The Godbold College of Business Alumni Board and Group, launched in 2018 with help from alumni Seth Cranfill and Lucas Beatty, offers special events for graduates.
The group’s purpose is to bring awareness of happenings in the College of Business, to create networking opportunities for alumni and students and to help grow the College of Business programs.
Both Cranfill and Beatty received their bachelor’s and master’s degrees from GWU. “We had a great college experience with the fun things we did and the memories we made,” Cranfill reflected. “We came together and thought it would be beneficial to the University, to us, to alumni and current students to help with fundraising, networking and event planning.”
As a finance major at Gardner-Webb University, alumnus Lucas Beatty learned about the business environment and investment resources. He liked working with numbers and wanted to help people manage their money. When he began working as a financial advisor, he realized his GWU classes had also given him helpful interpersonal skills.
“I started to realize that being in a small school and actually talking to the professors face-to-face every day, really set me up to have good conversations and be able to present ideas to people,” Beatty observed. “I am comfortable speaking in front of people now, because I did it so many times in front of the professors.”
Beatty was recruited to play for the football team as an undergraduate and was eligible to play one year as a graduate student. He received his bachelor’s in 2014 and his Master of Business Administration in 2016.
He appreciated the real-world experience of the professors in the Godbold College of Business. While discussing topics in class, they could give examples from their days working in the corporate world. He also liked the camaraderie among the business professors. “They laughed together and had fun working together,” he reflected.
Beatty, who lives in Gastonia, N.C., works for Thrivent, a Christian financial planning company. He stays in touch with his professors and returns to campus to help with programs. He and his former roommate, Seth Cranfill, have worked with Mischia Taylor, dean of the College of Business and instructor of marketing, to launch and plan activities for a College of Business alumni group.
Besides business alumni and former teammates, Beatty made friends all over the GWU campus. “My brother and sister went to a big school,” he related. “The relationships I have with people who were not on the football team or who didn’t play a sport, or who were on different teams are much stronger than what my brother and sister have with people from their school. When I talk to people about Gardner-Webb, I tell them, ‘The time passes so quickly that you are really going to value the relationships you build.’”
Recruited to play football on a full scholarship to Gardner-Webb University, Seth Cranfill thought he knew the career he wanted to pursue. After studying various subjects through the University’s liberal arts core curriculum, Cranfill discovered his interest in business and decided to change his major. Once he got to know more of the faculty in the Godbold College of Business, he realized he had made the right decision.
“It became apparent to me that this was a world I wanted to live in,” Cranfill reflected. “It made going to grad school and getting my Master of Business Administration (MBA) really easy.”
He earned his Bachelor’s in Business Administration in 2014 and his MBA in 2016. He was hired before completing his master’s. “I came out (of GWU) in a great place,” Cranfill observed. “I knew how to speak with people, and I knew how to present myself in a business setting, which is really half the battle.”
He works in wealth management, and while his classes gave him the skills to be successful in his career, Cranfill also values the relationships he made at Gardner-Webb. “I met some of my best friends—my brothers now,” he related. “We had a great college experience with the fun things we did and the memories we made. We established some lifelong relationships.”
One of those friends is Cranfill’s college roommate, Lucas Beatty. Strangers when they arrived on campus to play football, the two roomed together for over five years. Now, they live in different states—Cranfill in Florida and Beatty in North Carolina—but they are helping Mischia Taylor, dean of the College of Business and instructor of marketing, launch and plan activities for a business alumni group.
“We came together and thought it would be beneficial to the University, to us, to alumni and current students to help with fundraising, networking and event planning,” Cranfill explained. “We want to bring awareness to the great programs available at the business school.”
Godbold College of Business hosts first annual “Golfcart Karaoke” in an effort to encourage others to give back to GWU on Double Dawg Day. This year alumni and friends helped the college of business with the furthest away gift (Australia) and the social media selfie (Future Dawgs).
Thank to all coaches, faculty and staff for participating in the fun of “Golfcart Karaoke”. Special thanks to President Downs for allowing us to borrow his golf cart!
For more information about the alumni board and group, contact Mischia Taylor at 704-406-2324 or email [email protected].