Students in the College of Management are forming an advisory board to help connect the campus community.

Matt Williams, a senior in business management and in charge of the Student Advisory Board, said it will also give management students new pride and identity. He also said the board began as a project in a marketing class.

Shannon Davis, associate dean of undergraduate programs at the COM said last spring, the COM was pushing its new branding campaign to employers and alumni to show the quality of students in the college. She said instead of hiring another marketing firm to take control of it, COM made it a project for two senior-level marketing classes.

According to Williams, he was the leader of the class’s portion of the project, and Paula Kroustalis, an alumna, was in charge of the other.

Davis said the classes held The Real Deal Field Day to help introduce the COM to employers. She said after the success of that project, the students wondered, “How is this going to continue?”

According to Williams, Kroustalis, along with Peyton Holland and Jamie Rochelle, both seniors in business management, decided to build a Student Advisory Board to continue student involvement in the COM. He said they are still in the planning stages of constructing the board, but they are meeting with Davis next week to “get the wheels moving.”

They have been working with alumni to learn how to start this board, also making sure it does not infringe upon the actual Student Government, according to Davis.

Williams said the Student Advisory Board will serve to “represent the voice of the students to the college and the voice of the college to the students.”

He said many students did not feel the COM had a proper identity, and the board will raise pride in the college among students.

Davis said the board could help all students with specific needs. She said sophomores may need assistance with study abroad programs, and juniors need to make sure they have a sense of community as they are focusing on their majors.

The College of Management is the newest college on campus, according to Davis. She hopes the board can establish rites and rituals that can bring alumni back to help current students.

Williams said this project has become a great experience.

“You learn a lot in class, but you need to know how to apply it too,” he said.