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College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management


Industry Leaders

Experience HRSM

Connect with Industry Leaders

Sometimes it just takes knowing the right people. We know the right people, and they want to meet you. Arrange the opportunity to introduce yourself? Yep, we've already done that too.

Knowing someone might not get you a job, but it might open the door for an interview. The fact is that the quality of work you produce will ultimately earn you most opportunities, but it never hurts to have the right people standing in your corner.

Investing in You

Fortunately for the College of HRSM, our "corner" is overflowing with talented and very generous business leaders who have extended us the opportunity to build lasting partnerships with their local, regional, national and even international companies. They realize that our program and our students are tried and true.

We continue to catch the eye of organizations like NASCAR, Belk, Nordstrom, Feld Entertainment, BlueCross BlueShield, Under Armour, Marriott, IBM and others because, in most cases, they have hired our students as interns, and those interns have become talented employees. Other times an alumnus of our program has joined their company, exposing them to the caliber of talent that we possess.

I got my internship because when we had guest speakers coming in from Charlotte, I came to class, wore a suit, shaved and sat in front. They came to me to find out if I was interested.

– Mark Lockridge, HRTM '03

From classroom speakers and volunteer opportunities, to conferences and college events like HRSM Week (which is held every Spring), you will be exposed to the best of the best. Our 2014 HRSM Week roster included speakers like Jerry Gepner, CEO of Tekserve Corporation, and Mike Helton, President of NASCAR.

Life is One Big Interview

The fact is that you are always being watched, for better or for worse. You never know who is in the crowd or when the right connection might come along.

"One of the best things a student can do is realize that they are always being interviewed," explains Mark Lockridge (HRTM '03). "Whether you are in class, at work or in church. I got my internship because when we had guest speakers coming in from Charlotte, I came to class, wore a suit, shaved and sat in front. They came to me to find out if I was interested."

"People might say that’s not fair," Mark continues, "that I shouldn’t be judged by what I wear. But that’s not reality. You need to realize that in your everyday life, you’re always representing yourself."

As you build your professional network and move further along in your career, you'll begin to see the world around you shrink. Simply put, it's a small world! People know people who know people, and in the College of HRSM, there's no shortage of opportunities to begin building those bridges!