Freshmen 2020 Building Their Brand

Smith student Philip Peker ’18 writes about the Smith Leadership Institute, Aug. 27, 2016, at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business.

Nothing feels better than a fresh start: a new place, new ideas, new goals, new friends, and a new you. The University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business knows full well the value of a new beginning, but more importantly, making the start of your college career the start of a story worth telling.

On the blistering morning of Aug. 27, the Smith Freshman Class of 2020 congregated on the steps of the Xfinity Center, hounding for a place in the shade before reluctantly taking a class picture under the unrelenting sun. Yet, there was an excitement in the air not to be thwarted even by the heat. It was the kickoff event of the year: the Smith Leadership Institute, a day of inspirational storytelling on the importance of self-branding and networking.

After some mingling over breakfast and music, Associate Dean Victor Mullins took to the stage to kick off the event and the new school year. He introduced himself, the Ernst and Young associates and partners who helped champion this event, and welcomed the Class of 2020, making sure to set the high-energy tone for the day. He then handed off the microphone to Dean Alexander Triantis, who talked about how special of a journey all the young business minds are about to embark on. Finally, Dean Triantis introduced the featured speaker of the event, best-selling author, motivational speaker, career consultant, and (most likely) superhero Kaplan Mobray.

With a fiery and contagious zeal, Kaplan started off the event by asking the question: why is it so easy to pick, say, a piece of chocolate candy, but so hard to talk about oneself? What makes building a personal brand so challenging and so daunting? While asking these tough questions, he would occasionally throw a handful of candy out into the audience, to break the momentum and to add some spice to the interaction. In effect, he made himself a supremely memorable speaker by doing the unconventional, and inspired students to think about how they too would hone their unique brand and voice. Kaplan focused on his world-renown concept, The 10Ks of Personal Branding. Some of the memorable “Ks” included: “know what you want to be know for,” “know how to be consistent,” “know your expectations, not your limitations,” and my favorite, “know that silence is not an option.” But the presentation was more than just a pep talk: it was an electrifying celebration of potential and self-worth, priming the student to conquer and control their destiny.

Smith alumnus and current partner at Ernst and Young, Anthony Calderazzi, shared some insight about the importance of personal branding and reputation management, especially as you develop yourself as a professional. “The earlier you start pushing yourself out of your comfort zone in terms of networking, the more comfortable you’ll be out in the working world meeting new people and talking about yourself. Build those muscles as early as possible. When asked what is the one most important attribute that a team like EY looks at in a student, he did not skip a beat in replying: “leadership potential…we want students to be able to lead teams and influence others. We want those who leave an impact,” he concluded, as he continues to do just that as a loyal alumnus of the Smith School and champion of the Smith Leadership Institute.

For the students, this experience was a perfect introduction to the intensity and drive of the Smith spirit. Lindsey Capitelli and Ben Halperin, both freshman Smith students, were moved by the day’s presentation, and are excited to begin writing their story.“ One takeaway for me was that I have to create my opportunities,” said Ben – “and begin working on my personal brand right now!” added Lindsey, as they both laughed.

This fantastic event would not exist without the selfless and tireless work of people like Kristin LaRiviere, who works as the assistant director of the undergraduate program at Smith. “When I first started at Smith in 2009, the program was called Freshmen Fellows, and orientation as it was called had about 250 students in attendance. Since then, the program has more than doubled to include 535 first-year students and undergone a re-branding (changing Freshmen Fellows to Smith Start and Orientation to Smith Leadership Institute). We've grown from having orientation in classrooms of Van Munching Hall to the floor of the Xfinity Center.” As the numbers of Smith students continue to rise, so do their ambitions and goals. It is Kristin’s job to make sure that Smith is not only meeting the goals of the students, but inspiring and creating the ambitions that will take these students to new heights in their academic and professional pursuits. Educating students on the importance of seemingly abstract things like self-branding, through an experiential, concrete experience is the best may to motivate and instill a sense of drive. “Personal branding is so much more than just an elevator pitch. Personal branding requires a deep level of personal reflection,” said Kristin. “Through self branding, students can hopefully develop their personal stories to not only meet their own goals, but to leave an impact on their communities.”

For more information about the Undergraduate Program at Smith, visit: www.rhsmith.umd.edu/undergrad.