The Dr. Robert K. Jabs School of Business at California Baptist University regularly hosts an event called Faith and Enterprise. They hold four each school year and hosted the third event this school year Feb. 4 in the Innovators Auditorium.
This school year’s series is called “The Business of…” and features a different type of business each session. The first one this school year was “The Business of Church,” then came “The Business of Start-Ups,” and most recently was “The Business of Higher Education.”
The higher education speakers at the latest event were Angela Park North, who works in strategic planning at California State University Fullerton; Dr. LaSharnda Beckwith, chief academic officer at California Southern University; and Chris Hofschroer, assistant dean of students at CBU.
The event was hosted by Dr. Keanon Alderson, a business professor at CBU.
Dawn Carter, client relations and intern specialist at CBU and a producer of Faith and Enterprise, explained why she thought the Faith and Enterprise events were important.
“The purpose of Faith and Enterprise is to provide students with perspectives on jobs they hadn’t thought of,” Carter said.
Carter also said it was important to introduce students to professionals who integrate their faith into their workplace. She stressed the importance of people who work in business and that they can fulfill God’s purpose for them this way.
“(We want) to show how you can work out in the work world, and that working in business isn’t ‘worldly’ or bad. God can use us,” Carter said.
Carter said not everyone was made for “helping professions.” Some people are “gifted with accounting brains,” and that is something of which to be proud.
Students can glean valuable information from the Faith and Enterprise events.
Caleb Losey, senior business administration major, said he has attended all the Faith and Enterprise events so far this school year.
Losey said they covered a wide range of topics and that it has helped him to see how well faith and business can mix.
“A lot of times we think that faith and enterprise, or our Christianity and the business world, are two separate entities,” Losey said. “But what I’ve learned from the last three (Faith and Enterprise events) is that they mesh a lot more than what would be expected. A lot of things that we learn from God can translate well into the business world and can actually help us excel in business.”
Even students who are not business majors can benefit from hearing the experiences of the speakers at these events.
Kimberly Gonzalez, junior political science major, said she learned from this event despite not being a business major, and that other students can benefit from it, too.
“Although my plans aren’t in higher education, I got a lot from everything (the speakers) said,” Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez said she did not attend the other events, but after going to this one and seeing how useful it can be, she would like to go to the next one.
The last Faith and Enterprise event of the 2019-2020 school year, called “The Business of Civil Service,” will be April 9 from 5:30-7 p.m. in Innovators Auditorium.
In addition to this year’s events, CBU will continue hosting Faith and Enterprise events to help and inspire students to integrate their religion with their careers.
