Renita Miller (left), program manager of UMSL’s International Business Institute, helps International Business Club Vice President Clayton Bruce and President Ah-Reishia Stanley prepare material for attendees of the International Business Career Conference, which was held on Friday at the Millennium Student Center. (Photos by Derik Holtmann)
Ah’Reishia Stanley never imagined she would be organizing a major event on the University of Missouri–St. Louis campus when she enrolled as a student less than two years ago.
Stanley, who will graduate in May with a bachelor’s degree in international business, transferred to UMSL ahead of the fall 2024 semester after receiving an associate’s degree from Southwestern Illinois College. At the time, she felt ready to take the next step in her academic journey, but she didn’t realize it would have such a profoundly positive impact on her growth as a person.
“Something I like to tell people that don’t really know much about me is that at the beginning of my UMSL career, I was shy, I couldn’t hold eye contact, I had a lot of social anxiety,” Stanley said. “But through UMSL, through all these different types of experiences that I’ve had, it has really made me less scared, less nervous, more confident. And now, after my graduation, I’m more confident to be able to go forward and hopefully do amazing things with my degree.”
The latest experience is one that Stanley said she will for sure put on her resume. Stanley served as a project coordinator for the 17th annual International Business Career Conference.
Started in 2009, the annual event was held Friday at the Millennium Student Center, with more than 100 people in attendance to hear working professionals offer their insights on charting a successful career path in the international business industry.
As has been the case since its inception, the IBCC was made possible by the efforts of UMSL students. Initially tackled as a project of the International Business Club, the organizing of the IBCC became the focus of a two-semester, three-credit course through the Ed G. Smith College of Business. Now taught by International Business Institute program manager Renita Miller, Independent Study in International Business gives students a hands-on opportunity to create the event from beginning to end.
“They start off in the fall by coming up with the theme for the overall conference and the workshop ideas, and then they start building on that,” Miller said.
For the latest edition, much of that fell into Stanley’s hands. She was one of two students in the class for the fall semester, when they began lining up the speakers and panelists for the conference.
With the theme of “Global Leaders in the Making: Communicate, Adapt and Succeed,” the
IBCC welcomed Brian Garcia, assistant vice president of global franchise partner engagement services for Enterprise Mobility, as its keynote speaker. Garcia’s speech, titled “Beyond Words: The Unspoken Advantage in a Global Career,” highlighted the importance of communication, both verbal and nonverbal, in establishing positive business relationships, particularly across cultures. Garcia also listed what he said were the six vital skills for success: curiosity, deep listening, adaptability, empathy, humility and authenticity.
An executive panel featuring members of Enterprise’s global leadership team followed Garcia’s speech with what Joe Rottman – director of UMSL’s IBI and professor of information systems and technology – called “a deeper dive” into the communication skills that students should develop to enable success in international business. Tim Nowak, executive director of World Trade Center St. Louis, served as the moderator as Stephanie Bermudez, assistant vice president of southeast operations; Billy Harvey, senior specialist of service and performance; and Jon Huensch, regional director of business administration, encouraged the attendees to start working on their personal brand and learn to be comfortable with uncomfortable situations.
UMSL alumni (from left) Elhadji Sy, Clara Lopez Bueno, Annie Mbale and Jermy Jones talk about their career paths during one of the workshops from the International Business Career Conference on Friday.
The conference, which was sponsored by several area business including CSI Leasing and Boeing, also featured a pair of workshop sessions, offering the opportunity to hear from experts on topics such as the advantage of cross-cultural skills in career advancement and the potential for local innovation to find success on the world stage.
Additionally, a panel of Triton alumni – Jermy Jones (BSBA 2018) of Enterprise Holdings, Annie Mbale (BSBA in marketing and international business 2017, MBA 2019) of St. Louis Mosaic Project, Clara Lopez Bueno (BSBA in international business 2022; master’s in supply chain analytics 2023) of World Wide Technology and Elhadji Sy (BSBA in international business 2024) of U.S. International Foods – shared stories of their journey from the UMSL campus to a career in international business.
Stanley, the president of the IBC, was pleased with how it all came together.
“This one probably feels as professional as any conference that you’ll travel to,” said Garcia, a member of UMSL’s International Business Advisory Board. “The way it’s set up, it’s just really on point.”
Stanley had help from other IBC members, particularly graduate student and IBC Vice President Clayton Bruce, who took on the role as project co-coordinator in January as part of an internship with the IBI. Bruce, pursuing an MBA in marketing, already had experience working on the Midwest Digital Marketing Conference for several years, and with his growing interest in international business, it made sense to come on board for the 2026 IBCC.
“Clayton has been a great addition to the class, being able to talk to him and gather information,” Stanley said. “He just has so much knowledge, so I try to pick his brain as much as I can.”
The duo spent the last three months on marketing and finalizing the logistics of the conference, such as catering the networking lunch that closed out the six-hour event. There were also constant emails and calls updating the people scheduled to speak at the conference, promoting the event through international business clubs at other schools, preparing the printouts and gift boxes for attendees.
When April 3 arrived, everything went about as smoothly as Stanley and Bruce had hoped, and their experience has the potential for greater payoffs in the future.
“It’s getting access to all of these opportunities and seeing yourself grow, showing future employers what I’ve done so far, right?” Bruce said. “In this job market, it’s more competitive than ever, but now I have all these opportunities, all these things to talk about, and I think that’s the biggest win for me.”
Jones knows all too well the impact that putting together an IBCC can have on a student. Jones served as a project coordinator for the event while doing his undergraduate work at UMSL.
“UMSL has done so much for me,” Jones said. “It definitely built the foundation for me, because I had a lot of professors that believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself. Being able to think outside the box, to be comfortable with being uncomfortable and still be able to reach your goals, it all started with me coming to UMSL. And now, just coming back for this event, it’s amazing. I will do it every year, as long as they allow me to do it.”
The day proved impactful for student attendees such as Craig White, a junior currently pursuing a double major in accounting and business administration with a focus in supply chain management.
“To get an opportunity to sit down with some of these very, very esteemed professionals is unparalleled,” said White, who is considering adding international business as a third major. “To get that face time, that one-on-one experience, and then the confidence that it builds was huge. Honestly, the opportunity to meet with professionals like this, as well as the job placement that comes with it, was a pivotal factor in choosing UMSL. To have these types of events regularly, that’s huge. It breeds confidence that what I’m studying here will go to good use.”
