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��Ƶ students prepare to make their Ethics Bowl debut

ag64@calvin.edu — Wed, 21 Oct 2026 17:40:33 +0000

��Ƶ students prepare to make their Ethics Bowl debut ag64@calvin.edu Wed, 10/21/2026 - 13:40

��Ƶ School of Business has launched its first Ethics Bowl team, giving students the opportunity to work through difficult ethical questions outside the classroom. The team will compete next month in Indianapolis against students from more than 20 schools, presenting its analysis of 15 cases to judges and opposing teams.

Unlike a traditional debate, Ethics Bowl asks students to engage competing perspectives with both rigor and civility. Team members must prepare 15 cases for the competition by examining the facts, identifying the values in tension, and developing responses they can defend under questioning. They also listen carefully and respond thoughtfully when judges or members of another team challenge their positions.

Professor and Ethics Bowl adviser Mark Taylor brings firsthand experience to his role as the team’s coach. As an undergraduate, he competed on a national championship team that outperformed teams from Ivy League schools. He remembers the experience as intellectually demanding, deeply rewarding, and a source of lasting friendships.

Taylor is excited to create that kind of opportunity for ��Ƶ students. Coaching the team gives him the chance to work closely with a small group, spend meaningful time discussing complex questions, and help students sharpen skills that will matter well beyond the competition.

“Ethical questions come up in every profession,” said Taylor. “Being part of an Ethics Bowl team gives students a concrete way to show employers and graduate schools that they’ve spent time thinking seriously about difficult issues. It also builds skills in communication, collaboration, and careful analysis, including the ability to engage disagreement without reducing it to a simple win-or-lose exchange.”

The top four finishers from the competition in Indianapolis will advance to the national competition, giving ��Ƶ’s first-year team a clear goal for its inaugural season.

Wednesday, October 21, 2026 - 12:00

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Mark Taylor Named Assistant Professor of Business Ethics and Ethical Leadership

lns9@calvin.edu — Mon, 12 Oct 2026 16:55:15 +0000

Mark Taylor Named Assistant Professor of Business Ethics and Ethical Leadership lns9@calvin.edu Mon, 10/12/2026 - 12:55

The ��Ƶ School of Business welcomes Mark Taylor as assistant professor of business ethics after two years as a postdoctoral teaching fellow at ��Ƶ. In his new role, Taylor will continue teaching business ethics and ethical leadership.

Taylor earned a PhD in philosophy from the University of Oklahoma. He also holds a Master of Letters in theology from the University of St. Andrews, a master's degree in philosophy from Northern Illinois University, and a bachelor's degree from Taylor University.

Taylor has developed an impressive record of scholarship, with research appearing in leading journals including the Journal of the American Philosophical Association, Pacific Philosophical Quarterly, and the History of Philosophy Quarterly. His recent work explores the ethical implications of artificial intelligence, education, and human communication, while his conference presentations have addressed topics ranging from AI ethics and ethical leadership to workplace issues. In 2025, his paper on emotional labor and alienation was named a finalist for the Best Paper in Conference Award at the Society for Business Ethics annual meeting.The final version of that essay has been accepted for publication at the Journal of Business Ethics.

Taylor considers teaching the most important part of his work. Though his background is in philosophy, he especially appreciates the energy and authenticity business students bring to the classroom. His students continually sharpen him as a scholar as well; his most recent publication was shaped by conversations in the classroom.

When he is not teaching or writing, Taylor enjoys gardening, reading, playing board games, and taking his kids to the park.

Monday, October 12, 2026 - 12:00

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��Ƶ School of Business Welcomes New Adjunct Faculty to the Classroom

lns9@calvin.edu — Fri, 25 Sep 2026 18:56:43 +0000

��Ƶ School of Business Welcomes New Adjunct Faculty to the Classroom lns9@calvin.edu Fri, 09/25/2026 - 14:56

The ��Ƶ School of Business recently welcomed 10 new adjunct faculty members. Bringing a wealth of industry knowledge and experience, these instructors offer students valuable perspectives that connect classroom learning with the realities of today’s business world.

Meet the professionals joining our classrooms, discover the courses they are teaching, and learn more about their backgrounds on LinkedIn.

The ��Ƶ School of Business recently welcomed 11 new adjunct faculty members. Bringing a wealth of industry knowledge and experience, these instructors offer students valuable perspectives that connect classroom learning with the realities of today’s business world.

Meet the professionals joining our classrooms, discover the courses they are teaching, and learn more about their backgrounds on LinkedIn.

Julie Adkins
Professor Adkins is teaching the entrepreneurship practicum.

