Ernst & Young Sponsors Freshman Fellows Orientation
College Park, Md. – Aug. 29, 2011 – The University of Maryland’s Robert H.
Smith School of Business hosted its annual Freshman Fellows Orientation Program,
sponsored by Ernst & Young. Staffed by representatives from both the Smith
School and Ernst & Young, the day kicked off with group icebreakers and several
songs performed by UMD a capella group, The Generics.
Dean of Undergraduate Studies, Pat Cleveland, then welcomed the newest
members of the Smith community and went on to introduce G. “Anand” Anandalingam,
dean of the Smith School, who addressed the students. “You’re joining an
unbelievable set of undergraduates – the Smith School has a very warm, friendly,
motivated student body.” Dean Anand continued, “With a good business education,
you can certainly do good things for yourself, but more importantly you can go
on to do great things for this world.”
Ernst & Young keynote speaker Ken Bouyer, Americas director of inclusiveness
recruiting, then took the podium after an introduction from Ernst & Young Tax
Partner Arun Subhas.
In a presentation titled “Inclusive Leadership: Tools for the global
workforce”, Bouyer began by advising students, “Don’t be happy just to be here.
The fact that you got into the business school is an incredible accomplishment,
but the real work begins now.”
Delving into the global theme of his discussion, Bouyer talked about the many
ways the world of global business has changed during his time with Ernst &
Young, remembering back to a time where there was no voicemail, so reaching
people in China was a challenge. He said, “Our clients are strictly and truly
global. I can’t even imagine in four or five years how things will look, when
you’re ready to graduate.”
To really demonstrate the true diversity of global business, Bouyer broke the
world’s demographics down to a room of 100 people. He told the crowd that of
those people, 61 are Asian, 13 are African, 12 are European, nine are Latin
American/Caribbean, and only five are American. More sounds of astonishment
arose when he said that of these people, 17 speak some form of Chinese, and only
eight speak English.
Bouyer also challenged the freshmen to redefine “diversity” by expanding
their frames of reference. “Diversity inclusiveness is about bringing who to you
are to the business school, and maintaining your consistency throughout.”
The program then moved on to “Success Seminars,” which targeted topics of
interest to new college students, including health and wellness, academic
success, and career preparation. Students were then given time with their Smith
mentors, followed by dinner, which gave freshmen the opportunity to get to know
each other, Smith faculty and staff, and the enthusiastic Ernst & Young
volunteers.
Ernst & Young’s generous $250,000 gift to the Smith School in June 2009
created the orientation program and endowment, producing a day of team-building,
top-rate keynote speakers and seminars, and valuable networking opportunities
with the Ernst & Young staff in attendance. Ernst & Young has a 30-year
relationship with the Smith School, with their giving totaling more than $1
million, including construction of an Ernst & Young classroom and the
establishment of a student scholarship.
For more information on the Robert H. Smith School of Business’ Fellows
programs, please visit the website.
Amy M. Taylor, Office of Marketing Communications
