For students who are looking to interact with members of the professional community, Tech’s chapter of National Organization for Business and Engineering (NOBE) and the Society for Women in Business were founded to support future leaders by building relationships with companies.
The Society of Women in Business (SWiB) is an undergraduate organization that serves as a source of professional and networking opportunities for female students with an interest in business, regardless of major. It was created in 2004, and since its inception has hosted numerous workshops and events featuring recruiters and representatives alike.
SWiB president Camille Barnet, a fourth-year BA major with a concentration in marketing, feels that she has benefited immensely on a personal level from being involved in the organization.
“It’s been great to hear women from industry and organizations talk about their professional experiences, and we have an alumnae group that I am really close with. When I was starting out as president I was able to call the girl who was president when I was a freshman and get advice from her, even though four years had passed,” Barnet said.
SWiB meets every other Tuesday and brings in companies to present on different topics. A representative from the management consulting, technology and outsourcing company Accenture came on Tuesday to discuss strategies for networking. Professionals from General Electric recently came to Tech to discuss interviewing, and IBM gave a perspective on international business. SWiB caters to the interests of their members with regards to guest speakers, and members have landed internships through the contacts as the organization continues to grow.
“When I first joined as a freshman it was a pretty small organization with about 15 girls. This year we had a great vice-president of marketing and with FASET and publicity we have over 40 girls now, and it has just been so exciting to watch it grow,” Barnet said.
To learn more about SWiB, visit gtswib.webs.com.
Founded at the University of Illinois in 2007, NOBE is a growing society that brings together students from business, management and engineering disciplines in colleges across the country. Tech’s chapter, which started just recently, is open to students of any major interested in developing a professional skill set.
“We want to bring the majors together to learn each other’s languages and teach engineers important leadership skills that they can use to achieve higher management positions. Since we’re a young organization we also want to cater to our members’ interests,” said Ryan Palmer, NOBE President.
Palmer is pursuing an EE graduate degree, and conducted his undergraduate studies in CMPE. In his experience with engineering at Tech he found that there were limited opportunities for learning the business side of these industries, and he is excited to be a part of an organization that helps students establish one-on-one contacts with business leaders.
To build networking resources, NOBE will act as a crossroads between its members and other organizations on campus that work to give students in technology majors valuable professional experience. They are planning to organize a career fair featuring start-up companies, workshops, and networking events of their own with corporate sponsors.
A tentative date for a NOBE information session has been set for April 25. To learn more, contact information can be found on the NOBE JacketPages website.