed to start earlier. The goal is to help students begin working on their careers sooner and more often.”
The student board plans to host more CAN events and classroom panels throughout the semester as the program continues to grow.
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