The Penn State Worthington Scranton Business Program and the campus’ alumni office have teamed up to create more opportunities for students to better understand how their classwork applies to specific careers.
The new Penn State Worthington Scranton Alumni Women in Business Classroom Series will be an ongoing effort to enlighten students about future careers, provide a glimpse of how various business principles relate to job responsibilities, and highlight local Penn State experts in business fields.
“Penn State Worthington Scranton graduated its first baccalaureate in business degree students in 1999. I am seeing an increasing number of our four-year degree campus alumni as well-established, respected professionals in our local community, as well as in national and international positions,” says Deborah Brandt Johnson, PSWS alumni and development specialist.
“It is exciting to bring alumni, and specifically women — who are often underrepresented in business fields — back into our classroom. Alumni are a wonderful resource to help college students recognize the connection between their courses and real-life job responsibilities,” she said.
“As faculty, we have engaged guest speakers to drive home a topic that we are covering in class,” says Dr. Jim Frese, instructor in business administration and business program coordinator. “This new program offers an enormous benefit by providing us with well-qualified experts who can bring an outside perspective into the classroom. The fact that they are all Penn Staters, and at one point sat in the same classes, is certainly a great bonus.”
Several faculty in the campus’ business program have already requested alumni for their classes including Small B
usiness Management, Project Management, Personal Selling, Human Resources Management, and Negotiation Skills for Business Professionals. Covering these topics will be Penn State graduates/campus alumnae: Katrina Foster, owner/founder KKPR Marketing & PR; Carla Medura, senior project manager, PennDOT; Desiree Ranella, manager, marketing and sales training, Sanofi Pasteur/VaxServe; Jenn Besack, human resources, TMG Health; and Lindsey Mellow, owner, Happy Valley Sports Bar.
“As we continue to reach out to our alumni network, I have no doubt this series will grow not only within the four-year business program, but also to the other ten baccalaureate programs being offered at the campus,” says Johnson. “Whether the students are completing their entire degree at Penn State Worthington Scranton, or finishing at University Park or another Penn State location, these alumni will be an excellent resource as they plan their careers.”
