Student-led Career Initiative Wins Best Practices Award
A student-led initiative to expand professional development and career opportunities for UNC Charlotte Belk College of Business students interested in finance careers has received a regional best practices award.
On Tuesday, March 30, Beta Alpha Psi (BAP), an international accounting and finance honors society, presented Belk College’s Eta Alpha chapter with the second-place best practices award at its the Southeast regional competition. The award was in the “Invest in Your Chapter” category.
During the virtual competition, the Belk College team shared their initiative to expand the BAP chapter to include finance-related fields such as financial advising, commercial real estate, banking, and corporate finance.
Representing the Belk College were: Jagpar Bhupal, a junior finance major from Chapel Hill; Ryan Braithwaite, a senior finance major from Ashburn, Virginia; and Daniel Martinez, a senior finance major from Charlotte. The team will now advance to compete at the national BAP competition.
“The entire chapter and I feel appreciative and honored to be recognized for this honorable award,” said Martinez, president of the Belk College’s BAP chapter. “We have put a lot of effort, time, and dedication to make sure we have the best results to lead our members to success in their career and decision making.”
He said the organization used their successful programming for accounting majors as a model to create a sustainable program for finance majors and students pursuing the joint concentration in finance and accounting.
Through the initiative BAP students:
-
Invited local firms to showcase finance careers each Thursday.
-
Offered financial management exam prep sessions, and discussions on resume and networking tips for finance-related careers.
As a result of the initiative, the number of students involved in BAP this semester is at an all-time high. Martinez said many BAP graduating seniors in finance also have received pending job offers.
And all these changes were implemented as students navigated and adapted through a virtual environment. Before and during the semester, the chapter did not meet in person.
Martinez said Cynthia Bush, a lecturer in the Department of Finance was instrumental, helping the organization expand its corporate outreach. Bush was brought in as co-advisor in the fall, joining advisor Robert Monaghan, a lecturer in the Turner School of Accountancy.
Martinez, who will graduate in May, has accepted a full-time position with Lowe’s as a finance senior specialist in their Finance and Accounting Rotational Program. Braithwaite, who will also graduate in May, has a job waiting as a financial planner and analyst at Leidos, a defense contractor.
The Belk College has more than a dozen active student organizations. The organizations help students develop their leadership skills, network and connect classroom experiences to real-world issues.
Green and Gold Drive Business
The Belk College of Business at UNC Charlotte has been driving business for more than 50 years. Established in 1970, the college offers outstanding business education programs at the undergraduate, master’s, doctoral and executive levels. The Belk College is one of the Carolinas’ largest business schools, with more than 4,600 students, over 100 full-time faculty, and more than 33,000 alumni. Accredited by AACSB International, the college is committed to building strong partnerships in the greater Charlotte region and beyond as North Carolina’s urban research business school. Learn more about how the Belk College is driving business at belkcollege.charlotte.edu, and on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Learn more about Beta Alpha Psi – Eta Alpha
