Watson Graduate School of Management hosts welcome event in Tulsa
Monday, September 17, 2018
Oklahoma State University MBA students, faculty and administration gathered at The Boxyard in Tulsa for an evening of networking, engagement and community.
This was a welcome event to kick off the fall 2018 semester for OSU’s Tulsa-based MBA program and gave students an opportunity to meet and get to know Watson Graduate School of Management’s newest adviser, Ashley Wilson. Wilson specifically works with Tulsa and online learning students.
Kenneth Kern, WGSM assistant director and coordinator of the event, is hopeful that events like this provide a sense of connection and community for the MBA-Tulsa program.
“Our hope was to bring the Tulsa students together who are participating in the program and to just have a good time, network and connect,” Kern said. “Our hope was also to bring some faculty and some alumni out and give everyone a chance to meet Ashley Wilson.”
Attendees enjoyed ice cream from Rose Rock Microcreamery with a view of the Tulsa skyline serving as the backdrop for the evening. It was an ideal environment to meet new colleagues and catch up with familiar ones. One faculty member discussed the benefits of attending Tulsa events like this.
“I think the Tulsa experience is nice because we have a chance to interact with students in a different environment,” said Owen Parker, an assistant professor in the Department of Management in OSU’s Spears School of Business. “Tulsa is a unique environment because people aren’t in a full-time program, so they don’t have their own cohort experience. They don’t have the same type of gelling experience as they do in Stillwater, so I think it’s good to build connections with faculty in other ways that they wouldn’t normally get to do if we didn’t have these events.”
The evening was also a chance for prospective students to get a feel for what the MBA-Tulsa program has to offer.
“When we host events for our current student, including our professional development event on Oct. 9, we are not only inviting our current students to these events but also people who have expressed interest in the program, so they can see a little bit of what we deliver outside the classroom,” Kern said.
The next Tulsa event will be Oct. 9, from 5:30-7 p.m. at 36 Degrees North, 36 East Cameron St., in Tulsa. Matt Clifton, the chief financial officer at Senior Star and an Oklahoma State University MBA alumnus, will be the featured speaker at this professional development/mentoring session.