The Welch Experience
We asked our extensive network of alumni and employers what they look for when they hire college students for internships and careers after college.
We took their answers and created The Welch Experience. This comprehensive approach to business education will build on the existing curriculum of excellence from inside the classroom by delivering the essential skills you need to:
- Build your network of professionals and mentors
- Develop your identity and skills as a leader
- Discover exciting career opportunities you never knew existed
- Gain valuable skills and certifications needed to differentiate yourself in the marketplace
- Participate in high-impact, hands-on professional development programs
- Travel abroad and learn how to navigate and thrive in different cultures
- Develop the skills and experiences needed to communicate your professional story
Here’s how. The opportunities listed here are just the beginning. In the first year, Sacred Heart’s faculty, administration, alumni, and employer network will seek to educate the students inside and outside of the classroom and inside and outside of the country.
Student Leadership Positions
When preparing for your career, nothing can compare to the value of experience. That's why the Welch Experience offers more than 100 paid student leadership and research positions at every level within the Jack Welch College of Business & Technology. We develop students as leaders through positions such as:
- Welch Corporate Structure, which offers student positions in marketing, finance, events, and human resources with team leads and members creating the Welch Experience for themselves
- Welch Mentor Program, which consists of more than 60 paid sophomores, juniors and seniors with a diversity of majors and student involvement who provide mentorship for incoming first-year students
- Mind Your Business Pre-Fall Leaders, who help plan and lead a weeklong Pre-Fall program for incoming first-year students to get acclimated to life at Sacred Heart, while meeting local alumni and employers, and presenting to faculty
- Research Assistants, who expand their knowledge in each academic program by partnering with faculty to research and present findings
All of our student leadership positions are focused on giving students experience related to their chosen field, connecting them with their career and building their résumé over each year at Sacred Heart. Applications for each position open during our February Recruiting month, followed by real individual or group interview experiences for chosen candidates.
Networking
There aren’t many professionals who have their jobs because they took a class on the subject. Professionals rely on personal and professional networks for recommendations, mentoring, advice, jobs, and other developmental opportunities. Students have access to faculty, staff, alumni, employers, other students, and community members to guide them on their journey. We teach networking through all aspects of the Welch Experience; whether it is with food at our annual networking etiquette reception or ice cream social, or with golf balls at our annual student-run golf tournament, meeting alumni, community members, and faculty outside of the classroom is prioritized throughout the Jack Welch College of Business & Technology.
Speakers Series & Corporate Visits
One of the most important things our students can do to open pathways to the future is to meet people. Through our corporate visits and guest speaker events, our students can see what life is like across different industries and environments as they are introduced to those spaces by professionals who grant them that access and offer valuable connections. We make sure to provide a diversity of working environments and professionals for students to explore how concepts they're learning in the classroom are used in the working world. An emphasis is placed on students learning how to follow up with these experiences and use them to connect on a personal level to companies and employers.
Golf
The Welch Experience includes free golf lessons every fall and spring as well as the Welch Cup, our annual networking golf scramble tournament. This knowledge about the sport is intended to open doors in the professional world for our students and help them practice engaging with diverse stakeholders, following up after, and connecting what they learn to their future career opportunities.
Digital Resources
The Welch Experience ensures students have access and ability to embrace cutting-edge technology across all our academic programs by offering digital resources and training. While these are updated every year, resources include but are not limited to:
- Access and training to Bloomberg applications and physical terminals for all students in the WCBT
- Licenses to Fluid Focus, an app that rewards students through vouchers and charitable donations for shutting down notifications and prioritizing focused study habits
- Free LinkedIn Learning courses on coding, leadership development, Excel, and more
- Digital access to leading financial information and resources through Barron’s in Education and multiple academic journals with dedicated library staff
- Tools to assist students in many academic and professional presentations including Pitch Vantage
Excel Certification
All WCBT students can earn their Excel Level I and Level II Certifications. Finance and accounting majors complete the certification as part of their academic experience, while students in other majors can enroll in a one-credit course focused on Excel training and certification preparation. WCBT also offers a course designed to prepare students for the Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) Excel Expert certification. Students who develop advanced Excel and analytics skills through these courses have gone on to compete and succeed in national and global Excel competitions. The WCBT is proud of SHU’s continued success in the Microsoft Excel Collegiate Challenge (MECC), with teams qualifying for the annual MECC Las Vegas Finals every year since 2024. In the 2025 competition, SHU ranked No. 4 globally and will continue competing in MECC events, including the 2026 competition.
Study Abroad and Welch Waiver
Employers know you will be working with customers, clients, and coworkers from around the world. A global experience is critical for your development, so we make it as accessible as possible. Students in the Jack Welch College of Business & Technology can use the Welch Waiver to cover tuition for one study abroad experience. We offer many short-term programs across our majors at our SHU Dingle campus, as well as specialized programs in Milan, Paris, Rome, China, and more!
Advising and Student Success Team
The Jack Welch College of Business & Technology has a dedicated academic advising and student success team to help each student from their first day at Sacred Heart to graduation. Our academic advisers are solely assigned to first-year students in the WCBT to help them navigate changing majors, choosing classes, navigating challenges, supporting professional development, and more.
The Jack Welch College of Business & Technology has a dedicated academic advising and student success team committed to supporting students from their first day at Sacred Heart through graduation. WCBT first-year students are paired with an academic adviser who helps them navigate their college experience, including selecting courses, exploring majors, addressing challenges, and developing academic and professional goals.
Learn more about the academic advising and student success team and the support available to WCBT students.
Career Development & Readiness Course
Serving as a prerequisite for our required internship, all sophomores are required to enroll and complete a comprehensive course designed to introduce students to the fundamentals of planning and organizing their job search strategies. The course stresses the value of the Jack Welch College of Business & Technology in the labor market and develops job search skills that will be useful throughout life.