Raj Soin College of Business opens new Center for Career Management

From left: Riley Williams, business economics major; Provost Susan Edwards; Ann Runner, vice president human resources, Emerson; President Cheryl B. Schrader; Tim Griffith, president, Speedway; Thomas Traynor, interim dean, Raj Soin College of Business; and Twila Murray, career consultant, Raj Soin College of Business.

The Wright State University Raj Soin College of Business (RSCOB) celebrated the opening of the new Center for Career Management with a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Rike Hall on Aug. 20.

Sponsored by Speedway, with additional support from Emerson, the Center for Career Management offers students career educational and placement activities. Students can use the center to meet with employers and work on other activities specifically related to career management.

The center comes with advanced video conference technology, a large conference room and professional interview spaces. A key objective that will now be realized is to provide students with the tools to improve their interview skills, including the ability to record and listen to mock interviews.

Thomas Traynor, the interim dean of RSCOB, says the center will provide students the tools to take control of their careers during and after their time at Wright State.

“The Center for Career Management will serve as the hub for the career education and placement activities of the Raj Soin College of Business. Our students will now receive career-related support and meet with employers in a space dedicated solely to career management,” Traynor said. “The center will enable us to serve more students and employers each year, facilitate increased student interaction with our business partners and expand the scope of career preparation activities for business students at Wright State. Our goal is to not only place students in their first job, but to also help them fully understand the standards of professionalism and etiquette, and manage their careers long after they have graduated.”

Traynor also thanked the sponsors of the center, Speedway and Emerson, for their tremendous contributions to the students at Wright State.

“I am very pleased with the long and multi-faceted relationship that Speedway has had with the Raj Soin College of Business at Wright State University,” he said. “Through scholarships, internships, employment of our business graduates, executive education and now financial support for our new Center for Career Management, Speedway has partnered closely with the Raj Soin College of Business to help meet its workforce needs. We are excited for our growing partnership with Speedway and our role in helping them to propel their now nationwide business forward while also advancing the entire business community in southwest Ohio.”

“Emerson, another longtime partner of the university, has also been a strong supporter in the creation of this center because of our shared vision to expand workforce development activities,” he said.

Representatives from both Speedway and Emerson attended the ribbon cutting.

Tim Griffith, president of Speedway, told attendees that Speedway recruits more graduates from Wright State than any other university in the Miami Valley. “Speedway has had a long-standing partnership with Wright State University, and we were pleased to be able to fund the Center for Career Management,” Griffith said. “We see Speedway’s partnership with Wright State’s Raj Soin College of Business as a long-term investment in our local community and an important part of our recruiting strategy. This investment will pay dividends by helping place Wright State graduates into great careers, many of which can be found right here in the Miami Valley. Having the Center for Career Management within the business college will facilitate ease of use for recruiters and encourage students to take advantage of the availability of the staff and advisors as they seek employment opportunities.”

The Center for Career Management will be available to all students in or intending to be in RSCOB beginning with the fall 2019 semester.

About Speedway
Speedway is the nation’s second largest company-owned and -operated convenience store chain with nearly 4,000 retail convenience stores across the United States. Headquartered in Enon, Ohio, Speedway is a subsidiary of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: MPC). For more information, visit www.speedway.com.