The UTEP College of Business Administration (COBA) hosted a student organization fair Wednesday, Sept. 11 in the lobby of the Business Administration building. The event hosted several Registered Student Organizations (RSO) pertaining to disciplines that fall under COBA, such as accounting, marketing, and entrepreneurship, among others.
Throughout the event, these groups made their case to students as to why they should become members. Networking opportunities and career-readiness were the two most common advantages that every RSO mentioned.
“These organizations allow students to grow their network of friends with common career goals, learn more about their field of interest, build connections with corporate partners, and participate in activities that build leadership and business skills,” said Sacnité Ramos, director of Undergraduate Programs at COBA.
According to Forbes, a diverse network is the strongest asset anyone can have in business, no matter the industry. Whether it is to land a job, pursue a new business venture or recruit prospective employees, strong connections continually prove to be key.
“Your network is your net worth,” said Jorge Ruiz, Vice-President of External Affairs for the Financial Management Association chapter at UTEP.
For Hazel Pérez Pardo, President of the Women in Business Association (WBA) chapter at UTEP, being involved in an RSO gave her more than just a network.
“I joined, I became secretary and now I’m president. I fell in love with this organization and I just found my closest friends because of it,” Pérez Pardo said.
Pérez Pardo also highlighted her organization’s philanthropy which is promoting breast cancer awareness.
“During the month of October, we fundraise for local breast cancer associations. At one point, one of our members was diagnosed with breast cancer, so we donated money to her,” she said.
Aside from promoting networking and encouraging strong friendships, RSOs also champion career-readiness.
“We aim to inspire students to act entrepreneurially during college and in their career path,” said Frida De La Torre, a member of the Collegiate Entrepreneurs Association at UTEP. “It’s a great organization. It gives you the courage to follow your dream for an idea. The skills you learn in the organization are pretty useful.”
Genevieve Hernandez is a graduate student in UTEP’s Master of Accountancy program. She is also the vice-president of the Internal Audit Student Association, an organization that aims to spread awareness of the internal audit profession.
“With our curriculum in accounting we get exposed to auditing our last graduating semester, and internal audit is not mentioned at all,” Hernandez said. “We decided to give UTEP students an opportunity to learn more about this other facet of accounting.”
Hernandez also mentioned that her RSO has a close partnership with the El Paso chapter of the Institute of Internal Auditors.
“They’ve helped us a lot with allowing our members to attend their professional development meetings free of charge for the first five that RSVP,” Hernandez said.
According to Esteban Valencia, vice-president of the American Marketing Association, RSOs in and out of COBA also have a sense of synergy with each other.
“We’re going to have our first roundtable meeting with SGA, so that we can integrate and work together to make their events better for students,” Valencia said.
According to EdSurge, students who participate in clubs and activities forge deeper ties with their institutions. This increases the likelihood of student success and even career-readiness down the road.
Students interested in joining an RSO can browse through the large and diverse variety on minetracker.utep.edu.
Bryan Mena may be reached at [email protected].
