SWFC attends Lotosphere 2012: Business Made Social

By Jennifer Wallace - Tampa Coordinator for Industry Relations and Graduate Placement

Lotosphere 2012, Business Made Social was hosted by IBM at the Walt Disney World Dolphin Resort in Orlando, FL January 15th-19th. This year, Southwest Florida College was invited to participate in the Group  Business Software (GBS) College Day at Lotusphere 2012, held on Monday, January 17th. Over 700 students from 14 Florida colleges and universities attended the event.

SWFC Tampa Campus had 24 students participate in the GBS College Day at Lotusphere 2012. Mr. Gary Stein, Program Manager for Business/IT and Mrs. Jennifer Wallace, Tampa Coordinator for Industry Relations and Graduate Placement proctored the event. GBS provided transportation from the SWFC Tampa Campus to the Walt Disney World Dolphin Resort, where they were provided with breakfast and welcoming gifts. The General Session was opened with a surprise performance by the popular rock band, OK GO, followed by celebrity guest speaker, Michael J. Fox. Following the General Session, students were given the opportunity to participate in User Experience and IBM Innovation Labs and “Meet the Developers.”

At noon, the students were transported to Disney’s Yacht & Beach Club Convention Center for a Social Business Lunch with Panel Discussion. Joerg Ott, CEO of GBS, moderated, as students addressed specific career questions to a distinguished panel, including:

Mitch Cohen, Messaging and Collaboration Manager, Colgate Palmolive
Professor Larry Gee, San Jose State University
Sam Fatigato, CEO, Ascendant Technology
Adam Lazarus GBS College 2011 Alumni, Product Marketing Engineer, GBS
Bob McDonald, VP Software Service IBM Collaboration Solutions, IBM

There was also an IBM or GBS professional dining with students at each table!

The afternoon consisted of various Technical and Business Breakout Sessions, including:

• Building Gadgets with OpenSocial, Speakers: Ryan Baxter (Software Engineer), Andrew Davis (Software Developer), Stanton Sievers (Software Engineer)
• Developing Exceptional Mobile & Multi-Channel Applications Using IBM Web Experience Factory, Speaker: Jonathan Booth, Senior Architect, IBM
• Reinventing Communication Roles @ IBM, Speaker: Don Neely, Program Director, Analyst Relations, IBM
• What would you do if you knew you could not fail…, Joerg Ott, CEO Group Business Software

The event concluded with a Career Fair, in which students were able to sit with employers in a round-table discussion on a five-minute rotation. During the Career Fair, we learned that the company CDW is opening a Tampa office and will be hiring for all positions, from Business to IT, and the link to the CDW career page was shared with students this morning. In addition to making valuable connections to professionals in their field, every participant will receive a follow-up email with instructions detailing how to apply for internships, which will include an essay requirement. Both IBM and GBS will pull from these applications to fill their summer internship positions.

Wendy Collins, a SWFC graduate and returning student, was a raffle winner! She will have a limousine escort to dine with the CEO of IBM and GBS! In the past, recipients of this prize went on to become permanent employees of IBM and GBS!

http://www.swfc.edu/Business/Business-Disclosures.htm

About Southwest Florida College: Southwest Florida College is an accredited, private institution of higher learning that is listening to employers and providing its students with placement assistance in today’s most demanding career fields. The college is located in Fort Myers, Tampa, Port Charlotte and Bonita Springs. The Institute of Interior Design is also located within the Bonita Springs campus. For more information, call 1-877-455-0107 or visit www.swfc.edu.

Maria Salazar earns scholarship from the Professional Business Women of Tampa

Congratulations to Maria Salazar for earning a $1,000 scholarship from the Professional Business Women of Tampa

Maria was 1 out of 5 winners that earned a scholarship. Mara’s winning essay was titled “Challenges of Hispanic women in the workplace.” Great Job Maria, we are proud of your accomplishment.

Maria worked with the Financial Literacy department in locating and applying for this scholarship. Any student who is interested in the same kind of opportunity that Maria was able to take advantage of should make an appointment with Financial Literacy.  

