Bearcats Mean Business podcast

Grant Freking: (00:00)
Welcome back to Bearcats Mean Business. Today's episode dives into one of Lindner's most powerful differentiators, the co-op experience. I'm joined today by Preston Simon, a second year finance and business economics student who's already built an impressive resume through hands-on roles in finance right here in Cincinnati. Over the summer, Preston worked in private wealth management at UBS financial services, gaining firsthand exposure to client strategy, investment insights, and performance tracking. Preston has since elevated his skills even further at RKCA investment bank, digging into financial modeling, valuation analysis, and pitch deck creation. From learning the art of client communication to mastering technical tools, Preston's co-op journey shows how classroom theory comes to life in the business world. You'll also hear how campus clubs, networking and Cincinnati's business ecosystem help open these doors and why Preston says co-ops are the best way to learn and launch a career. Welcome Preston.

Preston Simon: (00:57)
Hey Grant. Great to be here.

Grant Freking: (00:58)
Fresh off coming, actually from the co-op too. Looking good.

Preston Simon: (01:01)
Thank you. Thank you.

Grant Freking: (01:02)
Let's get right to the point. How did you obtain these two co-ops? Yeah, that's what the people wanna

Preston Simon: (01:06)
Know. Love it. Yeah. Um, I would say just, just getting out there, um, last year, I think like most freshmen, I wanted that co-op after freshman year summer, which is extremely hard to do. Yeah. Um, I got a lot of nos. I think I applied to 72 internships last year. I was spraying and praying. Um, I tried to apply to pretty much everywhere you could think of. Uh, I asked every upperclassman. I knew where they worked in the past and if they knew anybody there that I could get connected with. Um, so through that I just continuously applied. Uh, and then UBS just kind of happened. I, I reached out to some people on LinkedIn, um, through some contacts I had, and actually a guy kind of took a chance on me, a managing director there. Okay. Um, he gave me an opportunity to kind of pass my resume along and then it, it kind of worked out. And, uh, after a few interviews with some of the HR team, they, they liked me, I guess, and, uh, gave me the opportunity to work there this past summer. Um, that was an incredible opportunity. Uh, the team was amazing. I learned so much. So, yeah.

Grant Freking: (02:12)
How did your, what did your day to day look like, um, at UBS Financial services?

Preston Simon: (02:17)
Yeah. At first it was a little more structured and then as we went on, I got to do a ton of different things. A lot of sitting in on client calls. I didn't get to see any on, um, in, on any client meetings, but some calls I did. Um, I helped build some different, um, financial plans. Sure. For clients and got to see how that worked and, uh, um, some different things that UBS does. With that. I also got to just interact with financial advisors and they call 'em WSAs each day and CSAs, um, and just build relationships with them and, and kind of see what a day in the life looks like of a financial advisor. Mm-hmm . Working with clients, building those 5, 10, 15 year plans. Um, then we also build next Gen wealth plans, which were awesome. Kind of understanding how trusts work and, uh, different, uh, vessels work for generation wealth transfer. Okay. Um, so different things like that. But mostly my day-to-day was, uh, building, you know, performance reports, building meeting agendas, things like that. Uh, and sitting in on calls.

Grant Freking: (03:21)
Sure. Now that's a lot of the hard skills you learned. What are some of like the soft skills that you learned just by either interacting with your colleagues, observing, just becoming a professional for a relatively brief period of time? Yeah,

Preston Simon: (03:32)
Absolutely. So, UBS made it very easy. A lot of really awesome people there. Um, I was definitely nervous at first. I didn't wanna say the wrong thing or do the wrong thing, but they were just so accepting and so, uh, easy to talk to. So one of the things I kind of did was just make friends with the people I'm working with. Um, a lot of people advancing their career. That's kind of hard to relate to them, but they made it so easy for me to do that. Um, I also learned a lot of the, the things which to say what not to say by those calls. Uh, in those calls I didn't really learn a lot of the technical skills, but I also learned, um, just how to have a conversation with somebody and not talk about finance. I think that's so important to be able to have a conversation with a client or something and just how are you, what's going on in your life?

Grant Freking: (04:17)
Yeah. Build a relationship.

Preston Simon: (04:18)
Exactly. That's so important. Um, so those skills almost are more important in the relationship 'cause it's a relationship, uh, focused just career. Mm-hmm . Um, so having that great relationship with your client as well as being technically sound is important, but both of those things are equally as important.

Grant Freking: (04:34)
Sure. And as I mentioned earlier, you're fresh off your, um, actual current in, uh, co-op with RKCA investment bank. What do they have you doing day to day?

Preston Simon: (04:42)
Yeah, so I'm full-time there. Um, part-time classes here in Lindner. Um, there's a lot more technical, a lot more Excel and, and PowerPoint focused, um, which has been, I've learned so much so quickly because I've just had to, it's a lot of financial modeling, building pitch decks, um, for some projects we're working on. Currently, we're kind of at the beginning, at the end and the end of some of those projects. Mm-hmm . So, uh, learning a bunch of different things within the, within that, um, doing a lot of buyer's lists for our current clients that are going to market. Um, that's been great. But no, just, you know, living in Excel, living in PowerPoint, , learning the shortcuts. I mean, it is, it has been awesome. It's been really great and I've learned a ton. Yeah.

