Southeast Missouri State University student publication

Dr. Vargas talks business with Alpha Kappa Psi

Wednesday, August 31, 2016
University President Carlos Vargas talks with a student after his presentation at the Alpha Kappa Psi rush event.
Photo by Katelyn Mary Skaggs

Dr. Carlos Vargas, Southeast Missouri State University’s president, spoke to students at an Alpha Kappa Psi rush event about skills needed in business after graduation to be successful on Tuesday night in Dempster Hall.

Vargas started out by giving a short timeline of his education and how he worked his way up to become a president of a university. He shared personal experiences from his past and skills he uses in his position at Southeast.

He talked about how his father taught him skills needed in business growing up.

“I remember him saying to me, ‘Well, in the business world it really doesn’t matter if your idea is very good. If you do not administer your business well, you are not going to be successful,’” Vargas said.

One of the main skills Vargas talked about was being a problem solver.

“It really is important, I think, for you to realize that when you graduate from college you're going to get a job and people are going to be expecting you to solve problems,” Vargas said.

Kelsey Irwin, a senior and member of Alpha Kappa Psi pursuing a major in marketing management, said what stood out to her about Vargas’s talk was the skills needed in business.

“All the skills that he was saying we needed, when I am applying for jobs right now, those are all the skills that are on the basic qualifications,” Irwin said. “So it really stood out that what you do learn in college is really important.”

Vargas also talked about certain skills known as “soft skills.” He said these skills were being prompt, being ready for meetings, learning a second language and knowing how to work in a diverse workplace. He talked about a survey by the American Association of Colleges and Universities that asked employers what they are looking for in graduates.

“They ask them what they need in a college graduate and what they need is precisely what I am just telling you,” Vargas said. “They want someone who can communicate, they want someone who can work with others, they want someone who is able to be in the room, talk to people, network, they want someone who can write. These kind of skills are absolutely important to you.”

In attendance were Alpha Kappa Psi members, prospective members and other students. Rebecca Manetz, president of Alpha Kappa Psi, senior who is majoring in finance, was at the event.

“I really liked that he talked about soft skills,” Manetz said. “That really is very important — how to work with a team, communication, all that stuff, we are very focused on that in our organization.”

Manetz said every year Alpha Kappa Psi has a professional speaker come out for one of it’s rush events.

“This time we wanted to get someone who was very well known around campus and we took a long shot and asked Dr. Vargas to come and he kindly accepted our invitation,” said Manetz.

Vargas also answered questions from students about the process of getting the job as president of Southeast, his goals for the future of the university and how he spends his free time.

“There is one particular goal that I have for the next three, four years. Besides others, the prominent one is to increase our retention rate and also to increase our graduation rate,” Vargas said.

Vargas said the retention rate currently is at 73 percent and he hopes to bring it up to 80 percent. He also said the current graduation rate has been at 50 percent for six years and he hopes to bring it up to 60 percent in the future.

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