Last Call started as a cold call. David Rhoades ’94 read about Matt Laszlo ’92’s work as a Beloit College Executive-in-Residence in the Beloit College Magazine and gave him a call, decades after their last meeting. Rhoades and Laszlo had known each other as Beloit College students, originally meeting when Laszlo was Rhoades’ resident assistant in the residence halls. After reconnecting, Rhoades and Laszlo discovered that their careers had focused on the same kind of relationship development, strategic vision, team leadership, and entrepreneurial spirit. They found their way to each other through the Beloit College School of Business and the Executive-in-Residence program, a signature Beloit College resource and powerful career tool that connects students to experienced executives.

Beloit College Executives-in-Residence teach courses in their areas of expertise and provide advising and career coaching to current students. Rhoades was looking for a way to give back, after a long career built on his undergraduate degree—a bachelor of arts in creative writing and communications with a minor in journalism from Beloit College—and a master’s in business administration from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business. Returning to the Beloit campus to observe Laszlo’s classes, he saw an opportunity. “Twenty five years of experience enabled me to develop marketing competencies that are foundational and useful for students to learn.”

While completing his MBA at Indiana University, Rhoades worked on real-world marketing challenges in a program led by an Indiana alumnus. This experience was meaningful — and replicable at Beloit, with the real-world marketing experience Rhoades and Laszlo each brought with them. Together they considered how a similar practicum experience might work at Beloit College. Sociology, psychology, creative arts, graphic design — the new course brought disciplines together to answer two questions: 1) What is a real challenge or opportunity for the college that marketing could help solve? and 2) What would be an engaging and meaningful learning opportunity for students?

“Previously conducted research showed that Beloit College outperforms the national average for sense of belonging,” Rhoades explained, “but we — Matt, myself, the students, and Dean of Students Ron Watson — recognized the importance of this measure and wanted to strengthen it at Beloit.” The new capstone course they designed, Marketing Practicum, filled with students from diverse experiences, majors, interests, and personalities, each ready to navigate campus challenges and possible approaches with their perspective as students.

“Students thoughtfully considered what they learned from the research to deliver elements that contributed to driving a sense of belonging,” said Rhoades. “Everything was built around driving a sense of belonging.”

In their ‘Board Room,’ as Rhoades and Laszlo called their class, they followed the students’ lively discussions around tables in room 301 of the Sanger Center for the Sciences. Students assumed the role of consultant and expert, thriving on the high level of accountability as they developed their marketing skills. “It’s been different than any class I’ve ever taken in college. It’s the closest I’ve felt to the real world,” said Helmi Kawsar ’27. “They recognize our work, and structure the class around it. We’re treated like adults.”

Rhoades and Laszlo spent hours before and after class incorporating their students’ analysis of setup, distribution of amenities, coordination with college leadership, site selection, and marketing strategies. In turn, students interpreted quantitative survey data, ethnographic research, and findings from focus groups they conducted and used frameworks built from the executives’ years of experience. “The examples Matt and Dave provided were compelling and aided our learning,” said Christian Moore ’27. “We were the marketing firm hired for a job, but we were also the target audience with tremendous insight into what we could change.”

Throughout the semester, Rhoades met with students in and outside the classroom, scheduling business lunches and participating in mock interviews, in addition to co-teaching the marketing practicum course with Laszlo. Students responded to challenges and made adjustments, benefiting from Rhoades’ and Laszlo’s guidance, as they designed a celebratory event designed to bring all of campus together on the last day of classes, named “Last Call.”

When it was time for Last Call, the entire campus community answered. Hundreds of participants enjoyed the student-led event, creating more firsts than lasts, starting conversations and making connections into the early hours of the morning.

 

“Beloit College has made a tremendous impact on my life. The leadership experiences I gained here helped me to believe that I was capable of achieving more than I had thought previously and encouraged me to push outside of my comfort zone,” said Rhoades.

Rhoades’ return to campus as an Executive-in-Residence helped students better see what they are capable of, increasing their confidence to pursue success for themselves, fulfilling the promise of that first call.