A new service experience gives incoming students in Goizueta’s undergraduate Bachelor of Business Administration program more ways to connect, build community, and begin their business school journey.
On a Saturday afternoon in early September, a line of incoming undergraduate business students found themselves sorting donated food and other items at the Atlanta Community Food Bank’s warehouse in southwest Atlanta. As music played in the background and forklifts rumbled past, students checked products for expiration dates and damage, discarding some and passing others down the line for boxing.
The service project was one of two experiences offered as part of a reimagined orientation for the undergraduate Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) program. Known as “BBA Connect,” the experiences give students opportunities to build relationships with their new classmates as they transition into Goizueta. Instead of sending every student to the traditional half-day ropes course historically offered by the program, this year Goizueta gave students another option: spend the day volunteering at the food bank.
Choose Your Own Adventure
This new “choose-your-own-adventure” approach “gives students more flexibility and ownership over their transition into Goizueta,” says Sophia A’Lisa Cruz, director of pre-BBA advising and enrollment.
The change grew out of student feedback and conversations among Cruz, Libby Egnor, associate dean of the undergraduate BBA Program, and Michaela Foronda, director of undergraduate student life and leadership. Rather than putting every incoming student through the same experience, the team wanted to offer different ways for students to meet one another and begin finding their place within the Goizueta community.
Foronda says connection and group development are a “through line” of the program, beginning with orientation and continuing across multiple co-curricular experiences during students’ time at Goizueta.
The ropes course is designed to build connections through teamwork, problem-solving, and shared challenges, Foronda says. At the Atlanta Community Food Bank, students work in close proximity to their new classmates as they sort and box donated food, stack boxes, and dodge forklifts.
Though the two orientation experiences were different, they had the same goal: helping students make connections at Goizueta. “We want to start that early on in the program,” Foronda says.
Connecting Through Service
Ashwin Vaithiyalingam 28BBA says the service project gave him the opportunity to spend time doing something meaningful.
“I picked this because I thought it’d be more impactful,” he says. “And it’s a nice way to meet other people.”
The work also benefited the food bank.
“We rely heavily on the volunteers who come in on a daily basis to help us sort and package food,” says Jean Tate, public relations manager for the Atlanta Community Food Bank. On the day of the students’ visit, Tate monitored the group, stepping in to answer questions and help clean up after the occasional accident.
“We love having people come in and learn about what we do, learn about the work, and help us help their neighbors,” Tate says.
Maryam Ahmed 27BBA joined the group as a student ambassador. Last year, the ropes course was the only orientation option for her class—and included her first zip line experience. Ahmed has volunteered at food pantries before, she says, but in a setting where people come in and choose what they need, not on the sorting line. As a part-time Publix employee, she was also curious where unsold and discontinued items end up.
“I’m seeing the other side of how it comes in—and then how it’s ordered and redistributed,” she says.
More Ways to Find Your Place
The two experiences—the service project and the ropes course—are just one piece of a broader effort to create multiple opportunities for connection as students transition into Goizueta.
As part of orientation, students also attended an academic adviser luncheon, an informal opportunity to meet their advisers, ask questions, and continue building relationships with classmates. The broader onboarding experience includes a welcome-back barbecue, Career Management Center Launch Day and pre-BBA advising meetings.
For Cruz, giving students more ways to connect is ultimately about helping them find their place within Goizueta.
“Together, these experiences help students strengthen their sense of belonging, develop meaningful peer connections, and start their Goizueta journey in a way that is both engaging and personally meaningful,” she says.
Looking for a business education built around learning, connection, and community? Explore Goizueta’s undergraduate Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) program and discover the opportunities that await inside and outside the classroom.
