Phi Beta Lambda headed to New York City on Oct. 24 for the Career Connections Conference for the second year in a row. From fundraising to receiving grants, animal science major Cody Bradley and business administration and pre-law major Mariah Behrns, made the trip happen for themselves and attended the conference. 

PBL is a club for those interested in marketing and distributions. The conference consisted of workshops, keynote speakers and business tours.

“This conference was to build on our knowledge in the business world,” Behrns said. “We had to present what we were going to do at the conference and received a mini grant from United Way.”

Both Bradley and Behrns enjoyed the Emotional Intelligence workshop. Berhns mentioned that it was really cool to hear from different industries professionals. There was one who worked for the government and it was something that they never heard of before. It also gave them more insight on career ideas that they hadn’t heard of before and don’t come to mind when choosing a career. 

One of the careers was in IBM, which is International Business Machines. The representative that Behrns talked to worked in gathering information for the Censuses. 

“I really enjoyed the presentation (in the Emotional Intelligence workshop) on learning how to read people’s minds just by how they express themselves. The nonverbal communication was really cool,” Bradley said. 

Bradley mentioned that this conference was much better than the last, since last year was the first conference ever held for students.

“The conference being held in NYC was an advantage for us, because we got more insight than a workshop in Kansas. It’s a different atmosphere, different pace, just a completely different business world,” Behrns said. 

Besides the conference, they made sure to enjoy NYC and the sights it has to offer. PBL went to Times Square, museums, Central Park and Broadway. “We got to watch Phantom of the Opera, and it was amazing,” said Lisa Kennedy, club advisor. 

PBL is looking for students to join next semester and definitely encourage to go on the trips.

“It’s an eye opening experience, a once in a lifetime and see what the real world is like out there,” said Bradley. 

To join PBL, contact Lisa Kennedy at [email protected] or call (620) 417-1363. Book scholarships are being offered to students who join and exciting events are to come next semester.