There is a lot happening this semester in the business honors program here at Morningside, including a fundraiser providing students with cookies.
The smart cookies program is an annual fundraiser put on by the business honors program during midterms to give parents, faculty, and students the opportunity to purchase cookies to send to students. “We bake cookies and deliver them the same day during midterms to help boost mustang moral!” says Madilyn Brown.
Four business honors members at the forefront of this project are Marilyn Eastman, Madilyn Brown, Matt Hanner, and Clayton Leng. Eastman, who is also an accounting and business professor at Morningside, is one of the founders of the program and currently acts as the faculty advisor.
“The Smart Cookie fundraiser is the biggest fundraiser of the year for the business honors program and helps fund other projects as well as group trips taken by the business honors senior class” exclaimed Leng. Hanner described the fundraiser as, “a way to help students get through the stress of midterm exams.”
It involves selling, baking, and delivering cookies to students all over the Morningside campus. While talking, Leng thanked Eastman and Jennifer Braunschweig for their help with advertising the fundraiser and setting up the PayPal they used to record orders and receive money; laughing, Leng said, “We really couldn’t have done this without their help.” Hanner mentioned that sending out emails to all fellow students and their parents resulted in a large number of orders.
Brown, Hanner, and Leng all talked about the process of gathering supplies and then baking and delivering the cookies. With the help of volunteers, the group plans to use the various ovens throughout the multiple kitchens on campus to bake two different kinds of cookies: chocolate chips and a nut-free sugar cookie option for students with nut allergies.
Then, the members will put the cookies in packages of twelve or twenty depending on the number the buyer selected as well as adding a personalized note to the student from the buyer. Finally, designated runners deliver the orders across the campus to the students.
“This all takes place in the span of just about a day,” stated Brown, starting on the night of Monday, October 11th, and final deliveries going out on the morning of the 12th.
When asked about how many orders they have, Hanner gave a nervous grin and said, “We have to bake 1,160 cookies.”
Another project from the business honors members is the Dress for Success clothes closet located in the Lincoln Center.
The Dress for Success program, which Brown described as her “passion project”, was created only two years ago by Brown and fellow members of the business honors program.
Giving Morningside students the opportunity to receive professional business clothing is the mission of the Dress for Success clothes closet. Dress for Success is supported through donations of new or gently used, men’s and women’s professional clothing. When describing the clothes closet, Leng mentioned how impressed he is about the variety of sizes and styles to match any student using the clothes closet.
This program is offered to all Morningside students who need professional clothing of a variety of reasons such as internships or job interviews. According to Brown, the program has given away nearly 500 pieces of clothing to around 200 students.
So these are some of the programs put on by the business honors program, but what exactly is business honors? Leng described the program as such, “The business honors program is an opportunity for high achieving students to develop leadership skills outside of the classroom.” Brown and Hanner both added that business honors was invite only and memberships were based off cumulative and business grade point averages.
Entering its fifth year, the program is made up of sophomores, juniors, and seniors looking to gain extra knowledge and networking opportunities during their time at Morningside.
Brown, Hanner, and Leng gave a variety of reasons they joined business honors; Brown mentioning she wanted to be as involved as she possibly could at Morningside, Leng citing that it looked great on a resume, and Hanner said, “After receiving the invite I thought this sounds fun, seems like a great group.”
All three students say they have enjoyed their time with the program, with Hanner and Leng mentioning the “Lunch and Learns” offered to the program as being their favorite experiences, and Brown exclaiming that getting to watch the Dress for Success clothes closet grow from an idea into what it is today is by far her favorite thing from being part of this prestigious program.
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