Innovision Spring 2021

8 | INNOVISION MAGAZ INE SPRING 2021 | 9 Krista Berardelli (‘17), a marketing coordinator at the Lehigh Val ley Airport and former President of the Kutztown University American Marketing Association (AMA) student club, was this year’s AMA guest speaker. Berardelli started the event by addressing COVID-19, explaining that it has been a rough transition, but it will only get better moving forward. “COVID is a real thing. It’s just horrible,” Berardelli remarked, “but sometimes it’s ideal to work from home.” Berardelli reminded students of the importance of getting involved in student club meetings and campus events, where students will pick up on little things that will be useful in their future careers. Berardelli gainedmeaningful experience with two different internships while at KU. She was a summer intern at the Lehigh Valley Airport, which led to the creation of a part-time position designed specifically for her. She recalled benefiting a lot from working at the airport, but she had to leave that position in her junior year to take an internship at Target, which provided additional career growth opportunities. She was majoring in both management and marketing, but soon realized that management was not for her. Berardelli also explained that LinkedIn can be a crucial tool in finding a job or an internship. Students should make a LinkedIn profile, keep the profile up-to-date, and stay active on LinkedIn. She explained that recruiters and hiring managers review LinkedIn profiles, therefore a stagnant profile will not provide an effective or positive impression. That is something that Berardelli learned in her early years of college and said, “You’re building your basis now.” She also noted LinkedIn is a great networking platform, especially during these times in which we cannot network in person. AMA EVENT On November 5, 2020, the KutztownUniversity (KU) Entrepreneurial Leade r ship Cent e r (ELC) hosted the 10th annual Business Idea Competition (BIC). The Business Idea Competition provides KU students of all disciplines the opportunity to explore their creative business ideas, receive feedback from accomplished business mentors, and win a cash prize. Round one consisted of students submitting their business idea proposal. Each proposal was scored using a rubric by a panel of KU faculty and staff, and the proposals with the highest scores advanced to the final round, live presentations. Six students advanced to the finals, and were matched with a business mentor who helped guide them in preparing their five-minute pitch presentation. The business mentors were: Connie Faylor, Regional Manager at Ben Franklin Technology Partners; Ray Melcher, President of Marathon Capital Advisors; Kim O’Neill, Assistant Dean, College of Business; Peter Rittenhouse, President of Rittenhouse Gap Advisors; Ken Ritter, Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Heyco Metals; and Dr. Maura Shelton, STEM Instructor at a Seattle, Washington high school. The six finalists presented their 5-minute pitch to a panel of judges, which gave them the chance to win up to $1,000 donated by Jack Gottlieb (‘00), Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Total Solutions Group. The panel of judges included Jack Gottlieb; Eileen Kowalski, Senior Vice President Business Credit, Training Development and Quality Control; Tracie Springer, Executive Director and Affiliate Founder of Dress for Success Allentown; and John Stetler, Director of Kutztown University Small Business Development Center. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Paige Brookins, Assistant Dean, College of Business and director of the Entrepreneurial Leadership Center, along with her staff planned and coordinated the virtual event. The virtual component presented opportunities allowing participation from more than just the local community. The Business Idea Competition was a great success with first place awarded to Yvonne Kanyi with Beauty Square, second place Aishwarya Singh with College Cram, and third place awarded to Katelyn Wehr with Knees Up Events. Congratulations to all of the student presenters and winners! BUSINESS IDEA COMPETITION YVONNE KANYI 1ST PLACE WINNER AISHWARYA SINGH 2ND PLACE WINNER KATELYNWEHR 3RD PLACE WINNER