When she asked her friends if she was always serious, a unanimous “yes” came from all of the club members. Elizabeth Lightkep, president of the Bucks Business Association, has always been about business. Elizabeth’s mother, Claire, confirmed that she was “all business all of the time.”
At the age of eight, Lightkep was already playing the role of a businesswoman. On a camping trip in Ocean City, NJ, she made her dad take her to KFC, over and over again, because they had something called “laptop lunchboxes” at the time. That particular vacation, LightKep spent all of her free time in their RV talking on her fake phone, with her plastic laptops open around her, pretending that she was a business lady.
Lightkep admits that she has been organizing things every since she was little girl. She has always been crossing her T’s and dotting her I’s, and now, as a business student, she’s learning to watch her P’s and Q’s.
On the evening of Thursday, April 7, the Bucks Business Association hosted their second annual Business Etiquette Dinner where about 40 people, both students and staff, were taught how to properly navigate their way through a delicious three-course meal that was catered by CulinArt.
The evening began in the Lobby of Tyler Hall with a chance for all attendees to get free professional headshots taken. Once inside, everyone was sat at an assigned seat in front of a place setting that was far more sophisticated than the typical knife, fork, and spoon setup.
The evening included speakers such as, local business leaders Patrick Zuccarini, of River Restoration LLC, and David Witchell, of David J. Witchell Salon in Newtown. The business department unveiled the professional makeovers given to the two winners of the second annual “Dress for Success” essay contest. The 300-word essay asked one question: “How can making a good first impression aid you in reaching your business goals?” Maddynn Towle and Ryan Aly came out sporting their new hairstyles and business suits, compliments of their makeover packages, estimated to be up to 1,000 dollars each.
The informative presentation called “You Can Outclass the Competition” was given by business etiquette expert, Deborah Firth. Attendees learned “basic guidelines to make it more comfortable for you.” Firth explained, “Take the path of least resistance, but keep it comfortable. It’s more about being kind and considerate.”
Everyone was taught basic manners from greeting to eating, simple tricks to memorization, and even given brief history of silverware. Originally silverware was worn on a sheath as a part of one’s garment.
The BBA Secretary Arseni Sutton, 19, explained the importance of these events. “It gives people the basic knowledge of how to properly conduct themselves at a formal business event.” Sutton mentioned how students often forget the information that they retrieve out of their textbooks. “This is useful. You can implement it in the real world,” Sutton added.
Lightkep believes that it is very important “to help business students successfully navigate a three-course meal” and plans to keep this as an annual event offered each spring semester. Sutton says that he is determined to better advertise next year’s event in hopes of attracting students from other majors.
In “The Taming of the Shrew,” Shakespeare wrote, “Frame your manners to the time.” The rules of etiquette are unwritten and have to be adjusted as time goes along, but it is good to know the basics because a person can only effectively improvise as long as they have a reference point to start from.