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The Mike Cottrell College of Business has definitely prepared me for my career. My classes
don't just have tests. We have projects. We have group projects and we have to learn how
to function as an individual and adapt to everybody's personality and still get the
job done while still learning and then presenting and having tests on top of everything.
We really emphasize getting the students excited and engaged in what's happening in the classroom.
It just creates more discussion and the good news is I learn from the students as much
as they learn from me. Our shared collective vision, I hope, is to
offer relevant and rigorous business programs that change lives and we want to change the
lives of our students and the communities in which they live.
They're trying to teach students to be life long learners. And, I think that the biggest
thing that I've learned is that I don't know everything. The most important lesson that
I think I've learned is that you have to be humble in that regard.
And even now after all these years in business, I'm still learning every day and I think that
can be very powerful because it will impress upon a student that it's not over when they
get started. They have a role in making sure that they continue to be that leader.
I would say the greatest asset of the Mike Cottrell College of Business is its people.
And I don't mean by that just by administrators and faculty, but also the students. The students
come and really want to learn. The faculty is very dedicated in helping the students
reach their full potential. The classes are based on every day life situations
and that's what students really look for when they're learning something is if it really
helps them for the future. You know, there are so many opportunities at this school to
be involved and have fun and meet new people and have friendships. So it's not just about
the learning, it also helps you learn to grow and mature.
If we present them with facts, information and theory, they remember them. But if we
get them involved, they'll retain them. We are a large school now. We have about 3,000
students but we still have a very small school feel. The classrooms are still small and that's
what sets us apart from the bigger schools is because we have those relationships with
our professors and that develops the students more. It prepares them more. You can ask those
professors, "How was your experience? What should I do? How can I do this here?" Instead
of having a classroom with a 150 students, you have a classroom of 30 and your professor
knows each one of you by name. You're not just a number.
The classes at the College of Business here prepared me for my internship. The communication
skills I learned from group projects and presentations and things like that in class definitely helped.
It's really interesting to see the principles that I learn in my management and marketing
classes being applied in the real business world. That's a great experience, the internship.
I feel like it helps me understand how businesses work. To have that educational background.
I see my colleagues light up. They can talk for hours about the kinds of things they're
trying to do in the classroom and they're really interested in making and maintaining
that connection with students so that students can then improve and surpass these challenges
and really be ready for the workplace. And on the other hand, when I see students talk
about the faculty that they really connect with, it's the same thing. They're just as
energetic. They're just as motivated. They're just as excited and so there really is a special
relationship between faculty and students here.
It's always been a very good solid business school but with Mike Cottrell's involvement.
He decided that he would like the College to make sure that it continues to elevate
its status so that it is on the cutting edge of business education. The College has taken
hold of that. If we do a good job in education, it's to
look beyond just the laundry list...and we look beyond the chapter 14's and we say "what
do people really truly need to be able to be productive and to be able to live good
lives and to add to the quality of life in not just the community in which they live
but communities all over the world."