Students in U of A's Walmart Mentoring Circle recently spent a day touring and meeting with leaders at Walmart and Sam's Club corporate headquarters.

The students are all apparel merchandising and product development majors in the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Science's School of Human Environmental Sciences.

Students visited with Jennifer Ginsberg and team in human resources and talent acquisition, and listened to an executive panel discussion by Jillian Cueff and Berch Schultz on Walmart culture, Matt Duhon and Nevada Efird from merchandising, Elizabeth Jehl on digital growth and expansion and Avinash Bhaskar, Martin Siganoc, Christie Englander and Scott Simpson on private brands and product development.

They also participated in a resume workshop, shadowed associates and visited with senior vice presidents Leslie Leonard and Ryan Waymire.

The Sam's Club visit included a presentation by Matt Bettinardi, Toni Ryle and Cassandra Trexler, a U of A graduate of the apparel merchandising and product development program.

The circle is led by Sam's Club executives Jehl, Kelsey (Casey) Turner and Makenzie (Simpson) Elmore. Turner and Elmore are also graduates of the program.

Senior instructor Stephanie Hubert is the adviser for the club and led the group, along with associate professor Laurie Apple and teaching assistant professor Lance Cheramie.

The Walmart Mentoring Circle was established in 2016, primarily for apparel students with interests in business, Walmart and the apparel industry.

About the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences: Bumpers College provides life-changing opportunities to position and prepare graduates who will be leaders in the businesses associated with foods, family, the environment, agriculture, sustainability and human quality of life; and who will be first-choice candidates of employers looking for leaders, innovators, policy makers and entrepreneurs. The college is named for Dale Bumpers, former Arkansas governor and longtime U.S. senator who made the state prominent in national and international agriculture. For more information about Bumpers College, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter at @BumpersCollege and Instagram at BumpersCollege.

About the University of Arkansas: As Arkansas' flagship institution, the U of A provides an internationally competitive education in more than 200 academic programs. Founded in 1871, the U of A contributes more than $2.2 billion to Arkansas' economy through the teaching of new knowledge and skills, entrepreneurship and job development, discovery through research and creative activity while also providing training for professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the U of A among the few U.S. colleges and universities with the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the U of A among the top public universities in the nation. See how the U of A works to build a better world at Arkansas Research and Economic Development News.