Slice of Business Life

by Brooklyn Carroll

Within each educational department here at Christopher Newport, there is some variation of a signature lecture program. For students like me in the Luter School of Business, we have the advantageous opportunity to attend a weekly lecture from business professionals. Topics covered in the lectures include: how to network, how to conduct a professional interview, and what everyday business looks like for marketers, accountants, managers, data scientists, etc. To top it all off, the lecture series, properly named Slice of Business Life, has free pizza!

There are a wide variety of topics covered by many business types at Slice of Business Life, from small, local business to much larger companies. This means that there is at least one lecture each semester that will interest each Luter School student, if not more. For me, as a marketing major, I was excited to attend the lecture from Snow Companies, a full-service advertising agency based in Williamsburg. I learned about how Snow Companies uses compelling patient stories to effectively market for pharmaceutical companies, and how they build relationships with their clients and their patient ambassadors, who share their stories with the world. Snow Companies quickly became a company that I see myself working at once I graduate in the spring.

Weeks prior to the lecture, my marketing professor, Dr. Lisa Spiller, worked with Adam Duncan, the Luter School Director of Outreach, to arrange a networking opportunity with Snow Companies after the Slice of Business Life presentation. This unique opportunity was held in the new Gregory P. Klich Alumni House, where a few students who registered for the event sat around a warm fireplace and helped themselves to cookies and coffee while discussing the company further with the representatives of Snow Companies. Afterwards, I received a personal invitation to visit Snow Companies in Williamsburg to take a tour and see for myself how the company operates. I have to give thanks to the Luter School of Business for wanting to provide its students opportunities such as these. This amazing opportunity to network with an advertising agency, through both the Slice of Business Life and the reception afterwards, is invaluable to me.