高级旅行:步入商业
四月的一个星期五的清晨, business seniors and faculty boarded a bus for the annual senior trip. 抵达西雅图, they enjoyed a leisurely walk along the city waterfront before heading to Starbucks Center for a tour of the global company’s office headquarters. They were warmly greeted by Rachel Ruggeri, Starbuck’s Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President, who shared her life story and lessons learned along the way.
原产于沃拉沃拉地区, Ruggeri completed business classes at WWU, including accounting and finance classes taught by Bruce Toews, 商学院院长. 本杰明Wexler, 高级工商管理专业, said Ruggeri’s presentation included “a lot of gems about career help and her journey to the top.在她的演讲中, Ruggeri discussed several attributes that helped her achieve success in the business world, including having a healthy dose of curiosity. Toews interjected that he “vividly recalls her sitting in the front row of the classroom, 认真记笔记, and peppering him with lots of perceptive questions.”
演讲结束后, Ruggeri and several co-workers (called “partners”) provided a guided tour through key parts of the massive headquarter building, 覆盖了2个.1 million square feet and is the largest multi-tenant building west of the Mississippi River. The group enjoyed learning about the history and culture of Starbucks. Several exhibits illustrated the current global pursuit toward environmental sustainability, including beta versions of reusable cup kiosks and various green initiatives being implemented by coffee bean farmers. 在游览结束时, Ruggeri gave each student a gift bag that included valuable Starbucks-branded mementos and gifts. Toews said, “Rachel and her co-workers were such thoughtful and generous hosts! It is clear that we got the royal treatment at Starbucks and experienced much more than most visitors will ever see or hear.”
Leaving Seattle in the middle of rush hour, bus driver George Bennett braved the Friday afternoon traffic jam with skill and good humor as we headed toward WWU’s Rosario Beach Marine Laboratory near Anacortes. Upon arriving at Rosario, the students settled in their beachside cabins before dinner. 当晚的演讲者是阿贝尔·克鲁兹, ’91, a long-time tech exec at Microsoft and more recently at Amazon. With transparency and humility, Cruz shared the highs and lows of his career experiences. He powerfully emphasized the importance of never letting devotion to one’s job interfere with relationships with God and with family. At the conclusion of the day, the Sabbath hours were ushered in with a georgeous sunset on the beach.
第二天早上, students heard from Jeff Weijohn ’86 and his son Spencer ’16, who manage a large farm that has been in the family for three generations. 农场, 雅吉瓦人附近, 以蓝莓闻名, 榛子, 以及其他产品, 包括Sorbatto, a healthy frozen berry product that you might find at the grocery store. 每年夏天, 家族企业, which includes at least a half-dozen WWU graduates, hires business interns from WWU who learn how to manage people and business operations. 在他们的演讲中, Jeff and Spencer shared the importance of seeking God first for the other parts of business and life to fall into place. 在他们的演讲结束时, they made available a large cooler of tasty Sorbatto, 学生们很喜欢.
休息后, students heard from Paul Rhynard ’04 and his wife Deanne (Maschmeyer) Rhynard ’04, both business grads with many years of corporate and consulting experience. The Rhynards have been very supportive of WWU and the 商学院, and Paul currently serves on the WWU 校董会. The Rhynards shared from the heart many lessons about navigating life after college with purpose and integrity. Wexler said he benefitted greatly from their presentation: “It was super personal and they really came prepared with some points that were valuable for us as we graduate. They stayed to eat lunch with us so we were able to converse and get to know them personally. 这对我来说是一个亮点.”
When not soaking up knowledge from successful WWU alumni, 学生们在海滩上探险, 在营火旁放松, 看着海豚游过. They also had a lot of fun playing table games until late Saturday night. Everyone was a bit reluctant to load the bus the next morning and face homework, papers, 再测试一次. Wexler enjoyed the weekend immensely and encouraged future senior business majors to take advantage of this annual trip.