CISB Alumni Night

CISB students heard from 13 enthusiastic alumni at the annual CISB Alumni Night, held on Thursday, October 17, 2019. After they introduced themselves to everyone, the alumni broke off into different room relating to their focus, which included Marketing, Finance, Information Systems and Consulting. In each of the rooms, a CISB student moderator led the dialogue between the professionals and students. The panelists were all very knowledgeable and there was a good mix of ages so that some distinctly remember going through the recruiting process and college.

It was interesting to hear the various paths people took to get to their current role. Some of them reflected that they have not switched companies since obtaining their role postgrad, while others took different paths. An alumna on the consulting panel explained that she took a job teaching English in Chile for a couple of years and after coming back to the US she pursued a business-focused job. The personal experiences that the alumni had shared was very insightful, from the challenges they had with consulting projects to the highs and lows that came with working abroad. Although not everyone worked abroad after graduating, mostly everyone reflects that the most useful skills they developed through CISB were being aware and flexible when working cross-culturally.

Conversations continued during the reception in the Deloitte Commons. One student talked with an alum who was on the winning Chinese team at the BYU Business Language Case Competition. As the student will be competing in the 2019 event, it was a good chance to learn more about it and get some good tips. All in all, it was a great night of networking and learning about international business careers.

Diana Hayday, CISB Spanish Track
Olivia Baddeley, CISB Chinese Track