Tiffany Bangma
Professor Bangma is teaching leading with AI in business.

Emilee Broekhuizen
Professor Broekhuizen is teaching human resource management.

Greg Clark
Professor Clark is teaching business capstone.

Lindsay Gustafson
Professor Gustafson is teaching marketing.

Peter Juberg
Professor Juberg is teaching applied AI tools for business.

Nate Leaman
Professor Leaman is teaching management and organizational behavior.

Peter Osborn
Peter Osborn is teaching organizational leadership.

Adrian Sanchez
Professor Sanchez is teaching global supply chain practicum.

Ashley Van Manen
Professor Van Manen is teaching taxation.

Tim Vande Bunte
Professor Vande Bunte is teaching business capstone.

Friday, September 25, 2026 - 12:00

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One conference. One day. A clearer future.

msk23@calvin.edu — Thu, 24 Sep 2026 17:11:31 +0000

One conference. One day. A clearer future. msk23@calvin.edu Thu, 09/24/2026 - 13:11

By 8 a.m., senior David Terpstra was already balancing a plate of breakfast and a notebook, surrounded by hundreds of supply chain professionals. It was his first industry conference, and by the end of the day he'd explored artificial intelligence, sustainability, and cutting-edge manufacturing systems, all while discovering something even more important: he belonged in the conversation.

It wasn't the path he expected.

Terpstra came to ��Ƶ planning to study finance. Then marketing caught his attention. Finally, after realizing he could add supply chain management without delaying graduation, he decided to give it a try.

"I've actually just fallen in love with the supply chain program," he said.

That wasn't because of textbooks or lectures. It was because ��Ƶ's discussion-driven classes challenged him to think critically, solve real problems, and defend his ideas, the same skills he would rely on at the conference.

Learning what the future looks like

One keynote focused on artificial intelligence, but not in the way Terpstra had expected.

Rather than predicting AI would replace workers, the speaker compared it to the arrival of computers decades ago, a tool that changes how people work, not whether they work. The presentation itself became proof. Every slide, including the images, had been created with AI the day before.

For Terpstra, it was a glimpse into the future of an industry that's evolving faster than ever.

Seeing the bigger picture

Between keynote sessions, students visited company exhibits where businesses demonstrated the technologies reshaping modern supply chains.

One concept stood out.

Called a "digital twin," the technology creates a virtual model of an entire operation, from product design through manufacturing and delivery. Users can zoom into individual processes or step back to see how every part connects.

Terpstra had heard the term before in class.

At the conference, he saw how companies are using digital twins to train employees more efficiently, improve production, and solve problems before they happen.

What had once been a classroom concept became a real-world solution.

More than a networking event

The learning didn't stop when the presentations ended.

Terpstra attended a breakout session led by Steelcase that explored how supply chain decisions can reduce environmental impact and move companies toward zero-carbon operations. It reinforced something he'd already begun learning at ��Ƶ: every business decision affects people, communities, and creation.

Some of the most meaningful moments happened between sessions.

Conversations with classmates about careers, internships, and a shared class project strengthened relationships that would continue long after the conference.

"It was a full day," Terpstra said. "But those conversations made us more comfortable working together and helped set our team up for success."

Prepared for what's next

For Terpstra, the conference confirmed he had chosen the right field and the right place to prepare for it.

He left with a deeper understanding of emerging technology, sustainable business practices, and the interconnected systems that keep the global economy moving.

Most of all, he walked away with confidence.

"We're in it together," he said. "Every person adds some kind of value to the supply chain process… we need each other to move forward in the economy that we live in."

That's what a ��Ƶ education is designed to do. It equips students with the knowledge to solve complex problems, the experience to contribute on day one, and the Christ-centered perspective to lead with integrity in a rapidly changing world.

Because ��Ƶ is where Christians launch their careers and begin making a difference long before graduation.

Monday, August 24, 2026 - 12:00

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From Honors Thesis to Startup: Naomi Ross Launches TrueTag

ag64@calvin.edu — Fri, 04 Sep 2026 20:40:47 +0000

From Honors Thesis to Startup: Naomi Ross Launches TrueTag ag64@calvin.edu Fri, 09/04/2026 - 16:40

From Thrift-Floor Problem to ��Ƶ Thesis

TrueTag began at a thrift store and grew in the classroom. After six years at New 2 You, Naomi Ross had seen how much time and judgment go into pricing one-of-a-kind donations. When donations arrive nonstop and shifts rotate, prices can vary from person to person, even when everyone is doing their best.

