Speaker Series, Shelby Edwards & Kris McGuigan

 

Current Events 

Earlier this week, the Scarborough School Alumni Networking Night took place. Students were able to network with alumni and get a better understanding of different careers paths available for them after graduation. 

Additionally, the Speaker Series starts next week on Thursday, October 7th from 6-7:30pm. The event is for the campus community only; however, if you want to join via Zoom, please email David Strukel at strukeldm@hiram.edu.

The featured speaker is a Hiram alumni and entrepreneur, Carlton Dean III. Carlton has had great success in his careers of both basketball and business. He is eager to share his story with students of Hiram College and inspire a new generation of entrepreneurs. 

Student Spotlight - Shelby Edwards 

Shelby Edwards is a senior from Olmsted Falls and is studying Marketing, Entrepreneurship, and Sports Management at Hiram College. He is a member of the men's soccer team and also on the student committee for the Scarborough School of Business. 

Over the summer, Shelby worked with Beyond Pulse as a marketing intern. He travelled the East coast in a RV doing sales and social media marketing with the company. He learned valuable skills and after the internship, Shelby accepted a part-time position with the opportunity of a full-time position post graduation. Shelby plans to accept the full-time position with Beyond Pulse once he graduates and also become a soccer coach for either high school or college. 

Shelby enjoyed the entrepreneurship courses and believes that it is the most real world minor that Hiram has to offer. The minor prepared him for many scenarios he now faces in his career such as public speaking and networking. His favorite part of the minor was creating and operating a business throughout the semester. 

Student Spotlight - Kris McGuigan

Kris is a Hiram alumni who graduated with a Business degree in 2001. During her time at Hiram, Kris worked at the Career Center and enjoyed helping people navigate their career paths. After graduation, Kris worked at the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame and eventually served as a Board of Director in project management. During that time, Kris obtained her MBA at Case Western University. 

Kris began thinking about her career and did self discovery. She realized that her passion was helping people with their careers, just as she did at the Career Center. She decided to start her business in career management but soon started a family and had to put the business on the side. She continued to work a full-time job as the Director of Operations for a health maintenance organization. 

A decade later, Kris abruptly decided to quit her job and focus solely on her business, Professional Courage. The main focus of her business was originally career transition services (job searching, resumes, ect) but eventually created two additional avenues including career advancement for corporations and keynote presentations. 

Over the years the business has grown significantly, but Kris mostly enjoys the fact that she now gets to direct where she goes in life. The business offers her the flexibility and adaptability that she couldn't get through her previous jobs. 

She never thought of herself as being a business owner, but believes that it was born from the fact that she couldn't achieve what she wanted on the corporate side. She recommends young entrepreneurs and students to have a growth mindset and be okay with failing. Continue to cultivate your skills and be open to change.