Barry Student Organizations That Open Doors To Lucrative Professions
By Helen Mascara
College is about more than earning a degree. It is also an opportunity to gain experience, develop professional skills and build connections that can help students prepare for life after graduation. Barry University offers several student organizations that allow students to explore career interests beyond their coursework.
For students interested in campus advocacy, policy, and leadership, Student Government Association (SGA) provides an opportunity to represent the student body. As the university's official student representative organization, SGA advocates for student needs, works to improve campus life and builds connections between students, faculty, staff and administrators.
“Advocating for student interests and collaborating with university administration sharpens essential skills like public speaking, conflict resolution, and prepares members to excel in any future career,” said SGA President Amelia Thomas. “Our primary goals this year focus on launching practical initiatives that directly improve campus life. Specifically, we are working on introducing a Barry branded bus shuttle, establishing flexible parking programs, and adding campus sleeping pods for student rest and wellness.”
Through these responsibilities, members can gain experience in leadership, event planning, networking and communication while strengthening their resumes. As an added perk, students in SGA have access to scholarship opportunities because of their contribution to the university.
Tsephania Jerome, former SGA president and Barry alumna is now a graduate student at Georgetown University and a graduate assistant for the First Fellows Program and has even joined her school’s student government as director of events.
Students can attend SGA meetings located in the Landon Events room, which one can register for on Corq.
Another path for professional development is Barry Management Consulting. BMC brings together student consultants who work with leaders in nonprofit, for profit and government organizations to address organizational challenges. Students can gain practical experience through projects related to their majors, including strategic planning, marketing, leadership development and process improvement.
“One of our biggest goals this year is to create more opportunities for students to get involved and grow within BMC,” said Jaqueline Souza, director of BMC’s human resources and internal operations. “We’re expanding initiatives like the business battle series, continuing to work on consulting projects, and creating more professional development and networking opportunities.”
Students can join BMC by attending their weekly meetings on Mondays from 4:30-5:30 p.m. located in the Entrepreneurship Lab in Thompson Hall.
One of BMC’s alumni, Olivia Liu, became a founder and president of 2024Ministries, a nonprofit organization that seeks to serve the poor and unhoused through ministry and community outreach.
For students interested in finance and investment management, the Student Managed Investment Fund offers experience in investment research and portfolio management. SMIF is a student-funded and student-run organization supported by Barry University's Board of Trustees, which allocated a portion of the university's endowment for the fund to invest. Beyond their investment research, SMIF hosts career preparation symposiums with alumni and industry professionals who share experiences, offer advice, and give insight into the industry of finance. The organization is also guided by an advisory board composed of experienced investment professionals, giving students opportunities to learn about the field and gain exposure to industry practices.
SMIF alumnus Christopher Hill is now a private wealth financial advisor -
managing director for Wells Fargo. He provides clients access to Wells Fargo affiliate products and services such as wealth planning, private banking, trust services and insurance.
To join SMIF, students can apply through their application form on the Barry University website for the organization having completed their requirements. To apply, SMIF applicants will have to complete ACC-201 and ECO-201.
"This year, our goals include strengthening analyst training, improving the quality of our investment research and encouraging members to take an active role in fund discussions and investment presentations,” said Barry's SMIF Director of Operations, Jesus Barrios. "We also remain focused on managing our portfolio of more than $1.7 million through careful consideration of risk."
For Barry students preparing for life after graduation, professional organizations can be an important starting point for building experience that can be used for careers.
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