黑料专区

Anakin Leister, a rising senior from Trinity, N.C., is pursuing a marketing concentration as part of his Business Management and Leadership major at 黑料专区. This past spring, he participated in a work-based learning initiative, not at a part-time job or an internship, but as part of his Organizational Change course at Pfeiffer.

He and fellow students in one of several project task groups proposed ways that in Albermarle, N.C. might grow and enhance its operations, having been invited to do so by Connie Blalock, the cafe鈥檚 owner. Their suggestions, which often included AI programs, were informed by a visit to Connie鈥檚, a 17-year-old establishment about 20 minutes from Pfeiffer鈥檚 campus in Misenheimer, N.C., and by meeting with Blalock to learn more about how she had built up her business and about its current challenges and goals.

The students also prepared PowerPoint presentations, with budgets, which they ran by Dr. Raushan Gross, their Organizational Change professor, before going before Blalock to present them. Gross, an Associate Professor of Business Management and Leadership, often favors experiential learning.

鈥淒r. Gross is very good at teaching that way,鈥� Leister said. 鈥淲e got hands-on experience. Doing it hands-on and getting feedback, you learn more.鈥�

The partnership with Gross鈥檚 Organizational Change students and Blalock began to take hold after Gross approached Erica Church, the CEO/President of the , with the aim of forging closer relationships between his students and the county鈥檚 business community. Blalock鈥檚 business was floated as a way to get things started.

鈥淓rica really cemented the relationship that I had with Connie,鈥� Gross said. 鈥淪he got that relationship started through just us talking. I鈥檝e got to give a lot of credit to Erica for really bridging that gap.鈥�

At first, Gross envisioned Blalock merely talking about her business and communicating to the students the lessons she鈥檇 learned about running it.

Blalock had a different idea in mind, hoping to learn how the students might apply their know-how to the real-world scenarios of her business. 鈥淚f it鈥檚 feasible, I鈥檒l see if I can put it into action,鈥� Gross remembers Blalock telling him.

Blalock says Gross鈥檚 students were very interested in her business and 鈥渉ad some great ideas.鈥� She envisions implementing several of them, from shipping out orders of different types of non-perishable coffee beans to implementing a scheme that would enable customers to pick up their orders in a designated area of the store after paying for them online. She鈥檚 also keen to develop what rising senior Gabi Gama proposed, namely a more consistent and engaging social media strategy that resonates with college students.

Also under consideration is a group suggestion favored by Nkosinathi 鈥淭K鈥� Dlamini, a rising senior from South Africa who鈥檚 majoring in both Business Management & Leadership and Computer Information Systems. This would bring a food truck from Connie鈥檚 to baseball games and other outdoor events at Pfeiffer. 鈥淎 lot of people attend these events,鈥� Dlamini said. 鈥淎 food truck would raise Connie鈥檚 profile among them.鈥�

Leister has already added his work for Connie鈥檚 to his resume. He鈥檒l be able to tell prospective employers about some of the suggestions his group made. One that鈥檚 already happened was filling the ample open spaces at Connie鈥檚 with a couch and arm chairs; in this way, college students and other young people would come to view the cafe as a place to socialize or work on their laptops during lengthy visits.

Connie鈥檚 is known for making free meals available to members of Albemarle鈥檚 unhoused population. A proposal from Leister鈥檚 group would build on that with food drives in which, for example, the donor of five canned goods could receive a dollar鈥檚 credit toward a purchase of a cup of coffee.

Will Organizational Change students advise other businesses in the future? Gama, whose group proposed promoting Connie鈥檚 Coffee & Cafe in flyers placed in Pfeiffer鈥檚 Welcome Weekend packets (among several other suggestions), certainly hopes so.

 鈥淚 enjoyed this assignment,鈥� said Gama, a rising senior from Matthews, N.C. who鈥檚 majoring in Business Management & Leadership and in Strategic Communication & Social Media. 鈥淚t gave us real-world practical experience with the assistance of a professor whose guidance was really beneficial.鈥�

And Church is bullish about chamber businesses forging more collaborations with the Organizational Change students of Pfeiffer. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 a wonderful program,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 hope we can continue to expand it. I look forward to working with Pfeiffer again this year to continue integrating their students into our business community.鈥