Nearly two dozen student organization leaders attended the second-annual Pitt Business Student Organization Retreat, where they developed their leadership and engaged in team building.

Held in March at the Oglebay Resort, the retreat was offered to both create a bond among student leaders and thank them for their contributions to Pitt Business.

“The volume of inspiration and fun from the speeches and the activities was unexpected,” says Ellie Pinto (First-Year student—Economics). “I can honestly say I enjoyed the trip through taking the activities that we were given and having fun with them.”

The two-day retreat kicked off with alumna speaker Stephanie Campbell (BSBA ’13), who is a social media manager at American Eagle Outfitters in Pittsburgh and the founder of the Brava Podcast.

“Stephanie spoke about finding a purpose, which made a difference for her and hopefully will for my student organization, the Fashion Business Association,” Pinto says.

Campbell’s talk was followed by a team-building exercise called “Mission Possible,” which blended technology into a scavenger hunt.

“It constantly pushed out of our comfort zones, but we were there for each other every step of the way,” says Sumi Shah (Human Resource Management-Junior). “This taught me that every individual experiences challenge and moments of weakness both in and out of leadership positions.”

After working up an appetite during the scavenger hunt, students then had the opportunity to attend a dinner hosted by UPMC. Students gained careers insights from UPMC recruiter Rachel McKee and had the opportunity to network.

Audrey J. Murrell, associate dean of Pitt Business and director of the David Berg Center for Ethics, says the retreat is important because student organizations are the lifeblood of the student experience.

“Our student organizations activate our students’ journey from the From the Classroom, To the City, To the World,” Murrell says. “This retreat is a stepping stone for more success for our student organizations and greater levels of student engagement.”

To close out the retreat, student leaders gained knowledge from UPMC Talent Acquisition Manager Meghan Boynes and even honed their comedic skills with an improv comedy activity that challenged them to think fast on their feet.

“We were basically strangers, yet we all did team activities like a scavenger hunt and improv comedy and had a genuinely fun time,” Pinto says.

When the retreat came to an end, the student leaders were excited to bring back what they learned to their student organizations.

“The trip drilled into us the need for collaboration between the clubs and the need to think creatively about the problems we all faced,” says Jacob Passalinqua (Finance—Junior).

Learn More

Visit the Student Organizations web page to learn more and find out how to join one of the 25+ student organizations at Pitt Business.