Grant Freking: (05:26)
Can you share a challenge you've maybe faced during this current co-op and how you've kind of approached solving it? Maybe based on sort of like your, your observation from being at the co-op, maybe your previous co-op experience or even stuff you've maybe learned here in the building at Lindner. Yeah.

Preston Simon: (05:40)
I would say asking for help. Um, the biggest thing I've learned in this co-op and over the summer is that so many people are willing to help you. Whether that's if you have a problem in your actual day-to-day job or if you're looking for something in the future for just your personal life. There's so many people who are ahead of you in their career who are willing to take a moment and talk to you and give you their time. But the hardest part is asking, uh, the biggest thing I've learned is just to ask. If you ask, you probably will receive. So if you have a problem, if you have a question, you just have to have the courage to ask. Um, I would say that's the biggest thing I've learned so far.

Grant Freking: (06:14)
Cool. What advice would you give for other Lindner students pursuing, co-ops you shared a little light on your, in your process, which is applying to, um, a wide range of companies and organizations, which is obviously not a bad strategy work for you, but would, what would your advice be to other Lindner students that are maybe, maybe a year younger, new, they're just starting out trying to look for some co-ops?

Preston Simon: (06:34)
Yeah, absolutely. I would say just get involved. Um, like I said, there's so many people who are willing to help you. Yeah. Um, ask upperclassmen, ask, you know, career coaches, people within Lindner, people on ucs campus try to get involved in things that aren't necessarily connected to uc. Just Cincinnati organizations. If you can, um, meet people, build relationships, don't always try to network. I think that worked really well for me. I just try to meet people, um, didn't expect anything to come out of it and great things did come out of it. Um, so that's, I would say just get out there, get in clubs, uh, go to the places where other people are getting internships. If you go there, you'll probably also get an internship. Mm-hmm . So just surround yourself with that, like-minded people.

Grant Freking: (07:17)
What would be your advice to yourself and your first year Lindner, maybe your first couple months on campus? There's a lot going on. What advice would you tell yourself about preparing for opportunities like this and just maybe in general?

Preston Simon: (07:28)
Yeah, I would say, man, that's, that's a good one. But I would definitely say just meet people. Um, build relationship with people. Um, understand what you really want, understand your why. I think that's something that I've been, I've been really thinking through recently. Um, understanding why I'm doing the things I'm doing, not just to do them for the resume, not just to check the box 'cause everybody else is doing it, but understanding why I truly wanna do the things that I want outta life. Mm-hmm. Um, when you understand that, it makes it way easier to kind of pick where you want to go, um, and then you can kind of build your life around that. If you wanna do this, you can do those things. If you wanna do this, you can do those other things. Um, but I would just say find out your why, understand why you wanna do the things you wanna do, um, and then surround yourself with other people who wanna do similar things.

Grant Freking: (08:16)
What's the adjustment been like as someone who is, you're part-time now? You said you were working full-time as your co-op. What's that transition been like from going from full-time student to full-time co-op and part-time student?

Preston Simon: (08:28)
Yeah. Um, it's, it's definitely an adjustment and I would say that it makes you realize that classes are pretty awesome. Uh, like working full-time is amazing, but it's a lot of work and it's definitely, there's a lot going on. So I think I'm definitely gonna enjoy those semesters of class so I can just kinda like, focus on studying and focus on learning. It's, um, I've learned so much already. Like I feel like I still am in class. I'm still, um, learning every day. My lessons aren't necessarily like a quiz, it's just the product I give to my, you know, my superiors, the vice presidents and the managing directors at the places I'm at. Um, so yeah, I would say it's, it's been, I wouldn't say difficult. It's been great. I've enjoyed the heck out of it, but, um, it's just been a, a, you know, a little hard to adjust to, but I've, I've enjoyed it for sure.

Grant Freking: (09:20)
In addition to your classes, in co-op experiences, you're also staying extremely busy with clubs. Tell me about your involvement with Lindner Investment, um, banking Club, queen City Consulting and Lindner Asset Management Club.

Preston Simon: (09:31)
Yeah. Um, so I joined all three of those clubs my freshman year. Uh, I tried to get involved in the things that I thought I would enjoy and the people in them. I like those people, so I just wanted to become close with them. Um, the investment banking club has taught me a lot, taught me to be successful today in, in my current co-op. Um, QCC has been awesome. I've built a ton of great relationships and got to do some pretty cool things around Cincinnati for some of the projects there. Um, and the, the asset management club, we actually started, me and me and some buddies last year. So that's been an also an awesome experience. Completely kind of a different route, starting a club at uc and, uh, getting buy in from other students, but we've had a lot of people really interested and I think we're at around 40 people now in the club and we're having a guest speaker here in two weeks, so shout out to that. But that, uh, we got a bunch of stuff going on there. So all three have been very different kind of, um, communities, but really great people in all of them. And, um, I've learned a ton and they've been great.

Grant Freking: (10:33)
The Asset Management Club in particular, it sounds like you've pa basically taken a leadership role from the beginning. What's that been like to try and create something from the ground up and then also trying to transfer your passion into other students who maybe aren't quite as passionate about the subject as you are?

