Tuesday, Sept. 12 started the first of many Career Speaker Series talks. The focus of the first night was on B corps, which are for-profit companies that are certified and held up to strict standards when it comes to their environmental impact, how they treat their employees and their transparency.
Alyssa SAlerno / Student Life Editor
KSC Director of Corporate Partnerships and Strategic Initiatives, Daniel Henderson started the talks three years ago. “I felt that students didn’t really know what opportunities existed.. I’ve been reaching out to these businesses so they can learn more about Keene State and we can learn more about them and that’s where opportunities are created,” said Henderson.
The talks are held on the second floor of Rhodes Hall in room 203. There were close to no seats left empty on the first night. KSC senior Harry O’Donoghue said he went because he was interested in learning more about B corporations. “It’s the future of the world. Renewable energy is going to be really popular in the upcoming years and I was interested to know how they treated their employees,” O’Donoghue said.
There were four B corps that came in to talk to students. Director of Market Development at ReVision Energy, Dan Weeks said talking to college students about the growing trend of B corps is something he feels passionately about. “I really think we are way overdue to rethink capitalism,” said Weeks. “So any chance I get to try to convey some of that to folks who are making important life decisions and thinking about where their future is going to be, whether it be with a conventional corporation or a B corp or a non-profit or whatever, I want to urge you as strong as I can to think deeply about it.”
The full schedule and all the speakers are listed on the Career Speaker Series page on keene.edu. The series is held nearly every Tuesday night at 6 p.m. and will be hosting many multi-million dollar companies.
Henderson said he encourages students of all ages to come and interact with the speakers. “Try to come up with some questions. Questions get noticed,” said Henderson. “It doesn’t have to be the best question ever, but the fact that you’re thinking and curious will mean something to people… if it’s something you might be interested in, come with a resume and hang around afterwards. [Companies] are here because they want to recruit students who go to school here.”
Alyssa Salerno can be contacted at asalerno@kscequinox.com