A look back on Business Week: ‘We had a lot of involvement with students and student organizations’

Thomas Vandeburg waits as teammates set up the next challenge. Teams were to spread 5 Solo cups around their circle in preparation to stack the cups, with only a rubber band and string. The Student Organization Showdown was held in the campanile room of Memorial Union on Thursday night.

Kirstie Martin and Jared.Coady

From an annual service project to the first-ever student organization showdown, another Business Week has come to a close.

“We are very pleased with the results, engagement and overall attendance,” said David Spalding, Raisbeck endowed Dean of Iowa State’s Ivy College of Business.

Casey Cunningham, president of the Business Council and a student representative for Business Week, agreed.

“Business Week went super well. We had a lot of involvement with students and student organizations,” Cunningham said.

For the last four years, Business Week has included a service project, with this year’s being “Meals from the Heartland,” a non-profit organization that distributes packaged meals to orphanages and schools around the world.

Out of all the activities during business week, Spalding said this service project was his favorite this year. Faculty and students packed 20,000 meals within a span of three hours on Thursday.

However, Cunningham said his favorite event this year was the student organization showdown.

“It was exciting to watch clubs compete against each other. The event had a fun and high energy atmosphere the entire time.”

Business Week also leads into the Business, Industry and Technology Career Fair.

This year the career fair is on Wednesday, Sept. 26 from noon to 5 p.m. at Hilton Coliseum.

These two events are strategically placed together, Spalding said.

“We do Business Week around the career fair to help students prepare for the career fair and to provide higher visibility to the career fair,” Spalding said.

Most every event during Business Week is sponsored by companies that attend the career fair, and the CEO speaker series is another tool for students that was provided during Business Week.