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Marlin Prestige Business Conference Set for April 23 - 27
The student-led conference is free and open to all on campus and in the community
News Release | April 18, 2018
Come one, come all to 91风月楼’s student-led business conference known as “The Marlin Prestige,” scheduled for the week of April 23-27. The conference, which is free and open to everyone on campus and in the community, will feature guest speakers and business class presentations, shark tanks, job fairs, business proposal competitions and more. The theme for the spring 2018 conference is "Business Reimagined through Globalization, Innovation, Leadership, and Diversity."
Each semester, students plan the conference as part of their coursework for Principles of Management taught by Associate Professor of Management, Business and Economics Paul Ewell. The class selects a C-Suite of executives and identifies the roles of each student in areas of finance, marketing, human resources, and operations. This semester’s is led by student CEO Julie Manning.
“I feel that sometimes people don't understand how much business influences their lives,” said Manning. “Regardless of the field a person decides to go in, business will be involved in some aspect. This conference gives them, especially college students, a chance to network, be more informed for the workforce, and let their creativity shine. It gives them the practice to better their skills, so that they are more prepared to achieve their dreams later on.”
The spring conference kicks off with an evening gala in the Greer Environmental Sciences Center with keynote speaker and VWU alumnus Joe Ruddy, chief innovation officer at Port of Virginia. Throughout the week, featured guest speakers include Chris Stuart, vice president of Top Guard Security; Tony Astro, Navy veteran and owner of Mvoss Creation LLC; Maxine Williams, Busch LLC; Douglas A. Jackson, assistant professor at ECSU, and Emily Nuss and Jennifer Jiggets, former Peace Corps volunteers.
In addition to presentations from students, the always popular “Shark Tank” will be a part of the conference. As with the infamous “Shark Tank” on ABC, students create a product as a group and then make a presentation to a panel of “sharks.”
Other class presentations include Information Systems Programs (ISP) competitions, where teams of students present business proposals to a client. This semester, the client is the Eastern Shore Watermen’s Museum and Research Center.
For more information and a complete schedule of conference events visit the