The Richmond MBA Student Organizations

The Richmond MBA Student Organizations

November 17, 2014
The Richmond MBA student organizations have an exciting year of events in store

The opportunity to connect with professional colleagues outside of class has become an important element of The Richmond MBA in recent years.  The MBA Women’s Association and the MBA Leadership Council kicked off the academic year with creative social events that strengthened the bonds among participating students. Leaders from each group shared details on those recent events and described what the organizations have in store for 2014-15.

Amy Whalen, GB’16, marketing and events coordinator for the MBA Women’s Association, shared the organization’s vision. “We strive to bring the bright, motivated women of The Richmond MBA together. We hope to develop camaraderie amongst the female students while discussing ways to elevate our careers as females in the workforce. As the next generation of leaders, we want to remove the stigma around women leaders and promote equal opportunity for advancement.”

As for the MBA Leadership Council, the organization’s president, second-year MBA student Lake Wagner, shared the organization’s goals. “Networking is one of the most important aspects of any MBA program. We want to provide as many opportunities as possible to facilitate as much interaction among students and their families, and we hope to set a foundation of recurring activities to accomplish that.”

Wagner shared, “In October we traveled to Busch Gardens Williamsburg for a fun, team building event. We drove together and enjoyed all the rides as a group. We also hosted a happy hour at Hardywood Park Craft Brewery early this month. We had 35 students in attendance, and it was a great opportunity to network and see our fellow classmates and their families. This past Saturday we hosted a tailgate party for the University of Richmond and James Madison University football. This was another great opportunity to bond and cheer on the Spiders.”

“We hope to continue hosting a happy hour event on the first Friday of every month,” he said of future events. “We’re discussing a white water rafting trip on the James River as well as a formal event for the spring. As for community service events, we plan to have one per semester, and we’re meeting with the Robins School’s Student Government Association to consider joint philanthropic opportunities.”

Whalen described, “Last month we went on a Charlottesville Wine Tour, visiting Pippin Hill Winery, King Family Vineyards and Veritas Winery. Veritas’ wine maker Emily Pelton gave us a tour of their facility while we pestered her with questions about the wine business. It was a great learning and bonding experience.”

She added, “In December we look forward to a Women’s Negotiations presentation during which Dr. Coughlan will address negotiating work flexibility, family needs and equal pay among other topics. In the spring we’re meeting the Richmond Symphony’s new conductor to discuss how to revive the arts among young people. We’re also holding a panel on Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In with successful Richmond businesswomen, a brunch hosted by Dean Bagranoff and we’ll close the year with an evening for MBA alumnae. We hope this will allow women across generations to grow their relationships and careers.”

The organizations have planned to collaborate throughout the year in order to provide enriching growth opportunities for the student body, and we look forward to what’s in store.