Satisfied Businesses Turn to GC’s “Experience First” Program Again

Published: April 13, 2021

Following a stellar launch in fall 2016, the Experience First initiative spearheaded by the Briner School of Business offers a new batch of students the chance to gain real-world experience and networking during second semester. The new student groups were announced at an Experience First kickoff event February 3.

Each semester, several businesses partner with Experience First students and challenge them to solve problems for their companies. Solving real problems gives students a taste of the high-stakes environment beyond classroom doors.

Last semesters results proved so outstanding that three of the five businesses returned for a second partnership with Experience First this spring. Two new businesses eagerly joined the program. Each of the five was assigned three to five students who will work as a team to complete a project for their assigned company.

New to Experience First this spring are student mentors. Student mentors completed an Experience First project last fall and will provide extra guidance for the new teams this semester.

At the kick-off event, student teams were assigned to the following projects:

• Rural King (returning)The popular farm and home store tasked students with designing an employer branding strategy that will draw a more promising pool of job applicants to Rural King stores.
• Kauffman Brands (returning)This furniture company faces a growing need for multifunctional furniture designed for small living spaces. The student group will design a new piece of furniture, work with craftsmen to create a prototype and, if all goes well, introduce it into one of Kauffmans brand lines.
• Innovative International (returning)Company owner Enoch Poon 86 wants to see what students can do when the sky is the limit. Poons group has no guidelines to start from, just a challenge to come up with a new product that will wow the big box stores like Wal-Mart and Target that purchase from Innovative International.
• Rolling Lawns Farm (new)Students will produce a marketing strategy for this family-owned dairy farm in an effort to get Rolling Lawns milk on more retail shelves in the St. Louis area.
• Transformation.org (new)This web site seeks to connect employers and job-hunters on a faith-based platform, but needs a web site overhaul and focused outreach strategy developed by Experience First students.

An Experience First dinner on the evening of February 3 offered faculty and business mentors the chance to impart wisdom on the freshly-minted teams. They urged students to try new things, not worry about failure and put their best effort into the projects. Above all, they insisted, dont give up when the going gets tough.

The Experience First teams will present the results of their work during Greenville Colleges Common Day of Learning on May 9.

Watch the video below for more about Experience First.

Also at the February 3 event, the Briner School of Business announced an exciting partnership with David Anderson and Mark Nathan, co-authors of the book The Delusion of Passion: Why Millennials Struggle to Find Success.

We are in the development stages of a partnership aimed to create a Center for Research on Next Generation Leaders, says Assistant Professor and Experience First Director Danara Moore. This semester I will be working with various senior level business students to begin preliminary research on Millennials in the workplace."

Learn more about Greenville Colleges commitment to positioning experience at the forefront of education, and about the Briner School of Business.

GC Announces Experience First Educational Initiative

Students Exceed Expectations Putting Experience First

"Great Jobs, Batman!" - Dynamic Duo Uncovers Clues to Rewarding Work Experiences

The Briner School of Business

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