Taking care of business
Anyone who knows me knows that I love taking selfies. Who doesn’t love holding that smartphone and taking as many shots as necessary to get that perfect, flattering angle and lighting?
So, of course, I was game when I walked into Fanautical, an apparel store, and saw the invitation from a fish called Louie. The four-foot-tall re-creation of the store’s logo stands near the entrance with a sign that asks customers to take a selfie with him, post it on social media and get a 15 percent discount.
The idea came courtesy of Wheaton students, who offered Fanautical owner June Wooding strategies to draw customers during their “Marketing” course, which is part of the college’s newest major, business and management.
Louie also doubles as a costume that can be worn to draw attention during events at the busy Foxboro, Mass., location, which is just steps from where the Patriots football team plays and a few miles from campus.
“It’s a cute way to get people involved, get the word out about the store and for people to interact,” says Wooding, noting that she appreciates the recommendation that appeals to customers in the students’ demographic group.
Louie is just one creative idea students have been sharing with local businesses in the area as part of the business and management major. In this issue of the Quarterly, our cover story explores how Wheaton’s interdisciplinary approach to the major is helping to create well-rounded leaders and is contributing to an entrepreneurial culture on campus.
And speaking of business, this issue also includes profiles on two alumnae/i who are taking care of business in their own ways.
Kathleen “Kathy” McNally Sloane ’68 is doing that in New York as a successful real estate agent with an impressive list of clients, including a certain First Family, for whom she helped find a home on more than one occasion.
There is also Derron “J.R.” Wallace ’07, a faculty member at Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass., who has made it his personal business to contribute to increasing equity and justice in the world.
His list of accomplishments when he was a student here at Wheaton and those he has racked up since graduating are so impressive that it inspired our freelance proofreader to include a note to me along with her corrections:
“I remember reading about him when he was an undergrad,” she wrote. “Is he a real person? Does he have a sense of humor? How does one raise a child who can accomplish this? (Rhetorical, all, I know.)”
Yes, Susan, he is real. Real intriguing, real passionate about making a difference, real humble. And his 100-watt smile still powers a quiet charisma that always draws attention wherever he is.
Treasure hunt
Also throughout this issue of the magazine are some great quotes within the stories. Here are a few nuggets. Can you find them? Consider it a treasure hunt:
- “If they said life would be about the belt, it became about the belt.”
- “When the producer Mac Gostow started toward me with the award, I tried to move because I thought I was blocking the way.”
- “It seems fitting to me that she should be memorialized on her rock, and that her story should live on.”
- “I’m convinced there were ghosts; my co-worker Josh says otherwise.”