SC State kicks off 54th annual Business Week with wellness message from First Lady Conyers
ORANGEBURG, S.C. -- South Carolina State University’s College of Business and Information Systems kicked off its 54th Annual Business Week 2026 with an engaging lesson in personal wellness from SC State First Lady Agatha Conyers.
Held under the theme “Next is Now: Building the Future of Business & Leadership,” the weeklong series of events began Monday, March 23, to prepare students to lead in an evolving global economy through hands-on experiences, industry engagement and personal development.
Conyers was a special guest speaker during a “Pilates for BusyBodies: The Burnout Reset” session held in collaboration with the university’s Counseling Center in the Kirkland W. Green Student Center on Monday.
The First Lady spoke on the importance of personal wellness, including giving her audience of business students lessons on how to manage stress and eat and drink healthier.
Students learn valuable lessons
Joel Mendoza, 20, a junior business management major from Maryland, said Conyers’ speech was motivating and meaningful.
“Her point pretty much was to, one, not sit around. It’s kind of hard, or we often find ourselves sitting around or overeating or indulging in sugar instead of feeding our appetite with books or with knowledge,” he said.
Mendoza said it was important to know that some things in life were worth letting go.
“It’s about changing our mindset from being so close-minded to positivity, understanding that this is just a moment in our life, and that this isn’t what’s going to always be. Things do change overtime. Go into things with your faith and the Lord on your side,” he said.
La’Shay Gore, 22, a senior business management major for North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, said she often had problems with acceptance, but found guidance from the First Lady’s speech.
“I’ve seen that a lot of our stress comes from overthinking. So, acceptance is really the key to a lot of that. That really hit me hard because I’m an overthinker. I’m usually the planner of the people I’m around for everything. So, a lot of stress is put on me a lot of times.”
Gore said she was also motivated to continue her journey toward eating better.
“It’s very important to control what you put in your body and how much because eating too much of a good thing can be bad, too,” she said.
SC State First Lady shares lifelong lessons
“I think it’s important, like I told my own children, that you prioritize your list. And if you are in fact that type of person that waits until the last minute -- because some people do -- you want to make sure that the list of the things that you have that are not as important as the thing that you really have to get done are done before the last minute,” Conyers said.
“To mitigate stress, you want to make sure that you prioritize your list and organize it so you won’t have the stress of the outside other things that you should have done earlier,” she said.
Conyers is a 1986 graduate of SC State with a degree in mechanical engineering. She went on to earn a master’s degree in human services from Liberty University.
The Hampton, South Carolina, native’s professional career has included her service as a senior manufacturing engineer at Freightliner Custom Chassis Corporation, patent examiner at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and liaison engineer at the Department of the Navy, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Conyers has also served as a substitute teacher in the Department of Defense School at Ft. Bragg.
She said life was not without stress as she balanced her professional career along with being a mother and wife, but that acceptance was the key to it all.
“Managing stress really has to do with acceptance because sometimes a problem that seems so huge, or it just seems like it’s bigger than life, it’s really just the dread. Don’t let the dread of it all cause you more stress than necessary,” said Conyers, who said stress sometimes arises when she considers the work that must go into the care of her mother who has dementia.
She encouraged the students, however, not to worry about things they can’t change.
“Don’t worry because it’s the worry of the situation and the dread of the situation that brings you down. Most times all the things that you were worried about, or you were dreading won’t ever, ever happen,” Conyer said.
She said mindful eating and drinking, including reducing sugar, is also key to physical well-being.
“The food that we eat is not always on our side. I was reading something where it said that people today eat 10 to 20 times more sugar than 50 years ago,” Conyers said, noting that drinking more plain water -- and not flavored or “water with gas” -- was also key.
“And then the second thing is that you must move. If you have a class on one end of the campus, maybe decide not to drive that car,” she said, but talk a walk instead.
Conyers fielded several questions from the audience, including those on how important her faith was in maintaining physical wellness.
“I think a lot of what happens has to do with acceptance. Obviously, you don’t have to take the first no. You don’t even have to take the second or the third no, but it comes to a time where you have to decide, ‘OK, this is the reality of this, and so I need to just accept it and move on,” she said.
“I think a lot of people hold on to things that we can’t change. When you hold on to things that you can’t change, what is that? It just creates more and more stress,” the First Lady said.
“I’m a person of faith, and I just believe that God made us all perfect and whatever gift I have to share with the world, no one else can share that but me. So remember acceptance is everything,” Conyers said, who also stressed to students to not be afraid to seek help when it is needed.
“If you are overwhelmed, or you feel you need to talk to somebody about some things, don’t be afraid. Reach out to the Counseling Center if in fact you need that assistance,” she said.
Students, for example, can call the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988, which provides 24/7 support for mental health issues. For urgent medical concerns, they can also contact the Orangeburg County Dispatch Office at 803-533-6275.
Dean touts learning beyond classroom
Dr. Matthew Guah, dean and director of the Master of Business Administration in the
College of Business and Information Systems, said the weeklong series of events was
designed to help connect students with industry leaders, service opportunities and
career preparation resources.
“It’s mainly to bridge the gap between business theory that we teach them and the
application of what we teach them in the real world. Mrs. Conyers is one of the highly
intelligent people on campus and a great leader. Students don’t quite often have an
opportunity to hear from her,” Guah said.
An Executive Speaker Series and a visit from industry professionals, including representatives from MB Kahn Construction Dynamics Inc. and Boeing, were also among the week-long activities of Business Week.
“We want to expose students to the current trends in industry, and these people can give that to them rather than what we’re telling them,” Guah said.
“Finally, we want to foster a good relationship between the university and the community and industry and, of course, increase our partnerships as we build our students to become great leaders,” he said.