Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

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Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

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Industry leaders talk business with undergrads

At 7:45 a.m. on Saturday, about 50 students rolled out of bed for The Nugget Group’s undergraduate business conference, a program designed to bring more resources and opportunities to undergraduates interested in careers in fields such as investment, consulting and management.

Even the speakers were impressed.

“When I was an undergrad, Saturday morning was definitely not my best time,” Jeffrey Cohen, Associate Principal for McKinsey & Company, told the audience during a panel discussion in the Owen L. Coon Forum.

The Nugget Group, Northwestern’s undergraduate business club, has more than 600 students in the economics and Business Institutions programs signed up for its listserv. To provide these students the same type of opportunities as graduate students, The Nugget Group brought several managers, CEOs and presidents from major firms such as Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers and more.

In addition to a series of panel discussions and speakers — including a keynote address by University President Henry Bienen — students could participate in a recruiting and networking session.

“We want to give undergrads a chance to get started and give them exposure to different opportunities,” said Weinberg junior Mira Christanto. “These students are meeting six managing directors in a space of three hours — not something they can do very often.”

Co-chairwoman Christanto said the conference was put together in a matter of months and that they received a lot of assistance from Kellogg School of Management. Although she said the group “does not have the money that Kellogg has,” they were able to spend “thousands of dollars” on the event.

She and co-chairman Kevin Rodrigues, a Weinberg junior, knew exactly who they wanted to contact for the event and said the companies were excited to participate, although the event was a huge time commitment for them.

“These are principals, associates, managing directors — this is family time for them, and some of them flew in to be here,” Christanto said.

Since NU does not offer an undergraduate business program, Christanto said, the topics at Kellogg conferences can go over the heads of younger students or scare them away, so it was important to address a universal issue. The conference focused on outsourcing, which The Nugget Group defines as giving jobs within a company to external sources and offshoring, where local companies work with contract providers overseas. This practice has grown significantly in the United States in the past few years.

The speakers in the panel discussion gave their firms’ stances on the practice and advised students about how to understand and succeed within the practice in various organizations and business environments.

“You can be affected by outsourcing, or you can be part of the deal process,” Cohen said during his presentation. “It’s important to look at the big picture.”

Students who attended the conference, such as Weinberg sophomore Jesse Saini, said the speakers gave them more insight into a company’s view on outsourcing and offshoring.

“It definitely informed me and gave me more perspective on the business side, and it also displaced a lot of media myths,” Saini said.

McCormick freshman Liridon Rrushaj agreed that the speeches were informative and beneficial.

“Outsourcing has become a much larger issue and a worthwhile issue, and I think having this information will allow me to develop a path and become more competitive in the field,” Rrushaj said.

Reach Kristyn Schiavone at [email protected].

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Industry leaders talk business with undergrads