Atlanta Welcomes UC Clermont Business Students

Six students from UC Clermont College recently sat down for a lesson on Chick-fil-A’s marketing strategy — with the company executive who heads the brand’s division on consumer insights.

“Our students got one-on-one time with him and a firsthand, inside peek at how a successful company makes marketing decisions,” said Monika Royal-Fischer, experiential learning program director for the college.

The meeting was just one stop on a week-long experiential learning trip to Atlanta March 11-18, during which UC Clermont business students also visited Delta, Coca-Cola, TiER1 Performance Solutions, BBDO, First Data, the Center for Disease Control and more. The college worked with the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce to organize the company site visits. “Each company visit opened their eyes to the potential opportunities that exist in the business world and in a professional environment outside of the Cincinnati area.”

Business management major Ami Harvey, who plans to graduate with her associate’s degree in spring 2018 and then earn her bachelor’s degree in technical applied science at UC Clermont, said participating in the Atlanta trip made her think more seriously and broadly about her post-graduation life. “The trip was an amazing experience,” Harvey said. “The biggest takeaway was that you need to keep learning and exploring throughout your career and that networking is the greatest tool at your disposal.”

Royal-Fischer said the annual trips are meant to give students in the college’s pre-business program and four associate degree tracks — accounting, business management, finance and banking, and marketing management — an overview of business in different cities while bringing classroom concepts to life. Past participants have traveled to Portland, Oregon, to explore businesses headquartered there. Locally, students can gain real-world experience through the business internship program and PACE, a student organization that brings guest speakers from industry to campus, arranges visits with local companies such as Kroger and Proctor and Gamble, and helps organize the annual trip.

“Trips like this allow UC Clermont students to experience another piece of the world in a safe way,” Royal-Fischer said. “You’re with someone who's going to guide you through it. You're not going to get thrown to the wolves. And there’s some purpose behind the experience, too.”

To learn more about UC Clermont’s experiential learning opportunities in business, contact Monika Royal-Fischer at 513-732-5277 or

monika.royal-fischer@uc.edu

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