A typical intake cart might hold a winter coat, a blender, and a pair of name-brand jeans, all with very different “going rates” depending on condition and demand. When someone is trying to keep up with the influx of donations, it is tempting to default to whatever feels familiar. Over time, those quick decisions add up, and two people can price the same kind of item in different ways. That gap between effort and consistency is the problem TrueTag is built to solve.

Listening before Building

For her senior honors thesis, Naomi set out to solve a practical thrift-industry problem. She started by interviewing managers, volunteers, and shoppers to learn what slowed their stores down and which challenges were most realistic to solve. Pricing came up repeatedly as a challenge.

To explore a solution, she brought the idea to Braden Lint and Logan Humphrey, two ��Ƶ computer science students who were eager to build. Together, the three formed the TrueTag team, with Naomi leading customer discovery and bringing a thrift-store perspective. Today, Braden and Logan have graduated and continue to work together through the web development company they founded.

What TrueTag Does

TrueTag is a B2B pricing tool for thrift stores. It helps teams price items closer to market value using data from secondhand markets, while still allowing each store to determine its own approach. Managers set pricing guidelines in a web dashboard, while staff and volunteers use TrueTag during intake and tagging to apply them consistently. Instead of relying on memory or personal judgment, volunteers can follow the store’s pricing strategy in an app any volunteer can have on their phone. The TrueTag team built the product in close partnership with stores, then refined it based on user feedback.

Built with Stores, Improved by Feedback

The team continues to refine TrueTag in partnership with a handful of stores, and user feedback remains central to the process. Candid input even forced a restart and redesign at one point, something Naomi describes as a normal part of building a startup. “You don’t know where you’re going. You’re walking in the dark,” she said. “There’s no roadmap. If something isn’t going right, we must figure out why.”

The ��Ƶ Network Behind the Work

��Ƶ Startup Garage helped Naomi turn thesis momentum into steady startup work. Professor Peter Snyder guided her early as she translated interviews into a business plan and built accountability into the process. In the Startup Garage practicum, weekly mentor conversations helped the team test assumptions, pressure-test decisions, and keep moving. Mentor Zack Booker pushed a key shift: instead of trying to “fix thrift” all at once, focus on one high-impact problem and solve it well.

What’s Next

Following the launch last month, Naomi expects growth to come through relationships and conversations with local thrift-store teams. “I love thrift, and I know how hard this part is,” she said. “If we can take pricing from a guess to a system that volunteers can actually follow, that changes the bottom line.”

Even after graduation, Startup Garage continues to play a role in her growth strategy through The Forge, a small group of entrepreneurs who meet regularly with a seasoned mentor as they grow their businesses.

Learn more about TrueTag.

Friday, September 4, 2026 - 12:00

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How a Bank of America Internship Changed the Way Pauline Lu Thinks About Technology

ag64@calvin.edu — Thu, 20 Aug 2026 20:28:00 +0000

How a Bank of America Internship Changed the Way Pauline Lu Thinks About Technology ag64@calvin.edu Thu, 08/20/2026 - 16:28

As a Business Analyst Intern at Bank of America, Pauline Lu spends her days helping one of the world's largest financial institutions navigate the complex relationship between people, processes, and technology. It is work that requires both analytical rigor and human understanding. For Pauline, those two strengths have become inseparable.

When she first arrived at ��Ƶ, she was looking for an education that would allow her to connect seemingly different interests. Drawn to computer science, entrepreneurship, and philosophy, she wanted to understand not only how technology works but also how it shapes organizations and influences the people who use it.

Today, she is applying that interdisciplinary perspective in a professional setting.

Technology Starts with Trust

Like many students interested in technology, Pauline entered the role expecting innovation to be primarily about building products and creating new solutions. Instead, she discovered something deeper.

"People have to trust a tool or product before they'll actually rely on it," she explains. "It's not just about adoption. It's about user confidence."

That realization completely changed how she thinks about technology. Rather than measuring success solely by functionality, she began paying attention to the systems that surround a product: how users interact with it, how teams support it, and whether the solution can scale effectively over time. The experience pushed her toward systems thinking, helping her see how individual decisions ripple across an organization.

Seeing the Bigger System

Many of the lessons she encountered during her internship connected with ideas she had already been exploring in the classroom. Classes in design thinking, entrepreneurship, finance, and software engineering gave Pauline opportunities to approach problems from different angles and work across both technical and business contexts.

More importantly, they taught her how to translate ideas between different groups of people, bridging conversations among stakeholders, developers, and end users.

