"This is a brilliant idea and I can see how there will be tangible benefits for School of Business students.  I understand what you want to do, now make it happen, Betsy," said Dean Singleton.  Outwardly Betsy smiled, thanked Dean Singleton and began discussing next steps.  Yet on the inside, she was screaming.  For almost a year, she had talked about creating an organization that would foster connectedness amongst School of Business students, and restructuring the school's student government seemed like the best way to do it.  Gaining the Dean's support for the overhaul was a huge "win,” but she knew that doing the work to back up her proposal would be more critical than making the initial pitch. "Logistically speaking," Betsy began planning aloud, "we want to have elections in late March, which means we should roll out applications by late February, which means I need to have them created by early February for your review, which means I need a rough draft by late January, but before I can do this I need to finalize the organization's charter, which absolutely has to be done no later than....oh God...two weeks from today."  By tracing everything backwards, Betsy was able to see both the endpoint of her project and the amount of work it would take to get there.  She knew that creating the Business Council in two weeks seemed ridiculous, if not impossible, but she also knew that she had something to prove.

  Betsy had her "a-ha" moment in February of the previous year, while attending the Undergraduate Business School Leadership Conference (UBSLC) at Emory University.  She and another student, Kirsten, had a fantastic time meeting students from the top universities around the world, but after comparing undergraduate business programs, Betsy was stunned when she realized just how lacking GW's Business Council was.  Most schools had pro-active and involved executive committees that created educational programming and developed career initiatives for students within their respective schools. By comparison, GW's Business Council was comprised of one representative from each of the major student business organizations, and met only once a month to discuss the happenings within the School of Business.  It was clear that this information sharing function was critical, but it needed to be part of a larger organization that could provide much greater services to undergraduate students.  

  Both Betsy and Kirsten came back from the conference with guns blazing, determined to use their new ideas to revolutionize the Business Council. They encountered an unexpected roadblock, however, when they were informed that the current Dean of Undergraduate Programs was leaving in May, and a hunt was underway to find her successor.  Undeterred by this expected setback, Betsy and Kirsten were able to make some progress with the Council by instituting an annual end of school celebration.  Still, any real planning would need to be done after the Dean was replaced.  

  Kirsten graduated in May, and Betsy waited impatiently for the selection process to conclude and a new Dean to be instated.  When Dean Singleton was finally chosen, Betsy was told not to bombard him with Business Council matters so that he had time to settle into his new position.  Though she was itching to involve the new Dean in her ideas for the Council, she restrained herself from taking action for an entire semester.  After attending UBSLC for the second year, however, she decided the Council absolutely could not wait any longer.  She came back with a proposal for the restructure, which Dean Singleton actively supported.

 

Betsy can now look back and smile at those initial days of planning, when there was never enough time to do everything she wanted to accomplish.  In the two weeks following her meeting with the Dean, Betsy wrote a charter for the new organization, which included creating a new structure, complete with an executive committee of three elected and seven appointed positions, representatives from eight of the major student business organizations, and committee positions to support the appointed offices.  Between February and May, Betsy set up an online election, created applications for every position, recruited undergraduates to be part of the group, became the president-elect for the 2008-2009 academic year, ran interviews to select the most qualified students for the appointed positions, and hosted the first Business Council meeting after the restructure.  The summer was also filled with intense planning to prepare for GWSB's annual welcome back event, and the first active semester of this new group.

 

Even though the Business Council is only in its second semester, the organization has grown considerably since Betsy's original inception.  The Executive Committee has worked tirelessly to envision new initiatives and programming for undergraduates in the School of Business.  Highlights of the first semester were a successful student organization fair, a well-received presentation given to the Board of Advisors, creating a professional website that is linked to the School of Business page, assisting with publicity for several major School of Business events, and doing the planning necessary to prepare for another great semester.  This spring, the Business Council will host another organization fair, an end of school celebration in May, a networking event with the Board of Advisors, and several sessions entitled "Meet the Dean," so undergraduates can get firsthand information regarding Dean Singleton's work and vision.  Additionally, the Council is launching a shadow program, through which students can sign up to spend several hours with a young professional to get a "day in the life of" look at popular entry-level positions.  Furthermore, the Council also hosts school-wide community service events, and will sponsor an awards program to recognize outstanding undergraduate students.

 

It is important to note that the Business Council is more than an event planning service, and a major achievement has been creating the Business Council Calendar, which includes information about every event sponsored by business organizations.  The potential for this tool is promising for both publicity and scheduling purposes, and the Council hopes that this calendar will be regularly utilized in future years.

 

Betsy will graduate in May, and she, along with the rest of the Council is concerned about what will happen to the organization.  Most of the current leadership is graduating seniors, and the significant turnover will be a major obstacle for the organization with each subsequent year.  In preparation for this change, Betsy has planned a full month to transition next year's leadership team, and is working with the Council to discuss the ways in which they can capture the knowledge from all the successes and mistakes of this year.

 

Being an entrepreneur was not something Betsy set out to do, but necessity and the right opportunity made it possible for her to envision and cultivate the Business Council.  She was the driving force that got the wheel turning, but it was finding others who believed in her vision that was most rewarding for her. Relinquishing her involvement at the end of this year will be difficult, but she understands that ensuring the tenacity of this organization, so that it will continue to thrive under new leadership, will be her most important legacy as the founder.