By Henry Slater
It’s all about who you know. Business students call it “networking” and their club helps them make connections with other business students as well as community business leaders, said John Fasler, one of the club’s faculty advisers.
“Business Club is designed for business students here at the college so that they can interact with other business students and make connections,” said Fasler.
“You never know where opportunities made through networking are going to lead,” said Larry Manley, the club president. “Say you meet somebody in a business club meeting, and you have a conversation. And then you find out that there’s some volunteer opportunity available somewhere, and through that, find out that somebody needs a job filled. So you don’t really know what networking opportunities are going to lead to.”
The club meets on every second and fourth Wednesday of the month, and sponsors a number of activities such as inviting guest speakers who help students “learn about what the expectations of business people are,” said Fasler.
Recent speakers included Jan Adams, a Work Study representative in the financial aid office, who told students about internships available with Work Study, and faculty members from advising who guide future business majors on what classes to register for.
“We’ve had the owners of the bookstore in Fairhaven,” said Manley. “They came in and talked about their business, how it started, and some of the evolutions they went through to get where they’re at today.”
“Last year we went on a field trip to Skagit County where we went to a place called Janicki Industries,” said Fasler. “They make molds for aircrafts.”
The club is free, and open to anyone.
“I think it’s a fun club,” said Fasler. “It’s a place where students can interact with other students, get to know the faculty advisers, and make contacts with business people in the community.”
“I do feel that the business club helps people experience real life situations that you couldn’t get from sitting in a classroom.” said Manley. “It is a terrific resume builder, and it certainly doesn’t hurt your social life either.”
