Costello students put skills to work for Fairfax charities

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Gretchen Hendricks

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Not often can you take a course where you receive top-level instruction for how to prepare for a career, while also having the opportunity to give back to the world around you; but that is exactly what students in George Mason University's BUS 303class experienced this past spring semester when they planned and hosted multiple "Humanitarian Happy Hours."

Gretchen Hendricks, senior instructor of business foundations in the Costello College of Business, brought this new spin to her course titled Developing Professional Skills-Advanced Elements, providing students with the opportunity to develop their professional skillset through a humanitarian lens. Students put into practice the soft skills emphasized in the course, including teamwork, persuasive writing, effective communication, problem-solving, networking, and leadership, all while flexing their civic responsibility by contributing to the well-being of the community.

Professor Gretchen Hendricks with students at Lucky Dog Animal Rescue

"The Humanitarian Happy Hour events were designed to bring together individuals with similar interests and ideals in a social forum to learn about and potentially get involved with charitable organizations championing great causes," says Hendricks. "The desired outcomes were apparent-to increase awareness, volunteerism, and donations that result in meaningful change for those in need."

Students worked in teams to identify and research multiple Fairfax-based charities they were passionate about supporting. Once identified, each team collaboratively wrote a proposal to a senior leader within the organization to persuade them to partner. The proposal included how their team core values and goals aligned with the charitable organization's mission and needs, as well as the benefits (raising awareness, volunteerism, and donations) of holding the event.

Once all four charities-Dulles South Soup Kitchen, Lucky Dog Animal Rescue, Food for Others, and Britepaths-said YES, the event planning and management part of the project began to ensure they executed them successfully. Each team worked directly with a charity point of contact to handle tasks including venue selection and logistics, outreach to corporate sponsors, and identifying attendees to include current students, faculty, staff, and alumni from George Mason as well as key community members.

"The Humanitarian Happy Hour events were designed to bring together individuals with similar interests and ideals in a social forum to learn about and potentially get involved with charitable organizations championing great causes."
-Gretchen Hendricks, senior instructor of business foundations

"I was inspired by the Humanitarian Happy Hours," said Christine Landoll, BS Accounting '89, MS Taxation '92, director of business engagement at Costello. "This idea is so aligned with who Gretchen Hendricks and Costello are: bold, community driven, and rooted in purpose. Each event, sponsored by local partners and spotlighting a nonprofit, empowered students to step outside their comfort zones, grow professionally, and lead with kindness. At George Mason, we're All Together Different-and Gretchen's class showed how by immediately stepping up to give back and help others move forward."

This section of BUS 303 is just one of the many experiential learning opportunities at Costello that prepare students for successful careers. Programs like the Patriot Pitch Competition, Career Takeover Days with our corporate partners, the Montano Student Investment Fund, Costello Fellows on Wall Street, Students Run the Showwith Mason Athletics, Impact Fellows, the Honey Bee Initiative, and others-have given students a distinct advantage over other candidates in a very competitive job market.

"Participating in the Humanitarian Happy Hour event was one of the most rewarding experiences I have been through during my time in the Costello College of Business," says Grant Goodson, a senior business management student who served as a team leader. "From hurdling unexpected obstacles to coordinating timelines and tasks, these skills haven't just been tested but have grown. Seeing the team's hard work come together in an impactful way and witnessing the difference we made for Food for Others doing life changing work in our community was immensely fulfilling. I also learned how effective leadership and collaboration can turn a couple of ideas into something with real, tangible impact in the community."

Students fundraising at Britepaths Humanitarian Happy Hour

In the continued spirit of keeping it local, four Fairfax restaurants-Honor Brewing Kitchen, Velocity Wings, Oh George!, and Banditos Tacos and Tequila-were targeted as locations for each happy hour. And in the spirit of charitable giving, they all hosted the events at no cost.

While the events raised an incredible $3,910 in donations for the four charities, the real win was the power of connection. Each event hosted a mixture of current students, staff, faculty, and alumni, as well as representatives from the charities and other members of the community, including many student family members.

"The thing I enjoyed the most was the people," says Adam Miller, a rising sophomore with a concentration in business management. "I met so many wonderful students, faculty, and people outside of George Mason that were not only good connections to have, but also kind and genuine people to talk to and get to know."

"One of the best parts about being a professor is spending time with students, says Steve Pilloff, instructional professor of finance at Costello. "And the happy hour events allowed me to do that in an environment that was fun, involved a good cause, and where the students could demonstrate the wonderful work they did to successfully pull off the events."

"Food for Others appreciated having the opportunity to work with Costello College of Business students on their Humanitarian Happy Hour," says Hannah Brockway, development manager for Food for Others. "The care and intention the students put into researching Food for Others, our impact, and how to best contribute was apparent throughout the semester. Students were able to connect, both with their George Mason neighbors and the greater community, while contributing to a food secure future in Fairfax, Virginia."

Corporate sponsors also supported each Humanitarian Happy Hour including Angel Tips, Good Neighbor Exterior Services, TFA Soft Skills, Thompson Greenspon, and VLP Financial Advisors.

Dan Lash, BS Economics '97, partner and advisor with VLP Financial Advisors, says serving as a corporate sponsor "allowed VLP to continue our support of the University with a broader focus on assisting the community."

"Participating in the Humanitarian Happy Hour event was one of the most rewarding experiences I have been through during my time in the Costello College of Business."
-Grant Goodson, a senior business management student

Hendricks considers a project such as this an extension of her involvement with Mason Chooses Kindness, also supported by the Costello College of Business at large.

"What I enjoyed most was seeing the ways the George Mason community upholds the pillars of Mason Chooses Kindness: education and awareness, positive connections, sense of belonging, courageous advocacy, compassion, and well-being," says Zareena Khan, assistant director of student well-being programs. "It reminded me that connecting intentionally with one another and giving back to our communities are simple but impactful ways that we can enrich our lives and the lives of others."

Hendricks is not new to using her class to bring good to the world. In 2022, her BUS 303 students designed and pitched a socially conscious networking site offering personalized acts of kindness called ThreeWishes.

"Our students value experiential learning and appreciate the opportunity to develop job-related skills," says Cindy Parker, BS Psychology '92, MS Industrial/Organizational Psychology '94, PhD '98, associate professor of management at Costello. "This type of semester-long project allows students to not only develop critical teamwork and project management skills but also provides them with insight into how business can-and should-contribute to society."