Preston Simon: (10:46)
Oh, absolutely. Yeah. It's a lot of, a lot of trying, a lot of failing. A lot of you think something's gonna work out and it doesn't. It's actually the opposite works out. Um, but that's been super eye-opening and got to meet a lot of freshmen this year as they came in and, and have no idea what asset management is and explain what that is and why I love it so much and why we have a group of people who really enjoy it and they should also come check it out and just see if it's for them or not, uh, has been really awesome. Um, but yeah, it's, it's definitely, it's been a little, it's been tough at times, but it's when we have the success of people showing up and people buying in, that's what makes it all worth it. Um, then we have alumni who also are like, this is great. I wish I had this when I was around at uc. Um, that, that means the world to us. So having them come back and speak and do guest panels and help with interview questions and networking, like, you know, that, that makes it all worth it. Okay.

Grant Freking: (11:44)
Preston, let's close with five rapid fire questions and let's, you know, I'm sure the questions you get on the day-to-day at your coop are tough. Nothing like this though, I'm sure. Yeah, no. All right. Number one, what's your go-to study spot?

Preston Simon: (11:54)
Shoot. Okay. So I would say, uh, the fourth floor attic up in the attic. Kautz attic. Yeah. At Kautz Attic. Yep. Um, that's great. There's not, if you go there kinda later in the day, there's not too many people up there normally, so it's a quiet place. Pretty, it's pretty up there. The view's pretty cool, so Yeah.

Grant Freking: (12:11)
Yeah. You've got the view, you've got the tables, you've also got that like phone both looking thing that has that soundproof

Preston Simon: (12:15)
Too. Yeah. The soundproof. Yep. Yeah. Yeah.

Grant Freking: (12:16)
Number two, what's a business buzzword that you secretly love? The business world's full of buzzwords, acronyms that we're all, you and me, both and everyone here are familiar with. What's your, what's one you actually secretly love? Ah,

Preston Simon: (12:27)
Hedging. Uh, the word hedging. It's such a interesting word. 'cause when I first got here, somebody would say, oh, we're hedging a portfolio. And I was like, whoa, this is, like, this is so complicated. But now looking back, um, it just kinda makes me laugh 'cause it seems so complicated, but I can understand it now. So that's, that's one of 'em for sure. All

Grant Freking: (12:44)
Right. Number three. What's a song that instantly makes you feel happy and inspired?

Preston Simon: (12:48)
Yes. I'm a big Thomas Rhett guy. Okay. I'm a big country guy. Um, ain't a Bad Life by Thomas Rhett is one of those songs that just gets me going, man. It's, it's one of my favorites for sure. Okay.

Grant Freking: (12:59)
All right. What's an accomplishment of yours that you are proud of? Let's, let's move the co-ops aside. Yeah. We talked about those. What's accomplishment of yours that you are particularly proud of?

Preston Simon: (13:07)
Yeah, so, um, I, I'm paying for college, um, by myself. Uh, and one of the things I'm, I'm pretty proud of, which I didn't kind of think about till recently is I haven't taken out a loan yet. Um, so I'm, I'm currently working co-oping, but on the side and over the weekends I'm working at a country club. Mm-hmm . About 20, 25 hours a week. So it's a lot of work, but I am so proud that I have not had to take out a loan yet, and I've just been paying my way through. Um, it's definitely been a little rough, but like, it's so fulfilling to be able to do that and say everything I have is because I've worked for it. I, so that would be the thing that I say for sure. I am the most proud of.

Grant Freking: (13:44)
Congrats

Preston Simon: (13:45)
To you, man. Thanks, man. I appreciate that.

Grant Freking: (13:47)
All right, number five, one word to describe your time studying business at Lindner so far.

Preston Simon: (13:54)
Okay. Just one man. Oh, that's hard. I'll

Grant Freking: (13:56)
Give you two or three words if you do

Preston Simon: (13:57)
That far. Okay. Alright. Yeah, I, okay. Um, definitely rewarding would be a word I'd use. Um, with that you put what you get out, what you put in and you get it. I don't know how to say

Grant Freking: (14:08)
It. You put in what you get out.

Preston Simon: (14:09)
Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. Um, if you put in a lot, you're gonna get a lot out. Sure. I feel like I've given a lot to Lindner and it's been really awesome to me. And I would say maybe like the second word could be transformative. Okay. Um, like if you looked at me from a year ago, I am a completely different person, uh, from the people I've met, the things I've experienced, I've experienced more in the last year than I could possibly imagine. Um, and I think Lindner and uc, the people of uc, the, the professors, the students altogether have changed my life for the better. And it's been awesome. It's been, it's been great.

Grant Freking: (14:45)
Preston, thanks for being here. Thank

Preston Simon: (14:47)
You so much for having me. It's been great.

Grant Freking: (14:49)
All right. That's a wrap on today's episode of Bearcats Mean Business. My thanks again to Preston Simon for sharing his co-op and Lindner journey with us today. Be sure to subscribe, leave a review and share this episode with someone who's ready to take the leap at Lindner.

Grant Freking: (00:00)
Welcome back to Bearcats Mean Business. Today's episode is all about project management and the upcoming Project Management Institute Summit at the Lindner College of Business. On November 8th, the Lindner College of Business is hosting the annual summit, the Institute's Southwest Ohio and Dayton Miami Valley Chapters. Lindner assistant professor educator Steven Jones and Lindner Senior Ryan Baillie are here to discuss their passion for project management, the project management opportunities afforded by Lindner and uc, and how students and professionals can each benefit from attending the summit. Welcome, Steven and Ryan.

