The Office of Diversity and Community hosted a zoom event titled “Networking with a Pro: Entrepreneur Edition” Thursday night featuring UCA alumni speakers Candace Marie and Rachel Whitfield.

During the event, Marie and Whitfield shared their stories of creating their respective entrepreneurial businesses.

Marie, an Oklahoma native raised in Arkansas is a social media consultant in the luxury fashion industry. Marie founded ‘Black in Corporate,’ a resource for black individuals in the corporate world to, as the website says, “not only exist but to thrive in your work environment.”

A native of Arkansas, Whitfield works at Delta as a revenue analyst, looking at growth in the industry. After crafting her own spices to cook around the onion allergy she developed while in college, Whitfield created ‘Chef Curl Ardee.’

While most people believe they will work in the field they majored in, neither Marie nor Whitfield’s self-made businesses are in the fields they studied. Marie majored in finance, but now works as a social media consultant. Whitfield majored in economics with a minor in applied mathematics and now owns a spice blend brand, but still uses her education at Delta.

Marie and Whitfield were both sure to emphasize the importance of the connections you make in college and how they play out in the working world. Marie said that it is very important to be careful about who you have around you so that you are not held back from your true potential. “It’s okay to sever certain relationships,” Marie said.

After meeting while attending UCA, Marie and Whitfield have continued to work together regardless of their businesses being in very different fields. While working with Beyoncé, Marie was able to put in a good word about Whitfield’s Chef Curl Ardee spices. Beyoncé later shouted out the spice line when the singer highlighted certain black-owned businesses. Whitfield saw large sales increases, a great example of how networking has important benefits in the entrepreneurial world.

Whitfield is able to help Marie in her fashion industry work, too. Since Whitfield works at Delta, she is able to get inexpensive flights so Marie can attend important fashion events.

Even for writing resumes and practicing interview questions, Marie and Whitfield have been able to help each other. “We went into interviews and excelled,” Whitfield said. Whitfield sees the importance in surrounding oneself with supportive people.

While Whitfield’s friends were going out for happy-hour every Tuesday and Thursday, she was staying home to research how to market her spices. “I could have gone to those happy hours but there would be no business. That’s the simplest way to put it,” Whitfield said.

Angela Jackson, the Associate Dean and Director of the Office of Diversity and Community, said, “latch onto people who have the same goals and visions.” Marie and Whitfield are great examples of how sticking with supportive people can create a mutually beneficial relationship, both inside and outside of the business world.

Marie can be found on social media @marie_mag_ and her website candacemarie.co. Whitfield can be found @chefcurlardee on all platforms or her website chefcurlardee.com.

The Office of Diversity and Community’s next event will take place on April 8.

The Networking with a Pro series was brought back for the first time in over 10 years last month on Feb. 18 for a tech edition.