Center for Business Experience Ignites Career Readiness
Matt Poillucci ’28 points to his strategic business plan while collaborating with fellow SOM students. Photo by Alyssa Walrad/Marist University.
•Marist University’s Center for Business Experience (CBE) is a School of Management hub that provides experiential learning, career readiness, and industry connections for students through workshops, events, and hands-on opportunities.
•The CBE hosts approximately nine events per week, including mock interviews, professional development workshops, networking events, and speaker sessions that help students prepare for internships and careers.
•Developed in response to student and faculty feedback, the CBE helps students connect their academic and extracurricular experiences into a clear professional narrative for interviews, resumes, LinkedIn, and networking.
April 28, 2026 — When faculty respond to student feedback and evolving needs, innovation follows. That spirit led to the creation of the School of Management’s Center for Business Experience.
With workshops focusing on real-life skills and events empowering student success, the CBE has shown great success—and it’s only getting started.
The CBE, located in Dyson Suite 2055 A, is a hub for hands-on learning at the School of Management. Open to all Marist students, it provides experiential learning, career readiness, and industry connections to participants.
Connecting classroom learning with real-world experience, the CBE hosts workshops, mock interviews, professional development, speakers, and luncheons.
Katie Giordano (back row, far left), Michele Williams (front row, far right), and Heather Hallenbeck (back row, far right) pose in front of the center with SOM students. Photo by Alyssa Walrad/Marist University.
“Even in its early stages, we’re already seeing great engagement,” said Michele Williams, Director of Student and Alumni Engagement for SOM. “Students are participating in experiential events, workshops, and consulting opportunities, and faculty are excited about integrating more hands-on learning into their courses.”
Organizations have also shown interest in partnering with students on projects through the CBE. Williams says that enthusiasm mirrors what students themselves are asking for. “Students want opportunities to apply what they’re learning and gain meaningful experience while they’re still in school.”
The CBE runs about 9 events per week, including workshops, club and SOM events, and more. Through these events, students learn critical skills needed for finding internships and jobs, networking, and speaking about their previous experiences with employers during these events.
Wine Etiquette workshop hosted by the CBE. Left: Vincenzo Lauria gives tips to students at the interactive workshop. Right: students learn essential wine etiquette for business dinners and professional networking. Photos by Alyssa Walrad/Marist University.
Translating Experience into Opportunity
Associate Dean of the School Katelyn Giordano said the CBE focuses on helping students clearly explain their experiences. “If we did not have a cohesive way of explaining all of our experiential learning opportunities, how could a student craft and tell their story when going on job and internship interviews?”
By giving students an on-campus home for their career development, the CBE allows them to connect individual opportunities into one cohesive narrative. In partnership with Career Services, it equips them with the skills to confidently communicate that narrative across professional contexts, such as interviews, resumes, LinkedIn, and networking opportunities.
“The Center for Business Experience represents a natural evolution of our commitment to experiential learning—bringing together the many ways our students learn by doing,” said Heather Hallenbeck, Director of Experiential Learning for the SOM. “It also creates a foundation for continuous growth so they graduate with both real-world experience and a compelling story to tell.”
Students listen to dining etiquette tips from Master Sommelier, Vincenzo Lauria at the Professional Etiquette Luncheon. Photo by Alyssa Walrad/Marist University.
About the CBE
Inspired by Marist 100, SOM faculty began to create their own strategic plan in Fall 2024.
The first step in developing the CBE was to understand the full scope of experiential learning already taking place.
“We started by creating an inventory of all of our experiential learning offerings,” said Giordano. “From there, we divided them up into the categories of in the classroom, on campus, and in the community. We then began creating student focus groups.”
The focus groups, run by CBE intern Claire Hewitt ’27 and SOM student Valincia Hill ’26, brought together SOM students from a range of majors and class years. Together, students provided valuable insight into how the CBE could enhance career readiness.
“The focus groups demonstrated what students felt was missing from the School of Management and what improvements they wanted to see,” said Claire. “That feedback is still shaping how we do things as the CBE grows.”
All Marist students can visit the center and attend CBE events to help kickstart their own career readiness. Stay up to date on upcoming events by following the Center for Business Experience Instagram here.
