College of Business students will be received next week with a start-of-semester tradition – “Welcome to the BizLife,” shining the spotlight on a celebration of education. The event is sponsored for the first time ever by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).
Ileana Cañizares, special events coordinator, describes this year’s event as a “carnival-pep rally-barbecue all rolled into one.” Designed to showcase the COB’s broad range of co-curricular and academic offerings, the free event will be held on Monday, September 8 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the CBC courtyard. In addition to networking, students will have the opportunity to enjoy carnival-style food and play carnival-style games.
“It’s like a one-stop shop for students to gather and meet their peers, to obtain information about the COB, and meet the college’s faculty and staff,” she added. “They can see that there’s always something available for them.”
“Welcome To The BizLife” will introduce new and old students to some of the resources available to them, including advising, career management, international studies, and student organizations.
This is the first time the event will have a sponsor of PwC’s caliber. The global accounting firm will be present at the event, represented by COB alumnus Mario de Armas, PwC’s FIU firm relationship partner, along with other COB partner and staff alumni.
“Our goal at the end of the day is to bring the school of business, accounting and professional business to the top of students’ mind,” said Whitney Wilson, PwC’s Florida Campus Manager. “We want to get them excited about what they can do with a degree in business and to give them information in a fun and relaxed setting.”
Already active with the COB for recruiting initiatives, PwC executives were drawn to “Welcome To The BizLife” after hosting a similar event at another school in 2013, Wilson noted. It was then that de Armas and the PwC team approached COB associate dean Ruth Ann McEwen, also director of the School of Accounting, with the idea.
“We were not aware if the school even had a welcome back event,” said Wilson. “We approached the College of Business at end of last year to look back at the recruiting season. Our plan last year worked well, but we wanted to do something different.”
The COB welcome back event, originally called “BizBash,” took on a large-scale presence in 2012 and became “Welcome to the BizLife.” Since then, each semester has drawn more participants, including other FIU colleges and student organizations.
Cañizares is confident that with PwC’s presence this year’s event will draw even more students. “Welcome to the BizLife” will be promoted via on-campus flyers as well as an email campaign to students and faculty.