Pauline was also struck by the scale of a global financial institution. The complexity of the teams, processes, and systems revealed just how important communication can be in a large organization. Yet one of the biggest surprises was how often success depended on asking thoughtful questions.

"So much of the work came down to requirements gathering," Pauline says. "You have to ask the right questions to stakeholders to figure out what they actually need."

She started to understand that problem-solving begins long before a solution is proposed. Effective business analysts uncover the real challenges beneath the surface and consider multiple perspectives before determining a path forward.

Technology with a Purpose

The approach also connects with how Pauline views her calling and purpose. Studying philosophy alongside technical and business disciplines has encouraged her to think critically about the broader impact of technology while remaining committed to serving others. Her faith has reinforced the importance of empathy, stewardship, and seeking solutions that genuinely benefit people rather than simply advancing innovation for its own sake.

As she looks toward graduation, Pauline is focused on a career where she can use technology to solve problems that matter. Her internship reinforced a belief that has shaped her college experience: technology is most effective when it begins with an understanding of the people it is meant to serve.

Thursday, August 20, 2026 - 12:00

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From Classroom to Career: Business Students Put Learning to Work

ag64@calvin.edu — Fri, 24 Jul 2026 15:59:22 +0000

From Classroom to Career: Business Students Put Learning to Work ag64@calvin.edu Fri, 07/24/2026 - 11:59

This National Intern Day, ��Ƶ School of Business is celebrating students who are putting their classroom learning to work in real-world settings. Through their internships, they are solving problems, working alongside professionals, and seeing what professional work looks like day to day.

An internship is often the first time classroom learning comes to life. A business analytics project becomes a dashboard used by decision-makers. A classroom discussion about leadership becomes a conversation with a supervisor.

Employers recognize the value of those experiences, too. According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), internship experience consistently ranks among the most important qualifications employers consider when evaluating candidates.

The following four stories offer a glimpse of how ��Ƶ business students are putting their learning to work this summer in project management, human resources, banking, and digital operations.

Reeja Nyachhyon: Managing the moving pieces

Reeja Nyachhyon ’27 is working as a project management intern at Vervint. In her role, she serves as the day-to-day project manager on internal and client engagements. She is also building PMO reporting and dashboards in Power BI and Azure DevOps, contributing to live client work, and supporting cross-functional projects.

The internship has shown her that project management is not only about a well-built plan. It is about momentum, follow-through, and people.

“Projects don’t move because the plan is good; they move because everybody is doing the work every day,” Nyachhyon said.

Vanessa Ortega Tierrablanca: Seeing Human Resource Management from the Inside

Vanessa Ortega Tierrablanca ’26 is a human resource business partner operations intern at Haworth. She supports employee relations, answers attendance and policy questions, helps coordinate employee events and volunteer initiatives, and works on HR projects tied to manufacturing operations.

Her biggest takeaway so far has been the importance of communication. In HR, she has learned, there is no single script that fits every situation.

“One of the most valuable things I’ve learned is how important communication is in HR,” Ortega Tierrablanca said. “Every situation is different, and I’ve learned how to communicate professionally while still being approachable and supportive.”

Drew Wood: Learning the Reach of Human Resources

Human resource management and Spanish major Drew Wood ’27 is gaining broad human resource management experience at Mercantile Bank. His work includes employee benefits, interviews, orientation, and other projects that touch many parts of the employee experience.

Wood has been surprised by the amount of trust placed in him and by how much his work can matter to people across the company. The lesson that keeps surfacing is the importance of communication.

“Everything I’ve worked on can in some way have a positive impact on someone else if I just communicate what I’m doing,” Wood said.

Eli Westra: Understanding Banking as a Team Effort

Finance major Eli Westra ’27 is a digital payments and operations intern at Mercantile Bank. His work includes online banking services such as wire transfers, ACH processing, customer online bill pay, and related digital banking operations.

The internship has helped him understand how many departments contribute to a customer’s banking experience.

“Without good collaboration between departments, customers will not experience the best banking they can,” Westra said.

Classroom Learning to Workplace Application

For these students, internships are not a pause from learning. They are where classroom concepts become real work, giving students a clearer sense of how their skills can serve people, teams and organizations.

Thursday, July 30, 2026 - 12:00

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Where Marketing Meets Public Health: Mesa Tsurho’s Unconventional Path

ag64@calvin.edu — Thu, 14 May 2026 16:34:37 +0000

Where Marketing Meets Public Health: Mesa Tsurho’s Unconventional Path ag64@calvin.edu Thu, 05/14/2026 - 12:34

Mesa Tsurho didn’t arrive at ��Ƶ planning to unite marketing and public health. But once the connection emerged, it made perfect sense.

