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Inaugural Open House at the Muma College of Business Draws High-Achieving High School Seniors to Sample Life as a Biz Major

By Keith Morelli

TAMPA (February 19, 2019) -- Dozens of high-achieving high school students took to the USF campus on Presidents Day to find out what life would be like as a student in the Muma College of Business. Many came with parents in tow and toured the college, residence halls, the Yuengling Center and munched lunch at The Hub.

They participated in innovative business educational exercises, which included volunteers staffing a fictional manufacturing plant that made paper boxes to show them what can go wrong and how to fix problems. The exercise was created by ISDS Instructor Ron Satterfield, who even “hired” students to be make-believe forklift drivers with constantly beeping horns.

The innovative approach to the traditional open house was a first for the college, which boasts several national and international rankings of its undergrad and graduate programs. The idea was to entice motivated high school seniors who are considering careers in business into choosing USF over other universities. They all have been accepted by USF, as well as other prestigious research universities.

“We purposefully invited students with the highest achieving GPA and SAT scores who had been admitted for the fall term,” said Jackie Nelson, senior director who spearheads the Muma College of Business Collier Student Success Center. “We were very pleased with the turnout. The students were looking at University of Florida, University of Texas and other locations as well as USF.

“By the end of the day, it had become apparent that we definitely had a positive impact on the choice of institution for them,” she said. ”Many told us they had decided to choose the Muma College of Business.”

They will fit perfectly here, she said.

The open house also featured faculty members who delivered mock lectures and department chairs who talked to the group about the advantages of the different majors. In a post-event survey, several attendees said that the faculty interaction was their favorite part of the day.