Business and Technology Week Exposes Students to Industry Leaders
From Emmy-winners to successful business leaders and alumni who once sat right where they were, students at Lander were inspired to succeed during the 2026 Business and Technology Week.
Hosted by the College of Business and Technology, the week of events brought a slate of speakers to campus to speak about their careers and their journeys toward success.
The week was sponsored by UHY, a global accounting firm with an office in Greenwood led by Josh Garvin, who spoke during one of the events.
Garvin spoke to students about his beginnings in accounting and the importance of relationships and communication.
Garvin and a business partner opened their own firm in Greenwood, navigating the challenges of creating a business, workplace culture and taking on business needs such as hiring.
That firm was recently acquired by UHY, and Garvin explained the benefits: more technology and expertise, plus opportunities for employees and clients. He also talked about the challenges, such as added structure and working to keep the workplace culture that was cultivated.
Garvin left the students with a few pieces of advice. The first was communication. Skills are important, he said, but everyone you’re competing with for a spot will have the same skill set. “What sets you apart, in my opinion, is being able to have conversations, build relationships and carry that into whatever the next iteration of yourself may be,” he said.
Another piece of advice he had was stay curious and stay relevant, mentioning artificial intelligence. His final piece of advice was to take smart and calculated risks.
“You’re going to fail, but fail fast and fail forward,” he said.
Other speakers included Rob Sheridan, a Grammy-nominated visual artist and creative director; Bo Rogers, CEO of Infinity Marketing; and Ken Woo, Emmy- and Peabody-winning cinematographer and a member of the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame.
Students also heard from recent alumni in business and applied computing about their careers and the internships and opportunities that most benefited them.
“Business and Technology Week is an opportunity to connect what our students are learning in the classroom with what is happening in the professional world,” said Dr. Lloyd Willis, dean of the College of Business and Technology.
“We want students to hear directly from people who are actually leading, creating and solving problems in business and technology. A lineup like this exposes students to different careers, different perspectives and different paths to success. We hope they leave with practical insights, new connections and a broader sense of what they can do with their education.”