Rohrer College of Business Rohrer Review

June 2021

Vol. VII Issue 4

Welcome to the Rohrer Review!

Michelle Martinez, the inaugural RCB MBA Fellow in Innovation and Impact, is using her financial expertise to target social issues.

Inaugural RCB Fellow connects resources for community advocacy

As the first Rohrer College of Business MBA Fellow in Innovation and Impact, Michelle Martinez M’22, is applying more than a decade of financial experience to tackle social issues.

“I want to focus on advocacy in building capacity for community-based organizations, as well as making connections through engagement,” Martinez said. To do so, she will network and provide support services to community development financial institutions.

Alumnus Austin Fitzgerald’s internship led him to launch a business that is thriving.

Internship leads to innovative business

When internship opportunities plunged last spring due to the pandemic, Austin Fitzgerald ’20 learned to be persistent and creative.

Eventually, Fitzgerald found a core drilling company that was willing to take on the business management major as an intern.

“Core drilling companies drill holes for plumbing, electrical, window or door installation or other jobs,” explained Fitzgerald, a Howell resident. However, if they don’t have specifics about the building, they may damage underlying infrastructure, such as utility lines.

Dr. Susana Santos promotes the many benefits of an entrepreneurial mindset for students in every major.

Professor inspires an entrepreneurial mindset for a brighter future

Among Dr. Susana Santos’ many research topics, she’s especially passionate about how the entrepreneurial mindset can help low-income populations revamp their lives in uncertain circumstances.

In fact, Santos believes people can look at any situation through the lens of entrepreneurship to see a challenge as a new opportunity. “It is a skill set that will allow each individual to find a way to build his or her own job. The entrepreneurial mindset has important implications for the person. It is about transformation and empowerment; and as we create our own businesses, we can also create jobs for others,” said Santos, an assistant professor of entrepreneurship in the RCB.

RGSAAB Members participate in a virtual LinkedIn Peer Workshop, led by Marc Castrillon, RGSAAB director of community and membership.

Graduate program launches advisory board

RCB graduate program students and alumni are forging new relationships and taking their expertise to new levels through the recently launched Rohrer Graduate Student and Alumni Advisory Board.

The College established RGSAAB last fall to build community connections that elevate the student experience and the reputation of the Rohrer graduate program, said President Kaitlyn Anthony ’19, M’21. “Through networking, relationship building, seminars and other initiatives, we started to cultivate and celebrate diversity and leadership among business professionals within the MBA program,” said Anthony, a Bordentown resident. She explained that they wanted to find ways to connect students to build the Rohrer graduate program community but to also build a network for future career opportunities.

RCB students and area organizations have long benefited from project based learning, such as this pre-pandemic group.

PBL teams tackle business challenges from every angle

Student-based teams now provide multifaceted business services for area nonprofit agencies, government and industry through RCB’s new "Business Consultancy Course."

Project-based learning has long been a hallmark of the RCB business education. “What makes this course unique is that it involves students from accounting, finance, entrepreneurship, management and human resource management,” said Stephen Kozachyn, RCB’s director of experiential learning. “In contrast, traditional PBL-based courses are discipline specific. For instance, you may have a team of human resource management students work on a compensation plan for a client or marketing students develop a social media plan.” Kozachyn and Dr. Berrin Guner, marketing professor, developed the course to replicate the multidisciplinary teams students will experience when they enter the workplace.

Jerry McGough, co-principal of Total Turf Experience in Pitman, an indoor/outdoor sports and entertainment complex, was one of the first businesses selected for the program. Students set to work on a feasibility study for a membership program and provided social media and website guidance.

DIBB members gather virtually to discuss diversity and inclusion in business.

New student organization embraces diversity, inclusion and belonging

A new RCB student organization embraces diversity and promotes inclusion and belonging in the workplace, values that the College’s future business leaders will take into their careers.

The Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging in Business club highlights the distinctive skills and perspectives each person contributes to the work setting.

“Every student has a unique background or skills that will help them succeed in the business world,” said Sapna Modi ’23, club president and a finance major from Voorhees Township. “We want them to embrace that and expand their social and professional networks. We want to help them become more confident going out into the world.”