GLENVILLE, W.Va. – Three Glenville State College students and their advisor attended Phi Beta Lambda’s first annual PBL Career Connections conference in late October.

PBL members Mackenzie Ammerman, Leslee Coffman, Seth Stover attended along with Associate Professor of Business and PBL advisor Kandas Queen.

Future Business Leaders of America-Phi Beta Lambda, Inc. (FBLA-PBL) is the largest career student business organization in the world. Each year, FBLA-PBL helps over 230,000 members prepare for careers in business.

They also organize conferences for members and advisors that are designed to help members develop their business leadership, networking, career development, and social skills.

Being in New York for the conference gave the group the opportunity to tour Bloomburg headquarters and the New York City branch of Closerlook Inc., a national marketing agency. During the tours the students were able to ask questions about the two companies and discuss what it takes to work in the NYC atmosphere.

“I really enjoyed being able to go on the business tours. We got to see how what we learn in class applies in the real world. The tour was so interesting and the staff were incredibly nice. I loved Closerlook too because they showed the ins and outs of the business and how they functioned at their New York City branch,” said Ammerman.

“I loved both businesses that we toured. It was almost like a dream to walk into Bloomberg headquarters…you see this place on TV and in the news all the time, but this time we actually got to go visit. Closerlook, the second business we visited, was very interesting as well. I learned a lot of new information from both of these places,” said Coffman.

“The Bloomberg office was almost like a space station straight out of a sci-fi film – all of the walls were made of glass including the office spaces. It was neat to learn that Bloomberg himself has the same size office as every other worker in the building. I really liked Closerlook too because they are a business that I didn’t know could exist. They said they were interested in students who are part of PBL, which gave us a boost of confidence,” said Stover.

The students also had a chance to see the Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center, Grand Central Station, Battery Park, the 9/11 Memorial, Central Park, Times Square, and the NYC Public Library during their trip to New York City.