Business Student Works with Town of Tazewell
Bluefield College junior Christen Brewster and the BC Department of Business are working hard to help improve economic growth in the Town of Tazewell.
Originally from Tazewell, Brewster is a business management major with a concentration in entrepreneurship who is very passionate about the growth of her hometown and its small businesses.
“I feel very blessed and grateful to have been selected for this internship, because I have a passion for small business reform,” said Brewster. “I’m also from Tazewell and have high hopes to continue building up our economy.”
Brewster is working a sponsored internship between Bluefield College and the Town of Tazewell. In the internship she works with small businesses in Tazewell providing them with valuable feedback and working with them on improving their marketing strategies.
“We pulled Christen in because she was from that area,” said David Hite, chair and professor of the BC Caudill School of Business. “Christen has been a great student over the last couple of semesters — very creative, hard working, and she knows the town. She was a really good fit.”
Joining Brewster in the efforts with the Town of Tazewell is Katie Calfee, a BC senior business management major also from Tazewell. Together they are part of a larger group formed by the BC Business Department called the Tazewell Area Small Business Connection (TASC).
Brewster also formed a sub-group in partnership with Tazewell High School’s Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA). Titled the Young Tazewell Ambassador Program (yTap), members of the group make up a secret shopper program that also benefits local businesses.
“I think this is an amazing program,” said Brewster, “because it gets students involved with positive influences in the community and forms relationships. Kids from Tazewell will see there is potential in the area, which is a big thing we are trying to change.”
The idea for the secret shopper program came from Professor Hite during his discussions with Town of Tazewell officials about ways to get students involved in the community. As part of the program, students go into local businesses as anonymous customers and later describe the environment, the service, and their overall experience to the business owners, along with suggestions for improvement.
“What we are trying to do is create a project management approach to get our students involved in the community and experiential learning opportunities,” Hite said.
Brewster and the BC Business Department said they hope to expand their outreach in the new future into new areas of the community and with additional businesses in the downtown area. Hite said they want to give students at Bluefield College and Tazewell High School practical business experience, as well as a chance to learn how businesses are run. He said they also hope to improve local small businesses by providing them with valuable feedback from young, fresh minds.
“(When) you get a group of young people together and they connect with other young people there becomes this momentum and synergy that happens,” Hite said.
Students interested in any of the business internships or community outreach programs are invited to attend a Meet the Millennials gathering at the Painted Peak Brewing Company in Tazewell, Tuesday, April 16 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. At this event, students in high school or college will have the opportunity to interact with local business owners. Light refreshments will also be served.