On Oct. 24 and 25, eight SUNY Oswego business students networked, learned more about a variety of fields and got behind-the-scenes tours through the annual Phi Beta Lambda Career Connections Conference in New York City.  

SUNY Oswego’s School of Business, Career Services and Alumni Relations coordinated this valuable experience.

Hundreds of students, faculty and staff from colleges and universities across North America were in attendance, and SUNY Oswego students were able to network with these individuals at the Thursday evening kick-off networking event. On Friday morning and afternoon, each student toured and engaged with employers at two different companies.  

SUNY Oswego students visited the following:

  • Bregal Sagemount: private equity firm based in NYC
  • Hill Holiday: full-service marketing agency - 17th largest advertising agency in the U.S. and part of the world’s third largest advertising and marketing conglomerate, IPG
  • Hilton: Hotel by Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc., American multinational hospitality company - Fortune and Great Place to Work® #2 World’s Best Workplace 
  • iHeartMedia: American mass media corporation - Fortune 500 company
  • New York Marriott East Side: Hotel by Marriott International, American multinational hospitality company
  • USA Today: Internationally distributed American daily, middle-market newspaper - most circulated newspaper in the U.S. 
  • WeWork: Commercial real estate company, headquartered in NYC

Thanks to the work of professor Graig Arcuri of the School of Business and Stephanie Lamb of the Alumni Relations Office, students were able to connect with more professionals while in NYC. On Thursday afternoon, Marcus & Millichap hosted the students for a lunch and learn session. Marcus & Millichap is the largest national commercial real estate brokerage firm specializing in real estate investment services, and students had the opportunity to tour the office and hear about their work in-depth from Jim McGuckin, the company’s sales manager. 

On Friday afternoon, students met with alumna and Citigroup Senior Vice President Karyn Rose, a 1996 Oswego graduate who gave students a rare opportunity in a tour of Citi's equities trading floor. The final event of the trip was dinner with four SUNY Oswego School of Business alumni. Students spoke with alumni at length about their industry insight, career paths, and advice for business students, with following alumni were present:

  • Karyn Rose, business administration '96, senior vice president and business unit manager of Multi Asset Group and Derivatives Sales, CitiGroup
  • Justin Brantley, accounting '16, senior financial auditor at EisnerAmper LLP
  • Koren Vaughn, business administration '95, associate director of sponsorship activation at Essence Communications Inc.
  • Sheneya Wilson, accounting '16, entrepreneur/Ph.D. student/Forbes 30 Under 30 Scholar

"The event was an amazing opportunity that gave me the freedom to network with several successful companies,” said Kennedy Thompson, a senior human resources major. “My favorite part of the event was the company tour at Hill Holiday. The company showed me the atmosphere that I would dream to work in. They were so interested in my aspirations and were willing to help in any way that they could."

Michael Nevills, a senior dual business administration and finance major, agreed that the ability to get an inside view while connecting with alumni and other represented a unique experience for students.

“The Citi equities trading floor was my favorite part of the trip, as it was a dream of mine to be on a trading floor and experience the energy that comes from it.” Nevills said. "The trip was an awesome opportunity to connect with some amazing companies and alumni in NYC. They want nothing more than to help and see us succeed. There were so many extremely intelligent people that were laser focused on finding opportunities for their clients. I made some great relationships with our alumni and further developed my friendships with my fellow students. I was so grateful for this opportunity."

 -- Submitted by Taeko Kelly, Office of Career Services