TTU College of Business first Professional Development Week a success
In order to better prepare students for the realities of the modern workplace, the College of Business at Tennessee Tech University offered its first Professional Development Week Nov. 9-13. As a part of the program, each student entering the third year of study attended workshops on written and oral communications along with sessions on other professional development topics.
“The benefits for participating students are numerous,” said Amy Jo Carpenter, student-to-career program manager and organizer of the Professional Development Week. “This serves as a ‘rite of passage’ into the next phase of their college careers.”
Professional development workshops were conducted by Tennessee Rep. Henry D. Fincher, Beth Null Dorris of State Farm Insurance, Melinda Keifer of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development, Alice Camuti of TTU Career Services and Don Calcote of Community Bank of the Cumberlands. Bob Luna of Luna & Birdwell Investment Group and Donna Smith, TTU communications instructor, presented the oral and written communications workshops.
Topics included proper business etiquette, the importance of customer service at work and in life, the benefits of getting involved in the community, networking, the value of making oneself a marketable product, and the importance of evaluating your values and beliefs to stay genuine in your goals and aspirations.
“We hope this adds value and meaning to the rest of our students’ journey toward becoming business professionals,” said James Jordan-Wagner, TTU College of Business dean. “This is the type of knowledge that is very useful to a new employee, but is not typically covered in the academic classroom. We owe a debt of gratitude to the community members who volunteered to help us out. Feedback from the students and speakers has been very positive.”
