New job shows value of BHSU degree for graduating senior

Headshot - Cayley Schmitt

Cayley Schmitt business administration

major from Tea, started her full-time job

at Spearfish Economic Development

Corporation April 1. She graduates from

Black Hills State University May 8.

Black Hills State University graduating senior Cayley Schmitt from Tea is already using her college degree on the job at Spearfish Economic Development Corporation (SEDC) where she started working April 1, a month before her official graduation from the university.

A political science and business administration major, Cayley studied the effects of political decisions and stimulus checks on a struggling economy in her courses. She never imagined she would be dealing with those same concepts in the first days of her professional career.

“The coronavirus is affecting Spearfish directly right now. It’s affecting jobs, businesses, the whole community, and that’s what I get to work with here at SEDC,” says Cayley.

As the Marketing and Administrative Coordinator, Cayley is responsible for administering office operations and supporting SEDC’s marketing strategy and implementation. The mission of SEDC is to grow the Spearfish community by expanding business development and job creation.

Cayley’s path to landing her full-time job started when she chose her focus area as part of the business administration degree at BHSU. The university offers 7 business specializations. Cayley chose a specialization in economics and finance.

“I got curious about finance and investing. I talked with Dr. Greg Farley, dean of the College of Business & Natural Sciences, about revamping the Investment Club,” says Cayley.

Cayley and the Investment Club members worked with the BHSU Foundation to invest $25,000 in long-term stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. Each year the Foundation plans to donate a portion of the investment profits to deserving Investment Club members in the form of scholarships.

The BHSU School of Business AACSB Accreditation was one of the main reasons Cayley chose to attend college in Spearfish.

“I liked that Spearfish is small and inviting, with many outdoor activities,” says Cayley. “BHSU is more affordable that other schools I was looking at, being a South Dakota resident, and has AACSB accreditation, which most other schools I was looking at did not.”

When Cayley first arrived on campus in 2016, she joined the BHSU Triathlon team. After two years as a scholar-athlete, she decided to work in the community. She landed a job at Pioneer Bank & Trust as a teller, and when she decided to focus on economics and finance in her courses at BHSU she began working with the investment department at Pioneer Wealth Management.

“I couldn’t have gotten this job at SEDC without what I learned in college,” says Cayley. “My degree at BHSU set me up perfectly for working in public finance and with government entities – it set me up for what I’ll learn and use here in this position.”