 

http://www.swfc.edu/Business/Business-Disclosures.htm

About Southwest Florida College: Southwest Florida College is an accredited, private institution of higher learning that is listening to employers and providing its students with placement assistance in today’s most demanding career fields. The college is located in Fort Myers, Tampa, Port Charlotte and Bonita Springs. The Institute of Interior Design is also located within the Bonita Springs campus. For more information, call 1-877-455-0107 or visit www.swfc.edu.

Former Southwest Florida College Business Graduate Earns Quality Assurance Awards for 2010 for the state of Florida.

Naples Daily News: Top In State

Toll Brothers announced that Tony Claxton has earned the Quality Assurance Award for 2010 for the state of Florida. Claxton is construction manager at Belle Lago, a Toll Brothers community of single-family villas and estate homes in Estero. A graduate of Southwest Florida College of Business, Claxton joined Toll Brothers in 1999 in the Quality Assurance Department. In 2006 he became construction manager for Toll Brothers’ Belle Vita neighborhood at Palmira Golf & Country Club and completed all warranty work at Palmira. He served as construction manager at the Reserve at Estero prior to becoming construction manager at Belle Lago, where he works in both the villa and estate neighborhoods. Claxton was named Toll Brothers Construction Manager of the Year in 2008.

http://www.swfc.edu/Business/Business-Disclosures.htm 

About Southwest Florida College: Southwest Florida College is an accredited, private institution of higher learning that is listening to employers and providing its students with placement assistance in today’s most demanding career fields. The college is located in Fort Myers, Tampa, Port Charlotte and Bonita Springs. The Institute of Interior Design is also located within the Bonita Springs campus. For more information, call 1-877-455-0107 or visit www.swfc.edu.

Southwest Florida College Business Programs: Student Testimonial Video

Business practices are changing almost as rapidly as the technology that drives them. How do you keep up with the pack? You need an education that can teach you to successfully plan and implement all your ventures. Our programs in Business can help educate you for a role in defining business problems, arranging critical information, determining alternatives, and leading the way to solutions.

Learn more about our Business Program by going to www.swfc.edu/business.

Enter the exciting, fast paced business world by enrolling in one of our degree programs! We can help educate you for a role in defining business solutions, arranging critical information, and more! Business professionals are in high demand - see what we can do for you today! Southwest Florida College is an accredited, private institution of higher learning centrally located in Fort Myers, Tampa, Port Charlotte, and includes the Institute of Interior Design located within the Miromar Design Center in Estero. The College offers programs in Health Care, Business, Design, Education, Information Technology and Legal Studies. Its mission is to provide educational opportunities for individuals to acquire knowledge and skills that will help prepare them for rewarding careers in fields with high growth potential. For more information, call toll free 888‐526‐7973 or visit www.swfc.edu/business.

SWFC Business Studies Program: An Interview with Program Manager Lorie Darche

Southwest Florida College Program Manager Lori Darche explains the Business Programs available to students. Our programs are designed to enable you to deal effectively with an increasingly complex business environment. Management, finance, marketing we can prepare you for any of these in less time than you might think. Your education experience will stress specialized development in the areas of financial accounting, managerial finance, economics and marketing to give you the skills you need.

When you complete the program, you can pursue positions in general business management, sales and promotion, marketing and retail operations, human resources, or even use the education to start your own business.Associate's in Accounting Bachelor's of Science in Management Associate's in Management & Marketing Start a new future today by learning more about Southwest Florida College.

Southwest Florida College is an accredited private institution of higher learning centrally located in Fort Myers, Tampa, Port Charlotte, and includes the Institute of Interior Design located within the Miromar Design Center in Estero. The College has been providing post secondary education to Floridians since 1974 and offers programs in Allied Health, Business, Design, Education, Information Technology and Legal Studies. Its mission is to provide educational opportunities for individuals to acquire knowledge and skills that will help prepare them for rewarding careers in fields with high growth potential. For more information, call toll free 888-279-2342 or visit www.swfc.edu/business.