Let’s get down to business

USD’s School of Business encourages students to gain professional experience through various events

Amy Inkrott / News Editor / The USD Vista

Every day hundreds of students march across the bridge into Olin Hall, ready for their business classes. But sophomore Benjamin Sterbach didn’t originally intend to be one of them. As a first year coming to the University of San Diego, Sterbach had planned to study political science. However, after learning more information about USD’s School of Business and talking to his mother, Sterbach decided to major in Business Administration and minor in Information Technology (IT) management. 

“My mom works in Human Resources for Dignity Health Organization and ever since I was little I used to look up to her for the kind of work she did,” Sterbach said. “I always used to enjoy the atmosphere and the work that she did for her company whenever she showed me around her office. I think I ultimately decided to pursue a career in business because I knew that I had those skills in me.”

Recently, College Factual named USD’s School of Business the number one school in California and eighth nationally for degrees in business, marketing, and management. This college ranking tool considers the school’s graduation rate and the salaries of students after graduation. It also takes into account the learning environment and unique opportunities offered to current students.

“I think I chose to go with the business school because of the amount of opportunity available and the amount of resources available to me to help me succeed,” Sterbach said. 

With classes capped at 40 seats, students are provided with an intimate classroom experience. Sterbach has found USD’s smaller class sizes to be beneficial to his learning experience. 

“I believe the smaller classes do have an impact on how much someone retains the information given to them,” Sterbach said. “I grew up in classrooms at the same level of capacity, sometimes smaller, maybe 15 people at max. The class sizes here don’t feel any different to me than they did in high school.”

However, Sterbach believes that it is the professors themselves who make the time in the classroom worthwhile. 

“The teacher’s intent to make sure you succeed and learn their material is what matters,” Sterbach said. “The amount of detailed work they put into their teachings to make sure students exceed is amazing. I don’t feel like I’m stressing to understand the material but rather I feel challenged to understand how I can better apply the material in real life.”

The school strives to provide its students with real world applications of their studies. Students within the school are required to earn a certain number of passport points in order to graduate. The Passport Program encourages students to go to business major-related workshops, seminars, and lectures that further develop their skill sets. 

“I felt these events prepared me more than I thought they would,” Sterbach said. “I definitely believe USD is preparing me to be successful in the future… The business school is grooming me to be an active leader in my field.”

One of the most popular events within the Passport Program is the Career Fair. During Torero hours, the school invites numerous companies to the event. While there, students are encouraged to ask questions and pursue potential job opportunities. 

“It’s like a giant networking event that gets students exposed to big companies and exposed to what companies are seeking from students here at USD,” Sterbach said. “I knew from my experience going to the fair, my knowledge of business and IT management was greatly in need given the businesses I was interested in.”

The Passport Program also offers presentations from various speakers, giving students insight into life in the business field. 

“Kevin O’Leary from ‘Shark Tank’ was probably the best experience I’ve had with a guest speaker, celebrity, and fantastic businessman,” Sterbach said.  “I believe it was inspiring to me because he was very knowledgeable about how he runs his investments and how he’s able to communicate his success to other people. I was afraid that he would be as ruthless to his audience as he behaves on ‘Shark Tank,’ but I got the feeling he really cared to get people to understand how they could get to his status or position too in time.”

The school’s growing prestige continues to encourage students to pursue a career in business. For those students who are undeclared, this new ranking makes it more appealing. However, this is not the case for first year Cassandra Gonzalez. 

“I am personally undecided because I want to explore as much as I can to be able to make a confident decision when I am ready to commit to a major,” Gonzalez said. “I have (nothing) that is guiding me to a certain path, just the willingness to work hard and be open to where life takes me.”

Gonzalez however does not want to become a business major. 

“I think it’s great that we have a really good business school,” Gonzalez said. “However, that doesn’t change the fact that I still want to pick a major that fits me. Whether that major has a good program or not won’t sway my feeling about picking that major. I don’t care about the rankings. I care about the major itself and the connection I have with it.”

Despite Gonzalez’s interests, many undeclared students still consider majoring within the business school, especially given this new ranking.