Steven Jones: (00:35)
Thank you.

Ryan Baillie: (00:35)
Thank you

Grant Freking: (00:37)
Guys. Let's start with your project management. Why, Ryan? What's your why for your interest in the project management field?

Ryan Baillie: (00:44)
For me, it's the applicability to all industries. Project management isn't just a hard skill, like, say, Python or R. Project Management goes far beyond that. It's a mindset of thinking that you can apply to almost anything.

Grant Freking: (00:57)
Alright. Steven, you enjoyed a distinguished career as a project management professional prior to joining Lindner. Why did you decide to enter the field in the first place? And then why did you then decide to make the decision to become a professor?

Steven Jones: (01:08)
Yeah, I think, uh, I don't know that I found project management. I think it's more applicable to say project management found me, uh, early in my career. I, I started in sales, uh, before I moved into sales management. Um, and, and what I found was there was an opportunity to improve the efficiency of my teams. And as I improved the efficiency of my teams, ultimately we were more successful. So this is kind of how I got into project management and I, I really stuck with it because I saw the, uh, ability for its, uh, uh, value in continuing my career across multiple industries. So to, to go from, uh, telecommunications to IT services, to contact management, to consulting, uh, and, and now in higher ed. You know, what I realized in hindsight is that project management is one of those skills that will allow you to maintain your value and your value proposition as a professional throughout all the unforeseen changes that will happen in our economy.

Steven Jones: (02:15)
Uh, I think back over, you know, over the last 35 years, I've, I've traversed the, uh, economic disruptions of the internet, uh, the advancement of, uh, cell phones. Uh, and, and my project management skills have enabled me to continue to frankly make a living through all those, uh, changes. So that's ultimately what brought me into higher ed. I think after, I won't say after my career, but I got to a point where, um, I think I had achieved a, a frankly, more than what I had expected. Uh, and I had the opportunity to return here to my alma mater and I, and I'm really passionate about being able to help our students develop the skills necessary to be successful and maintain a long-term career. Um, I, I don't know if we are always intentional about that, you know, as, uh, higher educators, but for me personally, I, I recognize the importance of being able to have, uh, an adaptable skillset that's gonna enable you to, to, uh, maintain a, a career, uh, throughout all the unforeseen changes that are gonna come through your, uh, professional lifespan.

Grant Freking: (03:22)
Alright. And I think your response leads into my next question, Steven. So you're also the academic director for Lindner's undergraduate operations management program. What's the essence of that program and what careers are you striving to prepare students for?

Steven Jones: (03:35)
Yeah, that's a good question. Um, fundamentally what I'm trying to do is help the, you know, help the students develop the skills necessary to maintain a career over 30 or even 40 years without knowing what that's going to bring. Uh, and so as the academic director, my focus is identifying ways we can make our major of operations management more valuable. In, in that, uh, we are helping the students become more valuable in the marketplace. So when they graduate, they're able to consistently earn higher starting salaries, uh, be more desirable by candidates, uh, and, uh, give them the, the mentality and the understanding of how you create value. Because one thing that will not change in our economic, uh, landscape or any business landscape is the necessity of being able to create value. And if you know how to do that, regardless of what, uh, changes may come, you're going to, uh, continue to be able to, to maintain a position, uh, uh, and, and, and frankly maintain, uh, a value position in the marketplace.

Grant Freking: (04:40)
Ryan, operations management is not one of your, one, not two, but three majors. Can you provide some examples of in-class and sort of out of classroom experiences that have positively impacted your academic journey?

Ryan Baillie: (04:52)
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, he is sitting right next to me, professor Jones, in his Lean Kaizen class, OM 5086. We had an in-class project where we got to identify a process at a company that would say, you know, needing improvement. And through my class time, I got to work on that project, analyze that process, and actually make recommendations for them to improve that. For me, that was a really great experience in the classroom because I got to take what I was learning in class and apply it to the real world. At the same time, I also think our faculty and operations are phenomenal. You know, we're learning what they've done in the real world. We have Professor Jones right here, a lot of, uh, experience outside of the classroom with his own professional career. And we're seeing how those concepts in the classroom actually come to life.

Ryan Baillie: (05:37)
And for me, that really helps with the learning journey and making that connection to the real world. And outside of the classroom, it has to be my student clubs. Of course, we have Project Management Club, but I'm also involved with the Association for Supply Chain Management. Through those orgs, I've had the opportunity to meet so many incredible students who are in my major, um, you know, build those close relationships, but also network with professionals getting those skills, how to have professional conversations and really learn from them. One of my favorite questions to ask is, you know, what's, what's something you learned later in your career that you wish you knew on day one? Mm-hmm. And for me, I love asking that question, you know, because you get that advice. If they learned it 20 years down the line, they wish they knew at day one, they're more than happy to share that knowledge with students. So out outside of the classroom, it's getting involved with those student orgs, learning from professionals who are doing the work every single day.

