Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/100231
idea exchange Pitch Ready The Program The Idea SCUBrand4U, a program that gives freshmen a head start in crafting their personal brands Location Santa Clara University���s Leavey School of Business in California The Inspiration Words of Wisdom Is freshman year too early for college students to begin developing their personal brands? Absolutely not, says Buford Barr, a business and communication professor at the Leavey School. He recalls one undergraduate���s visit to Cisco���s headquarters in Silicon Valley. ���She told me she walked into an elevator and found herself face-toface with Cisco CEO John Chambers. I said, ���That���s great���what did you say to him?��� And she said, ���Nothing. I didn���t know what to say!������ It was a moment literally made for a personal ���elevator pitch,��� but she didn���t have one prepared. ���I want students to plan for these moments��� they need to think about their personal brands much earlier in the process,��� Barr says. 72 January/February 2013 Barr directs SCUBrand4U, a new personal brand management program open to all SCU undergraduates. In October, the program kicks off with ���Transitioning from High School to College,��� a two-hour orientation for incoming freshmen that covers topics such as time management, study skills, and social media. Students also draft value statements for themselves, using an exercise developed by the late Fred Hoar, a Silicon Valley executive, which asks questions such as ���What am I most proud of?��� and ���What do I want to be famous for?��� Students will continue to hone their brands through meetings with faculty and career center staff throughout their college careers. The program will end with a session for upperclassmen on ���Transitioning from College to Career,��� where they���ll discuss the qualities employers reward, such as flexibility, initiative, confidence, and the ability to overcome obstacles. Through SCUBrand4U, students learn that building a brand is more than choosing a major or writing a r��sum��. It���s about developing strong relationships with professors, exploring their options, and joining clubs not just to socialize but to network for their future careers. ���I want them to start investigating and narrowing down fields of study that suit their passions as early as possible,��� Barr says. Social media is also a big topic throughout the program. ���In this Facebook and Twitter age, it���s shockingly easy for students to degrade their personal brands,��� says Barr. He advises them to refrain from posting anything on Facebook that they don���t want future employers to see. Still in the pilot stage, SCUBrand4U is a voluntary noncredit program, but eventually it could turn into a for-credit course. Forty of the 85 freshmen who attended the first session will provide feedback to help the school improve and grow the program over time. Barr hopes that SCUBrand4U helps students not only have their pitches ready for employers, but also get the best return on their education investment. ���Many students take on tremendous debt to go to college,��� says Barr. ���We want them to make fewer mistakes and get off to stronger starts on their careers.��� BizEd J ean e E llroy/G etty I mag es A Stronger Start