UM-DeSoto Revamps Business Student Organization
Members attend regional competition, win multiple awards
SOUTHAVEN, Miss. – The University of Mississippi at DeSoto Center – Southaven has reactivated Phi Beta Lambda, the regional campus’s business student organization.
Phi Beta Lambda is the college division of the Future Business Leaders of America-Phi Beta Lambda, Inc., the largest career student business organization in the world. PBL has more than 10,000 members and more than 500 chapters nationwide.
The renewed chapter began meeting during the fall 2017 semester. One of the prime benefits of the organization is that members may participate in regional and national competitions. Six UM-DeSoto students traveled to Columbus, Mississippi, in February to compete at the Mississippi PBL State Leadership Conference.
Mckenzie Murdock, a rising senior and marketing major from Hernando, Mississippi, won first place in the public speaking category and second in marketing concepts.
“The competitions we go to give us a great chance to network and be in a business professional setting,” Murdock said. “The events and the preparing for them really gives a good example of how projects at work could be.”
Jennifer Battistelli, senior business management major from Memphis, Tennessee, and Ally Evans, business management graduate from Olive Branch, Mississippi, placed first in the human resource management competition. The students drew from their class experience to prepare for the event.
Evans said that the experience helped her realize how much she learned in her classes at UM-DeSoto. Battistelli said that the competition benefitted her by allowing her to participate in a competitive environment, manage deadlines and step outside her comfort zone.
“All of these things will help me prepare for the future because now I am more willing to try new challenges and fearless when facing tough competition,” Battistelli said. “These things are critical in the business environment.”
Madison Cleveland placed first in the forensic accounting event. The a rising senior accountancy major from Hernando, Mississippi, felt that the competition gave her a general understanding of the terms and principles that she will use in the “real world.”
Not only did students go home with awards, but the chapter also won $500 for being designated as the largest reactivated chapter in the competition.
UM-DeSoto coordinator of student services, Kacy Dixon, serves as the group’s advisor. She is excited about the organization’s success.
“We are so proud of what the chapter has accomplished so far,” Dixon said. “PBL has a lot to offer our students in terms of networking and resume-building opportunities. I’d encourage anyone who is interested in business to join; I anticipate that the group will grow even more in the new academic year.”
For information about joining PBL, contact Dixon at kdixon@olemiss.edu. To learn more about the University of Mississippi – DeSoto, visit olemiss.edu/desoto.