Start Here, Go Anywhere

Reflections of a Student Leader

I remember my first time meeting Nathan Ho, former President of the International Business Association (IBA), we met through the 2016 Lideres Mentorship Program hosted by the Regional Hispanic Institute in conjunction with the Regional Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. We didn’t speak much and first impressions were professionally cordial at best. A few months later, we were sitting in the officer’s lounge, aka the Associated Business Students Organizations Council (ABSOC) room. I was the Executive Vice President of the Society for Advancement of Management (SAM) at the time, and our organizations’ desks were back-to-back. I decided to approach and find out more information about him. All I knew was that he had taken on the role as president of an organization that was on the brink of extinction and was making it work somehow… I was intrigued. He opened up about many of his personal ideals and beliefs for growth and achievement, both as an individual and as a student leader. We must’ve spoken for two or more hours, and in that time I found myself becoming more and more engaged in the conversation. Our little talk spanned a wide variety of topics, personal, professional, scholarly, etc. we shared many ideas and connected on a different level than I was used to with most colleagues.

A few weeks after this conversation, things weren’t going too well with the leadership I reported to at my organization. After a long time of discontent, and having done all I could for the organization of my major, I decided it was time to move on. Most students join the club or student organization that is focused in their field of study… I wasn’t sure what was going to happen next, but I did what I felt was right. After my resignation, word spread that I was no longer a part of the executive team within the management organization. I asked Nathan if he had a use for someone like me and if I could help him in any way. He excitedly stated that with my social skills and professionalism, the Vice President of Corporate Relations position was a perfect fit. And so, I joined Ginny Kosalakasam as the Co-V.P. of Corporate Relations.

Essentially, I left what was a mid-sized company for a much smaller one, and what was a higher position for one lower on the totem pole (a big no-no in the world of business). The executive team at IBA accepted me as an outsider and worked with me to pull off some wonderful events. In my role, I assisted Ginny in procuring business professionals to be guest speakers and organized the yearly “Interview Skills Workshop,” a mock interview extravaganza for students to be interviewed one-on-one by management personnel at a variety of different companies. I didn’t exactly know what to expect. The very first meeting I attended with IBA was a professional networking event hosted by the Long Beach Young Professionals at the Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors office in Long Beach, CA. The view was stunning from the balcony of this venue, I hadn’t seen any student org or “club” provide something like this for its members, I was immediately impressed.

For the next meeting, Ginny brought in an Associate Partner and Latino Market Manager for New York Life Insurance Company. The meeting after that, there was a Manager of 14 years from the American Honda Motor Company, Inc. The week after that, was the yearly “Etiquette Dinner” which was in collaboration with the Hispanic Students Business Association (HSBA) and Delta Sigma Pi (DSP) a business fraternity. For this event, a business etiquette consultant and trainer for Disneyland Resorts demonstrated to students how to properly eat a meal in a professional business setting. The week after that was a Harbor Cruise of the Port of Long Beach hosted by Dr. Mike Walter (you know that big blue pyramid? Yeah, him). Dr. Walter hosts IBA and we open it to all students who wish to join once a year for this cruise so that students may learn about the operations at the Port of Long Beach as well as the business that’s conducted on an international scale. In mid-November, IBA hosted a firm tour of Mainfreight for all its members to witness firsthand the operations of a global logistics enterprise. This was insane… the executive board was quite large at this point, out of 15 or so positions, most were filled. And for any that weren’t, Nathan assumed all responsibilities. I attended a few events off-campus with the President of IBA and met many professionals to invite back to provide our members with valuable insights about different industries. I learned about IBA’s connection to the International Business Association of Southern California and the Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce; the potential for growth was there, an amazing network to help students achieve success in their future careers.

Nathan assumed the mantle of President in fall of 2016, with a mere three members at his side, the minimum number for an organization to be recognized by the California State University, Long Beach is five. He took on every role necessary in order to see this org grow and whenever it lacked funds he purchased things out of pocket. I saw a tremendous exertion of effort on his part, I witnessed his struggles firsthand and understood how much this meant to him… Despite the fact that he was set with a career waiting for him in Japan as soon as he graduated, he took on the responsibility and dedicated much of himself to the organization. This was the complete opposite of what I had experienced with student leaders in the past, many take on the title to improve their resume and chances of landing a career. He once told me, “I view this as an opportunity to build myself. It means more if you can take a small company and expand it than to take a large company and not add much value to it. Every struggle I face is a test and if I can surpass it here, I can do it anywhere.”

