First Time In College events prove successful

Hurricane can’t stop success of Foundations of Business event for Coggin College 

Despite hunkering down just a day before as Hurricane Idalia roared through Florida, more than 200 Coggin College of Business freshman students turned out for the Foundations of Business event at the University Center on the UNF campus. 

The event held on the evening of Aug. 31 even featured a visit from UNF President Moez Limayem who kicked off the special night. President Limayem used his usual avuncular style to welcome the new business students to campus and thanked them for their tenacity to remain on campus, even though the outer bands of the hurricane skirted the First Coast and UNF only a day before. 

Meanwhile, Coggin College Dean Richard Buttimer hosted a discussion on “Networking with Business Leaders” that featured five key business leaders in the Jacksonville area. The panel fielded questions from enthusiastic students who just joined UNF for their initial semester on campus while entering the Coggin College of Business. The students sought advice on how to network in professional settings. 

The panel included: David Emanuel, Chief Human Resources Officer of JEA; Don Hune, President of Lift Power Inc.; Steve Moore, President of The Vestcor Companies; Swarup Patra, Treasurer of TIAA Bank; and Jessica Salazar, Managing Partner of Northwestern Mutual. 

“The students loved it, and the speakers absolutely loved it,” Dr. Buttimer said. 

 Coggin College networking event a hit

Nearly 300 students attended the Fall Semester Coggin College Networking Night October 18th, shattering previous attendance records for similar events.  

There were 34 local industry employer partners from various industries in attendance who met with Ospreys seeking internships and job opportunities at the Adam W. Herbert University Center on UNF’s campus.  The business students in attendance represented the Finance, Accounting, Logistics, Transportation, International Business, Marketing and Business Intelligence areas of focus.  

Emily Roth, Associate Director of UNF Career Services and the organizer of the networking night event, said, “It was one of our most successful events in the Fall Semester. Coggin College students proved they are among the most connected students on UNF’s campus and are keenly aware of relationship-building and how it impacts their future careers.”