The Business Opportunity Program (BOP) was led by Dr. Cornell A. Bell for 37 years and renamed in his honor in 1996. Purdue awarded Bell an honorary doctorate of management in 2007 for his contributions to higher education and society. (Photo by Mark Simons)
Family first
For Candice Hall (BS ACCT ’03), commercial finance leader for national accounts at STANLEY Security, the Dr. Cornell A. Business Opportunity Program is all about family.
“As a young girl growing up in Flint, Michigan, I realized early on that education was the key to a successful future, and Purdue made my list of potential colleges,” Hall remembers. “On my first visit to campus, I immediately knew this was the college for me, but I still had lots of questions. Could I afford out-of-state tuition? Would I make new friends? Who would help me if I was sick or in trouble? How would I fit in at a predominantly white university? Would I be smart enough to graduate?”
When Hall returned to the West Lafayette campus for a second visit, she met Bell and learned about BOP. Her many questions were soon answered.
“While my mother’s eyes lit up at the opportunity for scholarship, I saw the opportunity to be part of a family,” Hall says. “During my four years at Purdue, I experienced everything I wanted and more. I made lifelong friends who have seen me at my best and my worst, yet still love me. I was mentored by BOP alumni whose advice was instrumental in helping me achieve my personal and professional goals. Perhaps most importantly, I met my husband (a fellow BOP alumni) and started a family.
“BOP has been instrumental in shaping me into the woman, friend, mother, professional and wife I am today. It gave me a family that I will forever love and cherish.”
Making connections
When asked about what he enjoyed most about his time at Purdue, Carlos Banks (BS ACCT ’08) — like many Boilermaker alumni — is quick to cite the benefits of a large, diverse Big Ten university with a strong academic reputation. But more than anything, he points to the Business Opportunity Program.
“While in my last year of high school in Indianapolis, I was considering a handful of schools including Purdue when I received a call from Dr. Bell suggesting (in his notoriously persuasive tone) that I come for a visit,” Banks recalls. “From the moment I arrived, the sense of community was unlike anything I had seen at other schools.
“Throughout the weekend, current BOP students took me on class visits, tours of the residence halls and other facilities, and talked about class and professor suggestions. But more importantly, I had a lot of closed-door, one-on-one chats that really make you feel a connection with a person. My decision to come to Purdue was made.”
Banks, who now serves as an assistant vice president at Genpact, says BOP became interwoven in nearly every aspect of his Purdue experience.
“My BOP classmates and Dr. Bell himself advised me on courses I should take and provided support,” he says. “The first leadership position I took on at Purdue was in the Society of Minority Managers, an organization closely tied to BOP. Alumni from the program came to Purdue to recruit as well as provide career guidance and interview prep. Even today, I can honestly say I may not be a Purdue alumnus without BOP.”
