University at Buffalo School of Management

8 Buffalo Business Autumn 2020 First-year MBA Aritra Chakraborty was ahead of the game. By fall 2019, he had already secured his summer 2020 internship with a major private corpo- ration. Then, in spring, he learned it was canceled due to the COVID-19 crisis. "I was heartbroken," he says. School of Management students know that career preparation and job search don't just happen in the last six weeks of their final semester. Thanks to the Career Resource Center (CRC), their professional develop- ment journey begins before they even set foot in a classroom. Throughout their time in the school, they work with the CRC to build their career arsenals— résumés, cover letters, interviewing skills, intern- ships, networking and more. But what happens when students' carefully laid plans are disrupted by a worldwide pandemic? In the UB School of Management, the answer is clear— they adapt. Chakraborty, for instance, could have scrapped the idea of a summer internship entirely. Rather than losing hope, however, he remained optimistic and worked with the CRC to take action. He applied to the school's Entrepreneurship Clinic (E-Clinic) led by Bob Neubert, clinical assistant professor and director of entrepreneurship academic programs, where students work in cross-functional teams to assist small busi- nesses and nonprofits. By early June, Chakraborty was working on proj- ects for three separate businesses—RCR Yachts, Rally and Strayos—contributing in such areas as market segment research, brand building and developing scheduling algorithms and scoring systems. In addi- tion to gaining a breadth of real-world experience, he was making a positive impact on organizations hard-hit by the crisis. Tools for success Agility was critical for employers, as well, accord- ing to Gwen Appelbaum, assistant dean and director of the CRC. Geico, for example, sponsors the CRC's Interview Challenge each semester, and when students were sent home in March to finish the school year online, the company could easily have canceled the event. "Instead, they did what they were doing for their regular recruiting," she says. "They honored their commitment and opted to conduct all the interviews virtually, even hosting an award ceremony via Zoom at the end." Noah Nardozza, a sophomore who won $1,500 in the Interview Challenge, lauded both the CRC and Geico for their support and encouragement through- out the process. "Despite the pandemic, they did an outstanding job and it was a beautifully executed event," he says. Goldman Sachs also moved quickly to preserve the strong reputation it had earned on campus, making By Jacqueline Molik Ghosen Chakraborty O V E R C O M I N G A D V E R S I T Y W I T H R E S I L I E N C E A N D D E T E R M I N A T I O N Despite pandemic, corporate partners and CRC help students thrive

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