When the time came for Nathan to move on and begin his work in Japan, he approached me and said he wanted me to be his successor and to finish his term as President of IBA. However, I would have to run for the position during the end of the year elections; I would face controversy due to my major being general business management and operations/supply chain management, not international business as was customary for IBA leaders. I ran for the position and was elected by a panel of my peers to lead the organization for the following term, spring 2017.

Not sure whether I could live up to the expectations my predecessor had set, I took this as an ‘opportunity to challenge myself and grow.’ When I took office in December, many members had left and we had to start over anew. I decided to trim down the bureaucracy from 15 positions to just five. I believed this would form a tighter-knit group and operations could be carried out with ease and fluidity. I also gave each officer a Myers-Briggs personality test to better understand my team, their strengths, areas for improvement, etc. I requested that my officers keep a journal and weekly task sheets to track their responsibilities and progress throughout their term. By documenting their individual activities, my team would have something to reference when asked about their involvement as an officer of IBA, I believed this could serve them in future interviews. When I pitched the idea to Nathan, he loved it and paid for the binders and journals himself. One task I assigned was to write an entry and exit journal log so that each officer could track his/her progress and growth throughout the semester. I did my best to not micromanage; I provided my Board with objectives and simply allowed them the freedom to produce what they thought was best. I looked at this student “club” like a business, I began to apply the principles I was learning in the classroom to this ‘small company’ as I saw it.

I performed a SWOT analysis of IBA and other competing organizations to determine the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of each. Utilizing Michael Porter’s Five Forces model to analyze the industry of student orgs within the College of Business Administration, I was able to establish IBA’s current position compared to other organizations offering similar services and benefits. The results were stupendous. This led to my discovery of IBA’s competitive advantage: the incomparable network it builds among its diverse member community. International business covers all aspects and disciplines of business, just about every business is now competing in a global environment. The classes students take for this major are: international accounting, international marketing, international finance, international human resources, the list goes on. IBA creates a community for these brilliant minds from all over the world to come together and help one another. This not only creates relationships for school but for life as well; many of my friends have invited me to visit them all across the globe, and soon I shall.

Although the work of 15+ people was now condensed to a mere five, the group dynamic was set for success. We set forth many new ideas and I used my relationship with the Regional Hispanic Chamber of Commerce as well as other affiliated organizations and connections in the business world to provide quality guest speakers for our members.

We began the semester with our faculty advisor, Markus Biegel, giving a talk about the importance of networking - how it’s just as important to connect with your peers as it is to connect with business professionals. You never know who may be sitting to your left or your right, some of the most widely recognized companies in the world were started by students in college. Professor Biegel gave a powerful speech that motivated every person in that room to actively engage in conversation with their neighbors, the meeting went over by 45 minutes and I couldn’t get everyone to stop meeting and greeting. This was a huge success as an icebreaker activity for new members.

For the second meeting, we had another faculty advisor, Kevin Mills, discuss the principles of networking at business events, building and maintaining those business relationships. Everything was covered from the handshake and business card etiquette to topics of discussion and how to follow-up with a phone call or email. Professor Mills then handed his business card to every member and welcomed all to add him on LinkedIn and follow up for career advice at any point in the future. We reached out to members of the Society of Women in Business (SWB), many of whom joined us and were exposed to the lessons and advice from Prof. Mills.

We announced that for the third meeting members should come dressed in business attire and be ready to have their picture taken. We hired a professional photographer from Dominic Doan Photography to take headshots for everyone who showed up that day. Even non-members took advantage of this opportunity, as I believe in helping all students not just those under the IBA flag.

