Students train Delta Center employees
Business students are getting real world experience thanks to collaboration between the Delta Center and Utah State University’s College of Business.
“Students really get into it,” said Robert Mills, an associate professor in the College of Business.
Each year, 12 USU students are asked to develop training methods for Delta Center employees, Mills said. While the College of Business collaborates with other companies, Mills said the Delta Center projects are huge because students are able to work directly under a vice president and general manager.
“Because they are working with top-notch people, expectations are high so quality is required,” Mills said.
Delta Center employees are trained according to the plans developed by students, and “mystery shoppers” from California are sent to evaluate the employees and make sure they are adhering to their training, Mills said.
Projects have included evacuation training, point of sales (using the cash registers) and general customer service.
Working on the Delta Center projects have become so popular that Mills had had to start taking resumes in order to choose the 12 students who are able to participate in these projects.
Nanette Sorenson, a former student of Mills, built an intertactive point of cell system training for the Delta Center in 2003.
“This experience influenced my life by giving me hands-on experience,” she said. “It helped me learn to deal with clients, build a quality portfolio and it helped lanch my decision the the graduate program.”
Sorenson said her motivation to do a good job didn’t just stem from wanting to provide a good service for the Delta Center.
“This was a huge client and his [Mill’s] reputation was based on how well we did to keep the strong relationship that we have with the Delta Center.”
Mills has been a professor at USU for seven years.
Among awards he has received are the Golden Mouse Award and USU Teacher of the Year.
Mills credits any success to the students he has worked with.
“My awards come out of the projects, they’re simply recognition for the students efforts,” he said.
-megan@cc.usu.edu