Grant Freking: (06:24)
Right. Lindner is hosting the Project Management Institute's 2025 Summit for the organization's Southwest Ohio and Dayton Miami Valley chapters. The Summit features two keynote addresses, breakout sessions with three tracks, networking opportunities, and a welcome address from Lindner Dean Marianne Lewis, purchase your ticket by visiting pmi sw ohio.org. Ryan, what are you most looking forward to about the event and why should students attend? For

Ryan Baillie: (06:50)
For me, I'm looking forward to the opportunity at getting in front of project management professionals. You know, as the president of the student org, we're constantly looking for the next set of speakers or what skills that we can, uh, provide to our students through different events. We love doing those hands-on events. Is there a workshop a professional wants to run or we can give those students those real skills outside of the classroom? And for students, it's absolutely, it's the networking, learning what professionals are doing. One of the key highlights of this year's summit is AI. We hear all about AI all the time. This is an opportunity to learn from those professionals how they're actually utilizing these tools.

Grant Freking: (07:25)
All right. And Steven, what are you most looking forward to and why should project management professionals attend?

Steven Jones: (07:30)
Yeah, I, well, I'm probably looking most forward to one. I reconnect with some, uh, professionals, folks that I've worked with for years, some folks I trained in, uh, other companies that I was a part of. Uh, I also look forward to the opportunity for my students to meet some of these professionals, to help them build out their professional network, um, and for, you know, the professionals to be able to identify their next wave of talent. You know, as Ryan mentioned, you know, as he is the president of our project management, uh, student led project management club, they're constantly looking for the next wave of leaders, so are business professionals. And I think this is a great opportunity for those, uh, two worlds to connect. I'm also really excited to see and learn from other professionals who are really, um, you know, on the bleeding edge of how AI is changing project management to understand what they're doing. And, and these are things that I need to learn in order to incorporate in my classes, so that what we're teaching our students is always currently valuable and applicable to give them a strategic advantage when they, uh, begin to launch their career and go out into the marketplace and look for their first job.

Grant Freking: (08:37)
And Steven, you're also, um, overseeing a session which is entitled, Leveraging Generative AI for Enhanced Project Efficiency. Tell us more about that.

Steven Jones: (08:45)
Yeah, so I'm also not just a professor, I'm also a student. Mm-hmm . I've currently enrolled in our AI certificate program, which eventually will be a master's in AI. Uh, and what I've learned in these classes is how to build, uh, artificial intelligent agents. Uh, basically an AI agent can do anything, uh, task wise, um, software wise that a person could do. And so what I'll be demonstrating is how I built an AI agent that actually will conduct and do all of my project reporting, and it does it just as efficiently, uh, at, at the same, uh, or better level of accuracy without any human involvement. Uh, and for a project manager, you spend approximately about a third of your time doing project reporting and communicating. And so to be able to automate that level of work, uh, gives you a competitive advantage because now you're able to be that much more efficient and do that much more work.

Grant Freking: (09:41)
Alright. And Ryan, as we mentioned, you're the president of the uc Project Management Club. How is your organization getting involved with this?

Ryan Baillie: (09:47)
Yeah, so we'll be providing volunteers for the summit. We have a lot of professionals coming in who it's their first time at Lindner, so we'll help them navigate the building. We're also gonna have a booth set up, so any listeners out there, if you wanna learn more about the uc project management club, feel free to stop by. We'll be set up in the atrium. And my favorite part about getting involved, we are doing a lot of marketing for the, uh, PMI Southwest Ohio chapter. So on Instagram, we're making reels, uh, other promotional materials, just helping them get more of those marketing materials out to students.

Grant Freking: (10:18)
Right. And as a general overview, and maybe it's advice from our student listeners, Ryan, what's one piece of advice you would give to learn students interested in project management that are maybe not sure where to start?

Ryan Baillie: (10:29)
Yeah. I, I'd say getting involved early. Mm. Uh, if there's one thing, I look back on my academic career, it's felt like I got involved a little too late. I wish my first or second year I would've made the jump join the clubs. You know, I've met so many incredible people through that. But I'd say for project management specifically, check us out on Instagram at uc_pmc we post all of our events there. And then if you have the opportunity, I highly recommend any, uh, professor Jones's project management courses. It's a phenomenal educator, and I've learned so much from those, those classroom experiences with him.

Grant Freking: (11:02)
Steven, you, you're also involved, um, with our student organizations. I was wondering if you could touch on the importance of getting involved, um, from day one, as Ryan said, just said he wished he kind of would have.

Steven Jones: (11:13)
Yeah, I, I can't echo that point enough. You know, I was an undergraduate student here at uc. I graduated in 1991, and, uh, during my time here, I was a part of a lot of different student organizations. And I also interned, uh, throughout my last two years. And one of the things I wrote in a, in a paper, my undergraduate, was that, you know, a degree, uh, I'm sorry, an education is not a degree, you know, my education is beyond just the bachelor's degree that I earned, but it also is what I learned about interpersonal skills, communication skills, conflict management that I had to develop through my undergrad organization as well as my professional skills that I learned in my internship. So I would encourage any and every student to approach their college experience, not only in the classroom. I mean, that is important, but also to ensure that they have the opportunity to develop their interpersonal skills and leadership skills as well as their professional skills through co-oping in order to be the most well-rounded candidate possible, and really position themselves to be successful long-term in their professional career.

Grant Freking: (12:23)
Cool. Alright. And Steven, what's a common mistake young professionals make in project management and how can they avoid it?

