MU gets a branch of the Society for the Advancement of Management

Two students formed the club when no other organization met the same needs.

By Andrea Kszystyniak

Published Sept. 11, 2008

Two juniors have formed a club aimed at helping students get managerial experience after they found no such organization on campus.

The newly formed group, founded by Caitlin Angold and Tori Zimmer, is a branch of a national organization that focuses on developing the skills of future managers. It is designed to be a working model of a business organization.

"We're hoping to get new things started for the College of Business," Zimmer said.

When no other clubs met their needs at the close of last year, the pair began research that would eventually lead them to the Society for the Advancement of Management. After looking into the concept, they decided the group would prove beneficial to MU students.

"Tori and I are both management majors and we wanted something that could help us to get involved and prepare us for life after college," Angold said.

To promote positive professional growth in their members, the pair plans to have guest speakers for half of the meetings and then hold teaching sessions to "prepare students for life after college," Angold said.

The group is designed to advance not only management students but students in any major and prepare them for the often-harsh reality of the working world.

"We're trying to make this interesting," executive board member Alexandria Bell said. "You're getting what you can't get in basic 1000-level classes. Everyone is going to have a job after college and we just want to help them prepare for that."

Zimmer said the group would be great for networking with peers. The 10-member executive board has plans to expand the organization even further through philanthropy and volunteering.

The group plans to participate in the annual Rootin'-Tootin' Chili Cook Off, a fundraiser for the Boys and Girls Club of the Columbia Area as well as organize a volunteer effort at the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Mid-Missouri.

The group's next meeting is at 5 p.m. Sept. 18 in 201 Cornell Hall.