By Matt SpectorThe Daily Northwestern
Students who aspire to own Fortune 500 companies came closer to their goals Saturday at Northwestern’s third annual Undergraduate Business Conference. The event brought together business-minded students from all parts of the university to network with Kellogg students and industry professionals.
Organizers said about 120 students attended Saturday’s conference, a joint venture of the Northwestern University Business Council and NU’s Institute for Student Business Education. This year’s event marked the first time the two groups have organized a conference together.
Business consulting firm McKinsey & Company gave the groups $1,500 to fund the event, organizers said.
“We got a really great turnout,” said ISBE member and Communication sophomore Cristina Cu. “I think it shows how so many people on this campus are interested in business.”
The conference featured three speakers: Ambassador Ricardo Carvalho, Chicago’s Brazilian Consul General; Pulte Homes founder William J. Pulte; and McKinsey & Company managing partner John Livingston.
“People really enjoyed Bill Pulte, they said he was really funny,” said conference co-chairwoman and Communication sophomore Katherine O’Koniewski. “He offered a lot of insight into his experience in the real estate industry.”
During the breaks between speeches, the attendees had breakout sessions with representatives from companies such as Goldman Sachs. Students talked with professionals who had recently graduated from college as well as higher-level businesspeople with years of experience.
The highlights of the conference were the lunchtime networking sessions between undergraduates and Kellogg graduate students at the John Evans Alumni Center, O’Koniewski said. She said the alumni center was “a more intimate setting to sit down, get to know them and hear about their backgrounds.”
“That was a great opportunity for students who don’t normally get to take a break from their busy schedules to sit down and connect with other people, learn the pathways they’ve taken to get there,” she said.
Weinberg junior and conference organizer Kyle Asher said the day’s events were invaluable for students who are looking to break into the business world. The speakers and breakout sessions were ideal for individuals interested in investment banking, consulting or management, he said.
Cu said organizing the event was a great way for her to get “hands on” business experience.
“Since we don’t have a business major here, this is the best way of doing it because you get involved in something like this – marketing an event, planning an event.” Cu said. “You’re part of the process.
“I got to meet someone who’s from one of the top five marketing firms in the country,” Cu said.
Before his keynote address Saturday afternoon, Livingston sat in on one of the breakout sessions at the alumni center and offered advice that drew from his professional experience working for a business consulting firm. Livingston said the students in his breakout group asked “insightful”questions.
“When (the breakout speakers) were this age, we didn’t even know what consulting was,” Livingston said.
Livingston said the Kellogg School of Management and NU’s undergraduate schools are key sources for finding employees for his company.
“We are increasing the number of undergrads that we are hiring instead of waiting for people to go to business schools,” he said. “For our Chicago office and for our firm, NU is one of our focus schools.”
O’Koniewski said she could tell the conference was a success because students were exchanging e-mail addresses with professionals at the end of the day.
“When it comes time to find that internship or to graduate and get a job, students will have these connections that they can utilize, and hopefully they’ve developed a relationship with these people that they can benefit from,” O’Koniewski said.
Reach Matt Spector at [email protected].