Steven Jones: (12:30)
I would say there's fundamentally, the, the biggest common mistake is just the fear of making a mistake. Mm-hmm . Um, I, you know, I try to adopt a, a philosophy that, you know, you can make a mistake, just don't repeat a mistake because you learn from the mistake. And so either we, we can't lose. We either win or we learn. Uh, and I think that's one, and the second one, I guess to almost go along with that is not adding to their network or, or not really connecting with professionals and assuming that more seasoned professionals don't want to be, uh, have a business relationship with you. When I, I believe it's quite the opposite. And so I think that, you know, that's, that's kind of two, but they go hand in hand. And, uh, I would encourage any young professional, simply don't be a don't be afraid to make a mistake. You know, just learn from them and, and move forward. Because nothing great happens when people, uh, don't step outside of the, the norm of their comfort zone.

Grant Freking: (13:24)
All right, gentlemen, let's close with three rapid fire questions. Ryan, I'll start with you. Number one, what's your favorite project management tool or software?

Ryan Baillie: (13:33)
I love the Vertex 42 Gantt chart templates through Excel.

Grant Freking: (13:36)
Steven?

Steven Jones: (13:37)
That's funny. Actually. Mine is, it's not so much a tool, it's the, um, the ability to ask the right question, right? In order to really be effective in, in, in managing a project, you've gotta ask the questions that sometimes other people won't ask. And while there are many tools out there that you can use, and honestly, right now chat, GPT is one of my favorites, but knowing the right question to ask, even with a AI tool, you still have to know the right question to ask.

Grant Freking: (14:05)
Sure. I'll jump back to you on question two. Steven, what's one word to describe project management at Lindner?

Steven Jones: (14:11)
I think it's an evolving practice. You know, I think the, the organization is still coming to understand just how ubiquitous the skills are, how applicable it is across any and all majors, not just within Lindner, but across the university as a whole. So I really see it as evolving.

Grant Freking: (14:28)
Okay. Ryan?

Ryan Baillie: (14:30)
So for me, interactive, looking at it from the student club perspective, where we have professionals come in, we have hands on workshops, and then the classroom getting to take those concepts and applying them to a real project.

Grant Freking: (14:41)
All right. We'll close with this one. Tough question, Ryan. Last one dream project that you'd love to manage?

Ryan Baillie: (14:49)
That's a tough one. I'd say anything at an airport. Okay. And I've been an aviation nerd most of my life. I think airports are super fascinating. Anything to do with how, you know, if you look at the cargo perspective, anything that has to do with cargo flow, incoming traffic, anything like that in an airport would be super fascinating.

Grant Freking: (15:08)
I like that. Steven?

Steven Jones: (15:10)
Well, Ryan will get a kick out of this one because he knows I'm a Peloton addict. . So pretty much anything Peloton related, if it was in the studio, uh, a new product, oh, that would be my dream. Managing product development for a new Peloton piece of equipment, that would be my dream project.

Grant Freking: (15:29)
Okay. I like those two great answers to close. Well, that's a wrap on today's episode of Bearcats Mean Business. My thanks to Steven Jones and Ryan Baillie for joining me today to talk all things project management and the Project Management Institute's 2025 summit to the organization Southwest Ohio and Dayton Miami Valley chapters. Be sure to subscribe, leave a review and share this episode with someone who's ready to take the leap at Lindner. Your feedback helps more Bearcats discover the show. Until next time, keep showing the world how Bearcats Mean business.

Mirsayah Wasnuk: (00:00)
Hey, Bearcats, it's Mirsayah Wasnuk, and I'm a student at Lindner College of Business and the president for Net Impact UC Consulting. I'm super excited to bring you Sustainability in Business, a Bearcats Mean Business Student Series. This will be a four episode series exploring key topics in sustainability and how you can apply them to your future career goals in business. Today. My guest is founding president of Net Impact UC, Ben Booker. Ben is here to discuss his journey into the sustainability industry and how his role within Net Impact uc and overall campus involvement has shaped his career post-graduation. Ben, thanks so much for being here,

Ben Booker: (00:37)
Marcia. Thanks for having me. Excited to be back on campus and then inside the Lindner College of Business where I called home.

Mirsayah Wasnuk: (00:43)
Yes, we are super pumped to have you here. So my first question, can you tell us about what you studied at uc and how it influenced your decision to pursue a career in sustainability?

Ben Booker: (00:53)
Yeah, totally. So I came to uc knowing exactly what I wanted to study. Um, within Lindner, I double majored in finance and real estate, and then at DAAP I pursued an urban agriculture certificate. Um, that was really inspired by a vision that I had for the built environment and what the future of sustainability looked like in the world around us. Um, I believed in the power, um, that urban agriculture could have on the communities that that participated in it, um, by really kind of changing the systems, um, our food systems really of sourcing locally, um, and producing sustainably using more energy efficient methods, both, uh, whether that's vertical farming as well as, um, you know, market gardening and, and high density environments.

Mirsayah Wasnuk: (01:41)
That's amazing. Um, what motivated you to co-found Net Impact, you see? And what were some of the initial challenges that you faced?

Ben Booker: (01:50)
So I was really inspired to be a part of the founding team of Net Impact here at uc, um, through my previous involvements, and then also the intersection of, um, my academic path. So I, um, got really involved in a variety of other student organizations, whether that was BearCast Media or UC Real Estate Association. And through those experiences, I mostly served as treasurer, but I had the opportunity to see the impact of student leadership, both on the students themselves and those student leaders, and how it really shaped them as, as, um, community members, but also the influence that they had on and off campus, um, using the student voice to, to enact change. And for, for Net Impact, I really was inspired to have an outlet that that brought together all of these principles that I truly believed in. Um, and that really was the power of business as a force for good. Um, and not only did we have this incredible mission that our other co-founders and members believed in, but it was an opportunity to work together with our friends to do cool projects and actually have this experiential learning and, and leadership training while going to school.

