Coffee Talk: RachelKate chats BSC, Spears Business

Thursday, December 14, 2023

On this episode of Coffee Talk with Avery, I'm chatting with RachelKate Puckett, a junior studying International Business and Management Information Systems (MIS). 

Puckett served as a member of the Business Student Council (BSC) for two years, and now she has the role of Professional Development Executive for the club. In this position she coordinates bringing in speakers from various industries to educate BSC members about career opportunities and professional development. Recently Puckett invited Jim and Kim Allman, who are chief human resource officers in Dallas, to speak with BSC. 

Puckett interned at Paycom in Oklahoma City over the summer. Spears helped prepare her for this role in many ways.

“Spears helped me a lot just preparing myself to work on a team," she said. "It was a very professional corporate setting, and that was my first time being part of something like that, which was super cool. The school equipped me with skills like proactiveness, innovation and problem solving that really helped me within my time at Paycom.”

As well as being involved on campus, Puckett was able to spend Spring of 2023 in Spain studying abroad. 

“It was an awesome experience," Puckett said. "I was living in a home in Spain, which was super cool. I immersed myself within the culture, practiced my Spanish, and saw a lot of Europe.” 

Studying abroad can be expensive, and Puckett attributes the scholarship opportunities at the university for her ability to study in Spain. Through the CAGLE Center at Spears, students can find various short-term study abroad opportunities all over the world. At the OSU Center for Global Learning students can find additional long-term study abroad trips. 

As a highly involved student, it can be hard to manage time commitments and responsibilities. To stay organized Puckett put in an effort to maintain her schedule.

“One of the main things that I go to is a color-coded calendar," she said. "I am not naturally super organized, but I've kind of had to teach myself and force myself to be able to do all the things that I'm doing.” 

The Spears School of Business motto is “Power of Personal” because personal connections are paramount, and academic and professional excellence are strengthened by interpersonal skills. A Power of Personal moment is one where a personal relationship led to personal or professional growth and development. 

“Throughout my time here at Spears, I've had so many connections throughout the school, with professors and different advisers," she said. "The most personal moments and ones that I remember are with students. I remember my freshman and sophomore year, there were older students I connected with, and they just really poured into me and encouraged me to continue developing myself professionally and helped me get to where I am today.” 

As a freshman, it can be daunting to start getting connected on campus. As a previous first-year student, Puckett advises putting yourself out there and meeting everyone you can. 

“Of course, freshman year is scary," said Puckett. "There's so many new things to do. I would really encourage you to just apply, apply for everything. Try as much as you can, especially at the beginning of your freshman year. And then you kind of begin to develop your skills and figure out what you like and what you don't like. Then you can start to specialize and go from there. Just meet everyone, be as friendly as possible and try everything.” 

Thank you for joining me, RachelKate. We'll catch you on the next episode of Coffee Talk with Avery! 

Story By: Avery Rusell | avery.russell@okstate.edu