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Pre-Business Society: Moving Into the Business World
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by Ivo Ivanov Gyurovski '09
During Fall Break, October 6-9, the Pre-Business Society sponsored a trip for its junior and senior members to Charlotte,
North Carolina. The purpose of the trip was team building and networking with H-SC alumni working in the Charlotte
area. Charlotte is a rapidly developing city. Its booming economy, dominated by financial services beginning in the early
1990s, has made "The Queen City" the 5th fastest growing among large U. S. cities.
During the first day of the trip we visited the U.S. National Whitewater Center (USNWC), considered to the “world’s
premier outdoor recreation center.” This excellent facility, 15 minutes from
downtown Charlotte, offers
the largest man-made whitewater river for kayak, classes III-IV. Other recreational activities the center has to offer
include mountain biking, numerous trails, and climbing structures. All day long the members of the society engaged in
team-building activities, steering their boats down the rapids where the U.S. Olympic team practices.
 The rest of the trip was not as much outdoors as the first day, but it was just as enjoyable and, more importantly, very
informative and helpful to the members of the society, who are getting ready to graduate and to
enter the business world. On the second day of the trip, we visited RED Partners, a real estate development
company and leader in commercial real estate operations and brokerage. There, Judd McAdams and other alumni introduced
us to the holistic structure of their business and some of the issues they have to handle on a daily basis.
After a detailed presentation of the work process, the alumni took the Pre-Business Society on a field trip to one
of their current construction projects in order to better exemplify their work.
 After enjoying lunch with RED Partners, we had an afternoon discussion with John Pollock and Greg Smith,
alumni working in Edgeview Partners. Edgeview, established in 2001, is part of the investment banking industry focusing on middle market mergers and acquisitions. After briefing us on the nature of their work, Pollock
and Smith gave invaluable advice on resume writing, networking, and other job search tips,
thus demonstrating their
desire to contribute to the professional development of the current students at
Hampden-Sydney. The alumni focused on the importance of teamwork, entrepreneurial ideas, professional development, and continuous
improvement as integral parts of their business activity.
On the last day of the trip, we had an opportunity to lunch with Chuck Mottley and his financial
advisors in the City Club. Mr. Mottley’s financial planners are part of Merrill Lynch, a company with a broad scope
of activities, some of which are investment banking, wealth management, insurance, banking and investment management
on a global scale. We received a detailed and very well prepared presentation on the nature
of wealth management and the business relation between the wealth managers and the people who entrust to them their wealth,
such as Mr. Mottley.
This trip would not have been possible if all of the alumni and the other professionals did not set aside part of their valuable
time to talk with us and to offer advice. All of them readily answered the
questions we asked and were
willing to talk individually with each of us, offering advice on job and internship search. All of the society’s members
are grateful to President Greg Mascavage '08 and the other executive members for organizing this trip which contributed to
our professional and academic development.
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