First-year Oregon MBA students from all four centers completed the first study tour of their MBA experience on October 16 in Portland, enjoying multiple site visits, speakers, and a luncheon mixer with alumni and employers.
Students from the Warsaw Sports Marketing Center, Center for Sustainable Business Practices (CSBP), Lundquist Center for Entrepreneurship (LCE), and Finance and Securities Analysis Center (FSAC) each attended separate site visits in the morning, coming together in the afternoon for a tour and talks at Nike's Beaverton campus.
The day kicked of for Warsaw students with the Portland Timbers and Tracktown USA visiting our UO White Stag Block. Meanwhile, students from the Center for Sustainable Business Practices visited Vestas Wind Energy Company then Ecotrust, which aims to integrate economic and environmental concerns. Lundquist Center for Entrepreneurship first-year MBA students made their first Portland stop at the office of Davis Wright Tremaine, attorney for UO alumni startup Red Duck Foods, followed by a tour of the Portland State Business Accelerator. And Finance and Securities Analysis Center students started the day with executives and managers at Bank of America/Merrill Lynch, including credit products analyst Curtis Lloyd, MBA '15. Finance students then tapped into the college's dedicated alumni network at Mazama Capital, including visits with portfolio analyst Krystal Daribes, MBA '09, and CEO and CIO Ron Sauer "80, who also serves on the finance center and Lundquist College boards.
“I thought that Vestas was an incredible company that really lived its values," said sustainable business MBA student Collin Strong. “The building manager explained all the ways that Vestas has taken their belief in green energy and renewable resources to heart in the design of the building. As someone who will be looking for a job in the couple years, it was awesome to see that there are big corporations that truly believe in sustainability at their core."
Strong was equally impressed with Ecotrust.
“The biggest takeaway for me was that sustainable business practices are a very real thing in the world and there are corporations pushing sustainability in a variety of exciting ways," he said. “This to me is really what the Lundquist College, and particularly CSBP, are about—trying to innovate and inspire (and make a living) while also caring about people and the environment. Seeing this done in the real world was amazing."
The four centers joined together at Nike's Beaverton campus for a tour and visits with the firm's collegiate internships program, digital partnerships, and NikeID. Among alumni guides were North America Real Estate Manager Joe Wright, MBA '13; Global Sports Marketing Director Brent Braden, MBA '05; and Director of Jordan Brand Management Tom Kelley, Sr., who is also the former marketing director for the Nike's sustainable business and innovation group.
After a jam-packed day, students from all centers dug into dinner together, then it was back to Eugene.