We demonstrated to our members the value of networking socially and professionally, then provided them with headshots for their LinkedIn profiles and now it was time to act. The fourth week saw us attend a networking event with the Long Beach Young Professionals at the WeWork offices in downtown Long Beach. This again was a beautiful venue and left many members, including me, impressed. A few students were shy and bashful and stuck in herds with those they felt comfortable with. I approached them and like someone once told me, “you have to put yourself out there and create opportunities… they’re everywhere, you just have to go after them.” (Ironically, the person who told me this was the first person to get me involved in student orgs, and he never told me he was a former President of IBA… something I later discovered. Thank you for that, Armando Morales.) So, I went over to my members and gave them a task of meeting five people, collecting their business cards and reporting back what they learned about each person. Once they got that little nudge of encouragement, they began shaking everyone’s hand and introducing themselves just like we had practiced… they were unstoppable. One student even landed an interview with the Port of Long Beach at her very first networking event. In time, others got calls back for internship opportunities and as well.

To not make this portion too long, I will summarize what my team of four and I pulled off this semester: two networking events off-campus; three professional workshops (including resume building, interview skills, and LinkedIn). A collaborative event with HSBA for their Entrepreneurship Series - IBA provided a truly wonderful guest speaker: Michelle Patterson, CEO of Women Network and President of the California Women’s Conference gave her view on starting a new venture and the steps to success in a changing world.

Two collaborative events with the Human Resources Management Association (HRMA), one of which was a business mixer where IBA managed to acquire the WeWorks venue free of charge to host this event. Several professionals from the Professionals in Human Resources Association (PIHRA) were in attendance to mingle with students and many relationships developed into mentorships.

I spoke to Dr. Walter and requested a second Harbor Cruise of the Port of Long Beach, due to popular demand from students from all organizations under ABSOC; this was the first year the tour was hosted in spring as well as fall.

We hosted the annual Consulate Series and invited the Chinese Consul General to present to our constituents and opened the event to all (we appeared on the front page of the Daily 49er newspaper and broadcasted an announcement on the KJAZZ public radio station promoting the event). CCG Liu Jian appeared along with the Chief of Political Consul and the Chief of Information for the Chinese Consulate in Los Angeles. The Vice President and Chief Information Officer of California State University, Long Beach graced our event, representing President Jane Conoley, to make the opening remarks. CCG Jian spoke about the relations between the United States and the Republic of China; an eloquent speaker, a passionate humanitarian, and charismatic individual. He stayed after to meet and greet every member of IBA and take pictures with them. There were many struggles in the background to pull off this event, my colleague and I missed a midterm due to last minute logistical issues that demanded immediate attention. I couldn't have done it without support from some amazing people.  

Furthermore, we hosted a community bonfire/potluck style BBQ and invited other orgs to join us at Bolsa Chica state beach to celebrate the start of spring break, and the end of a grueling round of midterms. Directly after the bonfire was a social gathering with the Financial Management Association (FMA).

For all the success we achieve and wonderful help we receive, we believe it’s important to give back and help local communities in some way. A group of students from IBA joined up with Monday Night Mission, a nonprofit organization that feeds homeless persons in Skid Row, Los Angeles by night. We collectively prepared and handed out over 250 meals to those less fortunate. This is something we would like to take up as a bi-weekly routine throughout the summer and into the coming school year.

Being the program director and vice chair for the 2017 Lideres Mentorship Program (the very program where this IBA journey began by meeting Nathan a year prior), I was able to have members of IBA join and be paired with executives from businesses such as Coca-Cola, Boeing, Southern California Edison, Wells Fargo, Burns and McDonnell, Long Beach Transit, City of Long Beach, and many more. Sandy Cajas, President, and CEO of the Regional Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and Regional Hispanic Institute is passionate about connecting students with business leaders and fostering relationships that are beneficial to both parties.

For guest speakers, we had the Small Business Enterprise (SBE) Administrator from the Port of Long Beach, Sashi Muralidharan, give a presentation about the significance of the Port and its operations for domestic and international markets as well as thoroughly explain the process of SBE and how to attain specific certifications with the Port of Long Beach. Again, we were joined by members of the Society of Women in Business since we created a strategic alliance making all their members honorary members of IBA and vice versa. 