Mirsayah Wasnuk: (03:09)
How did Net Impact UC shape your understanding of sustainability and your own personal career aspirations?

Ben Booker: (03:17)
Wow. I mean, it, it shaped my entire understanding of sustainability. Um, so much of what I knew around sustainability was through self-education and kind of extracurricular opportunities prior to Net Impact. Um, within the Lindner College of Business, there weren't any direct opportunities to kind of dive into sustainability. There wasn't any curriculum, um, and there wasn't any co-curricular extracurricular opportunities. Um, so I was learning what sustainability really was on the go alongside my members, building that impact, where as we were building our programs across education, career development, consulting and innovation, we were bringing in speakers and, um, workshops and all other types of engagements that while here I was creating and, and developing these programs. It was at that same time I was taking in a lot of this new information, um, that was teaching me about sustainability. So it was really learning on the go, but it, it accelerated that learning experience by being on the front lines of figuring it out. Um, but doing that alongside some of the top in industry professionals in our region that were working across sustainability industries and sectors.

Mirsayah Wasnuk: (04:36)
That's awesome. So a lot of us have heard the word sustainability, but what is your personal definition of sustainability? What does it mean to you?

Ben Booker: (04:45)
I gotta think on that one. Um, sustainability does mean a lot of different things to different people. And for me, sustainability is, is a way of life. Um, it's less so about, um, one set of practices or one set of frameworks developed by the UN and it's more about our, our natural systems and, and humans being in alignment with those natural systems. We are just, you know, the species that happens to be conscious. Um, but so much of our, of our natural world and other species have developed these evolutionary, um, uh, solutions that exist for millions of years. And to me, that's sustainability and for applied to humans and, and the work that we get to do, it's how do we design our systems, our businesses, our organizations, our communities, around those realities where we can create these, these, these movements and, and energies that align with that and, and uplift and regenerate the natural ecosystem while also creating, um, immense wealth for, for humans and, and opportunity.

Mirsayah Wasnuk: (06:12)
So as you know, there are plenty of majors within Lindner College of Business studying all different things, and all of us have our own career aspirations. What advice would you give students that might not have direct careers in line with sustainability? How does developing green skills or learning about topics and sustainability, how will that help them pursue their careers?

Ben Booker: (06:35)
Absolutely. So, um, our resources are finite, uh, on this planet. And that kind of comes back to my, my definition of sustainability and what it means to me. Um, green skills are going to continue to be in demand because we're gonna continue to have to think about a a a there, there's a scarcity problem as far as the resources go. So how do we think more efficiently? How do we, how do we minimize waste? How do we maximize output holistically within those realities? And I think that's where green skill development is so critical. Um, and there's kind of two sides to it. It, it comes back to that, that thinking pattern and that that way of thinking sustainably, but then there's actually some of those technical skills that apply to the systems that we have now, whether that is carbon emission, um, or greenhouse gas accounting and, uh, emissions reporting or on the other side of things is that a lifecycle analysis and understanding, um, the product development journey and, and where sustainability comes into those decisions.

Ben Booker: (07:43)
So there's so many different applications to green skills, and I, I really think it's, it's, there's so many opportunities for students to provide value to their organizations, um, at any level in an organization through green skills. And it really, um, where we're going with this is, it's, it's a strategic positioning. It is, it is not just a small initiative of a green team. It's, you know, the future of our organization's, sustainability is going to be near the top, whether not it happens in this decade, we're we're going towards that. So I think that is the long term value proposition of developing green skills.

Mirsayah Wasnuk: (08:25)
So on a holistic level, geared specifically towards business students, what would be the three top green skills to develop for future business leaders?

Ben Booker: (08:35)
Yeah, for business students, when I think about the top three skills that'd be useful, um, they're probably gonna be Lean Six Sigma. Um, understanding the circular loop and circular economy and performing waste audits. Um, while those are the three technical skills that I think are really important, I do wanna highlight two other ones. One being stakeholder engagement. Uh, sustainability is a very collaborative effort and understanding how to navigate, um, each individual stakeholder and then the collective is really important. And then kind of at the top and pinnacle of that is the communication of all of those things. Um, and the ability to really tailor to those stakeholders what you're trying to communicate and, and why it's important to each of them.

Mirsayah Wasnuk: (09:22)
For those of you who don't know what the circular loop economy is, we currently live in a system when products do get developed, where we take the materials from the ground, we make the product with those materials, we use the product, and then we dispose of it. Looking at it through the circular loop economy theory is that we would do the same process. So we'd take the resources from the ground, make something out of the resources with the ground, use the resources, use the product, and then we would reuse it and it would be broken apart maybe, and sold to other businesses to then make other things. So instead of creating so much waste, we would reuse things. From your experience, what are some key opportunities for students to make an impact during their time at uc?

