In the professional world,

many people have less than

two minutes to sell someone

an idea.

While many students struggle

with this ability, the O!ce of

Career and Student Development

held an elevator pitch

competition to allow students

to improve their public speaking

skills.

Each contestant was split

between the job or business

categories.

Junior business administration

major Hanna Flynn won

the business category and

speech-language pathology

major Faith Williams won the

job category.

“”e competition was a lot

of fun,” Williams said. “It’s

de#nitely nerve-wracking, but

when you see all of the contestants

up there doing their best

it makes you feel a lot better.”

Each contestant brought their

idea to the competition. Senior

psychology major Brennan

Remington pitched an idea

about drone photography.

He enjoyed being in the

competition this semester

and having the opportunity to

improve.

“Being around a bunch of

people, hearing their ideas and

seeing how I can improve was

fun and valuable,” Remington

said.

“e contest is held every semester

by the O!ce of Career

and Student Development to

give students a way to meet

with employers and improve

their speaking skills before

moving to the professional

#eld.

“It’s important for students to

practice their public speaking

so they can be comfortable

speaking in groups as well as

it helps enhance their one-onone

conversation,” assistant director

of Career Development

Alana Stevenson said. “It helps

them be more comfortable in

interviews whether interviews

are individual or in a group

setting.”

Each student had a great

opportunity to hear from

the judging panel after the

competition and get individual

comments about how they can

improve.

Stevenson encourages any

students with a job or business

idea to join in on the competition

and pitch their idea.