The University of Houston-Victoria School of Business Administration will host a live panel July 20 featuring faculty, staff and alumni sharing their expertise in finance, personal growth, networking and more with area high school students and Victoria residents.
“Talko-Tuesday” will be from 4 to 5:30 p.m. in Room 111 of UHV University North, 3007 N. Ben Wilson St. It will feature a panel of previous Bridge to Brilliance speakers discussing topics from their individual presentations. There also will be tacos and a chance to mix and mingle before the event. The event is free and open to the public to attend either in person or through Microsoft Teams.
The event is an extension of the Bridge to Brilliance series, which was created by the Personal Growth and Mentorship subcommittee of the Dean’s Advisory Board for the business school. The purpose of the series is to connect the UHV and business communities and provide personal growth opportunities for entrepreneurs, business students and marketers.
“We designed this event to be a kind of best-of discussion of topics from previous Bridge to Brilliance presentations,” said Rosie McCusker, manager of student recruitment and outreach for the UHV School of Business Administration. “For visiting high school students, we wanted to show them that there are fun and informative events happening on campus. College isn’t just about attending classes and studying.”
For in-person attendees, the event will begin at 4 p.m. with a mix-and-mingle event that includes icebreaker activities and prizes as well as individually wrapped tacos. Then, from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m., attendees will participate in games as well as watch clips from previous Bridge to Brilliance events and take part in a panel discussion with previous speakers about how the different topics such as personal growth, an ownership mindset, networking and more can impact their lives. There also will be question-and-answer opportunities during the discussion.
Christopher McDonald, a UHV alumnus and a Gulf Bend Center adult mental health case manager, will be one of the panelists during the main event. He received his master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling in August and his bachelor’s degree in psychology in 2017, both from UHV.
During his previous presentation, McDonald spoke about the importance of building resilience and the ability to learn from failure. As a student who took dual credit, Advanced Placement and other honors classes in high school, he has experienced how much pressure students face and how important it is to be able to learn from failure without becoming discouraged. He plans to share parts of that message during the upcoming panel.
“Classes that are dual credit or AP are difficult, but they are worth it when it comes to preparing for college,” McDonald said. “They push students to work hard and learn from their mistakes. Failure is part of the growing process. I want students to learn to embrace it and bounce back stronger than ever. Successful students are always looking for an opportunity to learn, even in failure.”
Kyle Motal, a digital marketing consultant for M. Roberts Digital Media, a media and marketing solutions company, also will be participating in the panel. In addition to McDonald’s focus, Motal wants to stress that it’s important for students and individuals at any stage in life to believe in themselves.
“I hope people will take away from this event that each person has the key to his own future,” Motal said. “It all comes down to the decisions we make every day. It’s important to be able to make good decisions and move forward.”
UHV students can RSVP to attend the event through JagSync. Area residents can RSVP at www.uhv.edu/bridge-brilliance.