By Nancy Finney

A s soon as spring semester ended, ten business Bobcats from the J. Whitney Bunting College of Business & Technology packed their bags and toured the state of Georgia. Selected through a rigorous application and interview process, these students represented nearly all majors within the college.

Led by Dr. Mohammad Jizi, associate professor of accounting, and Ms. Nancy Finney, business outreach coordinator, the students embarked on a whirlwind tour seated in a 15-passenger van as they became Georgia business tourists. They toured 15 businesses in six cities across five days: Savannah, Atlanta, Dublin, Gainesville, Milledgeville and Augusta.

Students had the opportunity to network, ask questions about Georgia’s economy, explore new career pathways and make important connections as they prepare to advance their careers.

“What I found particularly enjoyable and valuable overall was the opportunity to discover and learn about businesses that were completely new to me, broadening my understanding of the diverse corporate landscape.” explained Jasmine Smith, a junior computer science major from Milledgeville.

Smith took her networking skills to the next level, making connections on the tour and exploring a potential internship with one of the IT departments she visited.

“The absolute highlight for me was getting a behind-the-scenes tour and witnessing firsthand how these corporations operate on a practical level. This peek into their inner workings explained the processes and gave me a much clearer understanding of their day-to-day activities and overall structure,” Smith added.

The week of travel included panels at accounting firms, networking events with financial services companies, tours of factories, seeing the largest jet engine model made in the world, and piloting flight simulators.

Lauren Decker, a senior economics major from Suwanee, Georgia, appreciated the diversity of sites and businesses the students got to visit.

“The tour led me to realize that I need to enter the job market with an open mind,” Decker said.

“My most important takeaway from this journey was that I shouldn’t be nervous about entering the professional world,” said Charles Pero, a senior management major from Sandy Springs, Georgia. “I got to see how inviting every company was as they gave us great hospitality.”

The annual Georgia business tour is more than sightseeing and networking. Experiential learning is a hallmark of the liberal arts education experience at GCSU – 93% of last year’s graduating class participated in high impact practices to foster professional development, engagement with practice and global experience. Examples include capstone projects, mentored undergraduate research, internships, career milestones and study away programs.

“Our students are learning about businesses outside of the classroom,” said Dr. Tanya Goette, interim dean of the College of Business & Technology. “I think most importantly, the students see firsthand the role businesses play within the communities where they are located. Our students start to understand the impact a business actually has on its employees, locality and environment.”

Dr. Jizi said, “A leadership tour visiting 15 diverse businesses with collective revenues exceeding $184 billion is more than mere business visits; it's an immersive curriculum in real-world strategy, problem-solving, and the dynamic interplay of leadership. Students gain unparalleled practical understanding of complex business operations that neither textbooks nor typical class activities can provide or replicate.”

The Peach State companies included in this year’s Georgia business tour:

• Delta Air Lines TechOps
• Aprio, LLP
• Interface, Inc.
• Ernest & Young Global Limited (EY)
• Mansfield Energy Corp.
• Kubota Corporation
• FPL Food, LLC
• Morgan Advanced Materials PLC
• Club Car LLC
• Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation
• American Prohibition Museum
• Georgia Ports Authority
• YKK AP Inc.
• Nichols, Cauley & Associates LLC
• Exchange Bank

Header Images: Georgia Business Tour destinations including Aprio, LLP, a Braves game, Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation, Interface, Inc., Kubota Corporation, Mansfield Energy Corp., Morgan Advanced Materials PLC and YKK AP Inc.

Amanda Respess contributed to the reporting for this story.