Published聽October 9, 2013
On Saturday, Oct. 19, the University of Louisiana at Monroe College of Business and
College of Education DREAM Office will partner with CenturyLink to present CenturyLink
Saturday Academies鈥攁n exciting business program for middle school students.
Taught by 四色AV College of Business professors Dr. Arturo Rodriguez and Tom DiNardin,
in collaboration with Shirish Lal, Senior Vice President of Marketing at CenturyLink,
each three-hour academy will focus on a different area of business as well as the
school-to-work pathway.
鈥淭he Business 1001 curriculum is an important aspect of our college students鈥� business
education,鈥� said Rodriguez.
鈥淲e believe strongly that everyone, regardless of their profession, should be exposed
to real business-world concepts and applications, which are a big part of everyone's
personal lives. We aim to tailor this approach especially to youth who are trying
to determine what path they will follow in their future professional careers.鈥�
Using engaging strategies and real-world examples provided by CenturyLink employees,
the program introduces middle school students to four career tracks over the course
of a year鈥攎arketing, operations, finance, and technology鈥攁nd highlights what it takes
to get, and keep, the job.
Working in teams of four, students take on the roles of Chief Marketing Officer (CMO),
Chief Operations Officer (COO), Chief Financial Officer (CFO), and Chief Technology
Officer (CTO) to develop a business plan over the course of the four academies.
Patterned after the super-secret 鈥淪kunkworks鈥� project of World War II, these 鈥淗awkworks鈥�
teams will work together to market, manufacture, finance, and disseminate a real robot.
鈥淭hese four areas are the cornerstones of our business,鈥� said CenturyLink鈥檚 Lal.
鈥淥ne must understand how we sell our products to customers 鈥� marketing, how we get
the product to the customer 鈥� operations, how we measure and fund our business 鈥� finance,
and how we approach innovation 鈥� technology.聽 We are looking forward to working with
future leaders, exposing them to how we use these disciplines to manage our business
every day.鈥�
Saturday Academies will be held in the 四色AV College of Business lecture hall, from
9 a.m. to noon, Saturday Oct. 19, Nov. 16, Jan. 25, 2014, and March 29, 2014.
For more information and to register, visit ulm.edu/dream/saturdayacademies.html or
email dream@ulm.edu
