The Oberlin Business Scholars program takes students on a three-week journey across the country every winter term, and this year two Oberlin student-athletes were among the 12 selected for the trip.
 
Junior baseball player Ben Whitener and sophomore volleyball player Maddy Dunn viewed this opportunity as one that could contribute to their future plans.
 
According to the Oberlin Career Center, the Business Scholars program is "an intensive winter term project that provides selected Scholars from all majors with a foundation of skills, knowledge, and contacts to successfully compete for jobs and internships in the fields of finance and consulting." This is accomplished through on-site visits with Oberlin alumni and friends of the college.
 
"I heard about the opportunity through a few teammates who had a fantastic time and learned a lot during their trips," said Whitener, an economics major with a mathematics concentration. "The application process was more difficult than I was expecting, so I was ecstatic when I learned that I had been accepted."
 
"We got to meet a lot of alumni who work in fields I didn't know existed," said Dunn, who is an East Asian Studies and economics double major. "It gave us a lot of exposure to a completely different world than Oberlin offers."
 
The Oberlin students spent two weeks traveling to San Francisco, Cleveland, and New York, meeting 39 alumni and many non-alums.
 
Whitener said his favorite visit was at The Riverside Company in New York when they met alumnus Bela Szigethy '77, who founded the firm in 1988 and currently serves as Co-CEO.
 
"We took a few hours to talk through some deals his company had made in the past and what they do on a day-to-day basis. It was a ton of fun and I wasn't expecting it to be that hands-on at all."
 
The entire trip, including plane tickets, lodging, and food, is covered by a few alumni who see the experience as very beneficial to Oberlin students.
 
"This was a really transformational process for me. I gained great perspective on where I want to go and what I want to do after college," said Whitener.
 
Both Dunn and Whitener believe their experience was one all students should have, especially their fellow Oberlin student-athletes, whom they are sure would benefit from it.
 
"I think being an athlete really helps in this type of work, whether it be because of the need for teamwork, communication, or working under pressure," said Dunn.
 
"I had no thought of going into into finance and consulting after college, but now I do," said Whitener. "I think part of that is because of the competitive nature of the business, something athletes really embrace."

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