In a strategic management class with Professor Peter Snyder, Mesa found herself drawing on psychological concepts from her public health coursework to strengthen a business project. Two interests that once seemed separate began to feel like parts of the same calling. Marketing offered the tools of strategy and communication; public health supplied the human focus. Together, they opened up a vision for how organizations can serve people more effectively and help build healthier communities.

That sense of integration wasn’t limited to the classroom. For Mesa, it also shaped her experience of ��Ƶ’s community.

“I noticed that a lot of the professors are very integrated into the ��Ƶ community,” Mesa said. “Advisors, on-campus supervisors, and professors always attended Dance Guild and Rangeela performances. The ��Ƶ community shows up for its students.”

That kind of support gave Mesa room to grow, not only as a student, but as a communicator and emerging professional.

Learning the Work by Doing the Work

Mesa began working with ��Ƶ’s marketing team through simple TikTok projects and social media ambassador assignments. Before long, her role expanded into something more substantial. She helped build content calendars, volunteered at major events like Homecoming, and saw firsthand how storytelling, timing, and audience awareness come together in institutional marketing.

As her experience deepened, so did her responsibilities. She contributed to ��Ƶ’s social media presence and eventually managed the Instagram account for Knight4Life, the student alumni association. What she gained wasn’t only technical experience. She also learned how organizations speak to different audiences, how messaging supports larger goals, and how strong communication can turn abstract strategy into something people actually feel and remember.

A Broader Sense of Calling

Mesa’s interest in health care has deep roots. Her parents worked in mission hospitals, giving her an early glimpse of both compassionate care and the practical systems needed to sustain it. That dual awareness, service on one hand and organizational thinking on the other, would later echo in her own academic path.

At ��Ƶ, that vision was sharpened by mentors who treated vocation as something more than a slogan. Mesa saw it in professors who invested in students beyond class time and paid attention to the interests taking shape in their lives.

“The professors are motivated by vocation and a sense of calling,” Mesa said.

For her, that wasn’t an abstract idea. It showed up in tangible ways: faculty attending performances, encouraging students’ interests, and helping turn possibility into action through introductions, affirmation, and practical next steps.

The Next Chapter

Now, just after graduation, Mesa is already carrying that momentum forward. She has accepted a position at Massachusetts General Hospital as a clinical research coordinator and plans to pursue graduate study in both business administration and health administration.

It’s a fitting next step for someone whose college experience was defined by connection: between disciplines, between strategy and service, and between personal ambition and a larger sense of purpose. What once seemed like an unlikely pairing now feels like the foundation of a meaningful career.

Thursday, May 14, 2026 - 12:00

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Honoring the Class of 2026: Excellent, Engaged, and Faithful

ag64@calvin.edu — Fri, 08 May 2026 13:50:56 +0000

Honoring the Class of 2026: Excellent, Engaged, and Faithful ag64@calvin.edu Fri, 05/08/2026 - 09:50

Honoring the Class of 2026: Excellent, Engaged, and Faithful

It’s celebration time! Last night, the School of Business honored its senior class at the annual Senior Salute. Over a casual dinner, students and professors shared conversation, expressed gratitude, and marked one final evening together before commencement on Saturday.

During the event, we presented the 2026 Excellent, Engaged, and Faithful Awards. These awards honor graduating business seniors whose academic achievement, wholehearted involvement, and faith-informed character will leave a lasting impression well beyond graduation.

The Excellent Award recognizes top academic achievement within each business major, determined by cumulative GPA.

Accounting

Gavin Anderson
Joel Hoekwater
Michael Morris
Hans Pruis
Carter Sacks
Megan Vanderwal

Business Analytics

Seth Buit

Entrepreneurship

Ellie Batts
Melissa Scholten

Finance

Hans Pruis
Carter Sacks
Josh Stob

Financial Planning

Gavin Anderson
Peter DeKruyter

Human Resource Management

Oyintariebi Gbeworo
Hannah Williams

Marketing

Ellie Batts
Janae DeLong
Melissa Scholten

Operations & Supply Chain Management
Samuel Cho
Damon Haveman

The Engaged Award honors students who invest deeply in learning through teamwork, leadership, student organizations, internships, and service in the community and church.

Ellie Batts
Keegan Hall
Melissa Scholten
Peter DeKruyter

The Faithful Award recognizes students known for integrity, dependability, and a desire to model Christ in their lives and work.

Joel Hoekwater
Anton Gill
Jeremiah Joseph
Hannah Williams

Friday, May 8, 2026 - 12:00

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