PCC’s First Academic Club
So maybe you’re just a little curious about what the brand new Finance Club is all about and how you can join, right? Good thing I knew you’d have questions, because I’ve compiled an exhaustive article that will answer all of your questions, or will at least answer enough to get you hooked and very excited for the first meeting.
What in the World is a Finance Club?
The first Finance Club meeting will be held on Monday, February 20, 2017 at 8:00 p.m. in MK 523. Meetings will be held about once a month. The club will be led primarily by its founders Stephen DeBruler and Mitchell Arnold (that’s them in the picture. They look smart, huh?).
Meetings will feature special guest speakers including alumni, faculty, staff, and their friends who have notable experience in financial industries or strategic business. Other meetings will show presentations on topical discussions. These forums will provide an opportunity for PCC students to contribute their own specialized knowledge on a key topic. In the future, the club may host day trips to businesses, banks, or corporate headquarters to visualize firsthand how corporate offices operate. These trips will provide exceptional knowledge and also allow for even more networking.
What’s This All About Anyway?
The Finance Club’s vision is two-fold:
- Networking. The number one goal of the club is to help members network with professionals in the business community. Using networking, students will be meeting business professionals, building relationships, and making connections that could help them land jobs straight out of college.
“The whole reason we started this (club) was to network,” Arnold says. “Especially for business professionals; that’s how we get our jobs.”
- Academics. The second goal of the club is to foster field knowledge outside the classroom through student-led topics and learning. The club will cover topics that teachers don’t have time to cover as thoroughly in class, and will be open to student discussion.
“This vision cannot successfully happen if it is not 100% student-led. We want this to be a 'join for your own benefit' club. The more each student invests in the club, the more he’ll get in return,” Arnold says.
And the best part? The Finance Club exists to boost name recognition of PCC within the finance and business community. Just like the nursing program is well-known in the area and attracts recruiters in the medical fields, PCC can become known as the place to find good financiers and businessmen. “We need to brand ourselves as good businessmen and women who come from PCC,” Arnold says.
Members of the club will experience far-reaching perks even after graduation. “Yes, I’m here at the beginning starting the club, but even five years down the road from now, I’ll be out in the business world still receiving the acclamation that comes from being associated with business students from PCC,” Arnold says.
How Did This Club Begin?
Although the club has been student-led and student-organized, it has been encouraged by Mr. Nick Iwanowycz. But as much as Iwanowycz wanted the club to happen, he knew it wouldn’t succeed if the students didn’t want it enough to start it themselves. “He wanted it to be us—our thing,” Arnold says.
At first, it began as informal meetings between finance and business majors who got together to discuss stock market trends. But it was only related to the stock market, and it was informal.
Then one day, DeBruler and Arnold were sitting in class during the spring semester of 2016 when Mr. Iwanowycz mentioned having an official club. “At that moment, Stephen and I looked at each other across the room and we knew we had to make this thing happen,” Arnold says.
Over summer 2016, DeBruler and Arnold collaboratively defined the club vision, arranged meetings with Dr. Cochran for approval, and approved Mr. Iwanowycz as club sponsor. After receiving final official approval in February 2017, the very first academic club of Pensacola Christian College was born.
So Can I Join?
Club meeting attendance is open to all students, and membership is open to all business majors. So if that’s you, yes! Just attend a meeting, request a membership form, and get plugged into the newest student-directed organization on campus.
Who’s in Charge?
President: Stephen DeBruler
Vice President: Mitchell Arnold
Chief Operating Officer: Zach Dennison
Human Resource Director: Lydia Nageeb
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