Bentley University President Alison Davis-Blake joined organizational experts Ryan Quinn (University of Louisville) and Shawn Quinn (University of Michigan) for a symposium to help students learn how to make a positive impact on those around them, including fellow students and future colleagues. The symposium, which was moderated by Dean of Students Andrew Shepardson, was part of a week-long celebration of the inauguration of Bentley’s eighth president, Alison Davis-Blake.
The symposium encouraged students to recognize the energy they can bring to the workplace by energizing themselves, promoting a sense of belonging among co-workers, and practicing gratitude in ways that can be as simple as saying “thank you.”
“All of you hold more power than you may believe in the way you impact people’s lives around you,” Shawn Quinn told a packed hall of students in Bentley’s Wilder Auditorium.
The message resonated with students.
“Attending the student symposium was an eye-opening experience,” said Kyrsten Arnold ’20. “In the business world, it sometimes seems like money is central. While that’s important, Shawn and Ryan Quinn and President Davis-Blake reminded us of the power of positivity and wanting to make a difference in the world. Do what you love, energize people, make a positive impact on others’ lives, and the money will follow.”
Watch the Video of the Student Symposium
Zera Mathai ’21 said the symposium helped her think of a better approach to starting an internship or new job. “It helped me realize that you don’t need to know everything before you go into an organization because you go there to learn. The only way you can learn is if you bring a positive attitude and energy to the table.”
Jack Lindberg ’21 said the symposium reinforced to him that what you say to other students or colleagues may have more impact than you think. “I learned about the power of a positive attitude,” he said.
The symposium for students was part of a week-long series of inauguration activities for the Bentley community, with events designed for students, faculty and staff leading up to the installation ceremony for President Davis-Blake on October 19. For more information, visit the Inauguration Schedule of Events.
About Shawn Quinn
Shawn Quinn coaches executives and their teams and is an instructor in the Executive Education Program at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business. He teaches courses on leadership, change and innovation. He also plays a key role at the university’s Center for Positive Organizations, which in 2012 was awarded the Research Center Impact Award in recognition of its major impact on real world management practice. He has consulted with companies such as General Electric, Coca Cola, Telefonica O2, American Express, Reuters and the U.S. Army. He has also helped develop and run the Competing Values Change and Innovation Assessment with more than 100 teams and organizations.
About Ryan Quinn
Ryan Quinn is an associate professor of management at the University of Louisville’s College of Business. He is an expert in change management, conversations and positive organizational scholarship, with research focused on unleashing human and organizational potential. He has also served on the faculty at Washington University, Brigham Young University and the Darden Graduate School of Business. As principal of Lift Consulting, an organization created “to help productive organizations become extraordinary,” he worked with the Center for Positive Organizational Scholarship at the University of Michigan on research, teaching and consulting, and has helped many organizations to apply the principles of positive organizational scholarship.