Wilson Students Gain Real-World Insights from Industry Experts

students received some real-world business knowledge during their classes on entrepreneurship and management. Rodney Salvadia and Liz Ortiz, representatives of Fastenal, a distributor of wide-ranging industrial and construction products, recently visited campus to share skills and knowledge for developing a good sales pitch and an understanding of career competencies, or how a person’s knowledge and behaviors lead them to be successful in a career. Director of Business & Assistant Professor of Business Lance Cain’s entrepreneurship and small business management classes welcomed Salvadia and Ortiz for several days in October. 

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In the entrepreneurship class, students work throughout the semester to create business and marketing plans for fictional businesses they develop as groups. The Fastenal representatives walked the students through what an elevator pitch was — a brief introduction to a product or service that takes as long as an elevator ride—and explained the components of a successful pitch during their guest lecture. Each student developed a pitch for their group’s fictional business, presented them, and their peers ranked them. The winning pitches went to Vu Nguyen ’27 and Alexis Shreiner ‘26. 

Adding an element of competition allowed Cain to introduce the concept of writing and presenting an elevator pitch while also having some fun. “Having Fastenal in the classroom was 100 percent a practical approach. They provided real-life examples from the real world,” Cain said. “It also created the opportunity for the students to connect with professionals and build their networks.”

The Fastenal representatives also visited Cain’s introduction to management class. This class took a career readiness assessment to evaluate each student’s career competencies, such as critical thinking, communication, and leadership. The students also researched and made presentations based on the different competencies—what they are and how they impact an individual’s career. 

As a bonus, members of the class also received their individual assessment results. The assessment revealed a personalized strengths and weaknesses report, along with an explanation of how to build upon or improve each. For example, if a student needed to strengthen their leadership skills, the results suggested they take on a leadership role in a club. 

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“[The visit from Fastenal] helps students think like a professional versus as a student. It helps them answer, ‘Why is being a professional different from my part-time jobs or my work as a student’,” Linda Boeckman, director of Career Development said. “The more exposure we can provide students to people doing the work, day-in and day-out, the better. They validate what faculty say from an exterior source.”