Buena Vista University Students Visit Iowa’s Top Fortune 500 Company
BVU students enjoyed a close-up look at Principal before lunching and networking with alumni from Principal's IT, accounting, real estate, and human resources departments. BVU Trustee Amy Friedrich '93 hosted the event.
Students traveled to Principal in Des Moines on April 12, and enjoyed an opportunity to experience a professional business workplace while networking with BVU alumni.
The day began at 5:30 a.m. when seven students piled into a van headed toward Des Moines for a visit day at Principal. Upon arrival, they joined students from other Iowa colleges in listening to an introduction to the company and learned about internship opportunities with Principal. Afterwards, they toured the campus and attended breakout sessions with professionals in students’ areas of interest.
After the scheduled activities wrapped up, the BVU contingent remained and enjoyed lunch with 15 BVU alumni from Principal’s IT, accounting, real estate, and human resources departments. Amy Friedrich ’93, president—U.S. Insurance Solutions at Principal, hosted the networking luncheon and is also a member of the BVU Board of Trustees.
“My liberal arts background let me explore, helped me develop a sense of social responsibility, and provided me with the practical skills I use every day.”
Amy Friedrich '93
“The extra time our students had to visit with Amy was an added bonus for us,” says Lori Berglund, director of career and personal development at BVU. “We are very thankful for this opportunity, and it was certainly a highlight of the trip.”
Career and Personal Development and BVU’s Office of Alumni Engagement teamed up to make this experience unique to BVU students. Amy Jones, director of alumni engagement, helped arrange the lunch with Friedrich, who majored in mass communication and philosophy and religion at BVU. Friedrich spoke to students about her great memories as an undergraduate at BVU and credits much of her success to the experience she had at BVU—including the faculty members who pushed her to think big and helped her to form her own opinion.
“My liberal arts background let me explore, helped me develop a sense of social responsibility, and provided me with the practical skills I use every day,” Friedrich said in 2015. “Having my professors tell me I could do these things was very meaningful. I didn’t know it at the time, but my professors set me up for life.”
“We want our students to feel confident in introducing themselves to people they don’t know,” says Berglund, who noted that students engaged with several alumni over lunch and exchanged business cards. “So, if we provide students with opportunities like this one to practice, it helps build that confidence.”
Berglund and Mandi Mollring, assistant director of career and personal development, hope to provide similar experiences in the future, especially to first- and second-year students, so they have an understanding about the types of work environments they could see in their internships or careers.
“It’s important for students to visit potential employers to get an idea of the atmosphere and the culture of an organization,” says Berglund. “BVU does a great job of that.”