We also had the Portfolio Executive for B2B Diverse Businesses (Asian, Black, Hispanic, and Native American segments) from IBM, Luis Cuneo, give his final presentation as an IBM-er at one of our meetings. He flew from Connecticut just for this event where he spoke to us about diversity in the workplace, careers in IT, global entrepreneurship, and the corporate culture at a Fortune 500 company. He also came prepared to invest heavily into any startup ideas from the crowd with his nationwide incubator program. For this event, we were joined by members of several student organizations, including but not limited to: the Association of Information Systems (AIS), (SAM), (FMA), (HSBA). Much to my surprise, representatives from other major corporations were in attendance to meet this very important speaker. We had a Manager of Supplier Diversity from Southern California Edison, the Senior Vice President of Allied Protection Services, my mentor, and close friend, Hector Mendoza, Jr. CEO of RDI Engineering (waited 2 hours in traffic to come support), the President of RHCC and RHI, and Dr. Michael E. Solt, Dean of the College of Business Administration join us.

In addition, IBA hosted the CEO of Premier Logistics, Inc., Kris Lowery, to give a step-by-step guide on how to import/export goods through customs. He also provided a wealth of knowledge about international trade and many things that should and shouldn’t be done when dealing with businesses in other nations. A final guest speaker was the Director of International Development for Canvas Gate, Inc., our very own, Nathan Ho. New members of IBA had met Nathan once before at the first meeting via video chat as he was heading operations for his company in Vietnam. He appeared once more on the screen projected for the audience, only to appear in person and surprise everyone. The notability of having this speaker was that he presented a point of view from a recent graduate who according to many ‘won the lottery’ with his job and its many benefits.

Lastly, IBA was recognized by the American Honda Motor Company for its outstanding efforts to increase Airbag Recall Safety Awareness to the community in and around the Long Beach area. Saving lives is no easy task, and so we were presented with the “Challenging Spirit Award” to take back and hoist with pride at the IBA desk in the ABSOC room on campus. This was a process that spanned several months as a few students took up the responsibility of Brand Ambassadors for Honda and lent aid to a recall pilot program. Through this, we were able to visit the Honda corporate headquarters and the Honda museum in Torrance, CA.

Not only is it important to provide something valuable to our members, but we believe in spreading it to all who can benefit. During the spring 2017 semester, IBA created and maintained relationships and strategic partnerships with the Society of Women in Business and the American Language Institute. This brought a different demographic to our meetings and fostered an environment of diverse backgrounds and insights with many international students from countries such as Myanmar, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Australia, Japan, France, Korea, India, Panama, Ecuador, Mexico, Venezuela, etc. I met with an executive board member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) and found a way to grant free membership to all IBA members who were interested.

As the 2017 school year comes to an end, so too does my administration as President of the International Business Association. The intention of this log was neither to boast nor compete with other organizations. Rather, to explain the process and challenges that were undertaken by a group of 5 individuals as they took on more responsibility than was required of them. They answered the call of duty and accepted the task at hand. Throughout my time here at IBA I have seen people come and go, I’ve witnessed students mature from their involvement and the exposures provided. I do not claim to be a successful leader, I have much to learn and like anyone have made many errors along the way. I hope this serves as a reference so others may improve upon my accomplishments and achieve greater heights.

I am extremely proud to have led such a committed and hardworking team that combined, accomplished truly amazing feats. Thank you: Yusuke Higuchi, Vice President of Information Technology and Marketing; Kanna Fukuo, Vice President of Finance and Accountancy; Justin McKay, Vice President of Communications and Administration; Oscar Santana, Vice President of Events and Planning. Thank you to each and every member of IBA that made an appearance week-after-week, I hope you learned something useful that can serve you in your bright future. Thank you to the supportive staff, faculty and student body of the California State University, Long Beach. None of this would have been possible without you.

This is my message to future student leaders: ‘It starts with a vision and a dream; but ultimately, a leader is nothing without a team to support him. Hence the term: Dream Team. Once you find the right people… lead, don’t manage. Build them up, support them, give them your all… and nothing is impossible.’

Thank you, Nathan, for bringing me on board to add my touch to this grand organization. The International Business Association has taught me many lessons and opened my eyes to a magnificent world of wonders and challenges ready to be conquered. It is true what you told me…                   

‘Start here, go anywhere.’

? 2017 John P. Ultreras. All rights reserved.