Ben Booker: (10:18)
Wow. I think there's so many opportunities for students to have an impact while at the university. Um, it ranges from mentorship and menteeship. I I think connecting with your professors is profoundly important as a student. Um, I, I was that kid that talked to my teachers. I, I raised my hands, I stayed after I asked questions, and I built those relationships and I, I maintained those today. Um, whether I see them around campus when I'm, I'm back for certain engagements or out in the community, these are really smart people that are putting out publications and have a lot of interesting information that help move projects forward. And I've really valued that. Um, I'd also say extracurricular involvement, student involvement in, in organizations is so profound. Um, for me now as, as an entrepreneur and CEO, um, being a student leader, that was my first time being a CEO.

Ben Booker: (11:19)
I thought of all of the clubs that I was a part of and that I led. Uh, that was, that was me being a CEO. Um, I made decisions like an executive would. I built my teams and my systems like an executive would. And through that experience, it's really a, a testing ground, um, for yourself as a leader, as a manager, as an operator. And that is invaluable because you can't mess up. You are literally paying to play those games. Um, and then the third aspect is kind of bringing all of the student experience together around your passions. Um, when you do that and you kind of create this vision for the change that you wanna make, whether that's on campus or off campus, the student voice is so important to our stakeholders here at the university. Um, you know, we pay the bills as students. Our tuition is what pays, uh, all of us to be here. And, and through that we have leverage in, in this institution to, to share our ideas, to have a voice. And I, I would advise any student, um, that, that wants to see something change, to go for it, ask questions, build genuine relationships that are, are not transactional, but transformational. And through that, um, you can really have a profound student experience.

Mirsayah Wasnuk: (12:45)
So Ben, could you tell us a little bit about what you're doing now and how your experience at uc led you there?

Ben Booker: (12:51)
Totally. So post-graduation, I had the opportunity to co-found the urban farming initiative, and I worked on that organization full-time for about 10 months, um, prior to exiting. And then kind of around that same time, I had the opportunity to rejoin the uc team as the small business coordinator at the 1819 Innovation Hub, as well as serve as the entrepreneur in residence here at the Lindner College of Business through the Center for Entrepreneurship. And in those roles, I'm building opportunities, programs and pathways for both students, alumni, and the greater Cincinnati ecosystem to really develop small businesses, um, whether that's just starting, but also scaling. Um, what that looks like right now is starting with students, um, building programs in food and beverage, e-commerce and product entrepreneurship. Um, kind of what that looks like and how students can get involved in those programs is if you wanna start a food or a beverage company, we have a partnership with Findlay Market and Findlay Kitchen through their Findlay Learn program, where students have access to some of the world class educational entrepreneurial opportunities to learn from their network of hundreds of years of institutional knowledge on running food businesses.

Ben Booker: (14:14)
And from an e-commerce standpoint, if you're a student that wants to start, whether that's digital marketing services, drop shipping, or something else online, we have a network of alumni and professionals that are looking to help those students get started. And then we have a world class design school where we are building out some of the most innovative, cool projects and products. And tapping into that and partnering across campus to create those pipelines of products is really, really exciting. And really, you know, my, my relationships here at uc is kind of what led me to this role. Um, so when I was on campus, I, I was a student worker for the Center for Entrepreneurship, and I did that for over two and a half years. And it kind of comes back to those transformational relationships and not transactional, um, really investing into a shared mission and building trust amongst, um, leaders, uh, in your institution and in your organization that allow you to go out and, and do innovative new things is really what led me to this role.

Ben Booker: (15:22)
Um, and outside of my time at, at uc and outside of my current role, um, I'm still an entrepreneur. Um, what that looks like is building, uh, my own ventures, um, but also being a consultant. So I have, um, a variety of, of consulting clients that I provide small business management services to strategic advice, um, and, and other services. And then I, um, I'm building a, a men's apparel studio and showroom down in Findlay Market, that's a brick and mortar storefront, and then also building my own, uh, real estate investment portfolio. So, um, I'm definitely staying business, staying busy, um, post graduation, but it's been a blast.

Mirsayah Wasnuk: (16:05)
Can you share a specific challenge or roadblock you encountered in your career journey and how you managed to overcome it?

Ben Booker: (16:13)
I would say being an entrepreneur is hard. Um, you have to wear a lot of hats and, um, you have to be accountable, and that accountability is lonely and there's no one else to tell you to do it. And one thing that I've, I've learned through that experience is, yeah, you gotta work hard. And, and accepting that from a, from an ego standpoint, knowing that we all have the same 24 hours, and it's, okay, what are you gonna do if you have a challenge? You can't run from it. You just have to get in front of it sooner rather than later. Um, but within that same vein, you have to give yourself grace. Um, you have to give your employees grace. You have to give your partners grace, um, because we're on this journey together and, um, it, it's, that journey continues and it never ends. Learning is one of the most permanent things in life, and if you forget to learn, then, um, you know, you're not having that much fun anymore. So those would be some of the, the, the biggest challenges that I've been facing. But, you know, really looking forward to, to overcoming and continuing to overcome.

Mirsayah Wasnuk: (17:29)
My thanks to Ben Booker for joining me today and sharing his journey into the intersection of sustainability and business. The next episode of Sustainability in Business, a Bearcat Mean Business Student series episode will be focused on sustainability at uc. Be sure to subscribe, leave a review and share this episode with someone who's ready to take the leap at Lindner. Your feedback helps more Bearcats discover the show. Until next time, keep showing the world how Bearcats mean business.