Students advise Washington, D.C. area Non-Profit Agency
DELAND, Fla., February 9, 2021 – Stetson University students were named winners of the Capitol Hill Bracket of the 17th Annual McDonough Business Strategy Challenge held this past week at the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University. This international competition brings together top business school students from around the world with consulting professionals to provide non-profit organizations in the Washington, D.C. area with innovative solutions to real-world challenges. This year, the other bracket winners included University of Toronto, Maastricht University School of Business and Economics, and Singapore Management University.
Team members included Bec Hett (team captain), senior Human Resource Management and Religious Studies major, Amandine Louis-Charles, junior International Studies and Accounting major, Matthew Clements, senior Finance major, and Mark Manglardi, senior Management major. Faculty advisors for the Business Ethics Case Competition (BECC) Team are Dr. Jim Beasley, Dr. John Tichenor, and Dr. Areti Vogel, with Tichenor serving as the lead coach for this competition.
“Participation in the Georgetown Competition was an experience that will benefit me for the rest of my professional career,” said Louis-Charles, who is from Bradenton, Florida, and is pursuing dual degrees from Stetson with majors in Accounting and International Studies. “The opportunity to sharpen my research, analytical, presentation, and problem-solving skills in a competitive environment will give me an edge in a job market where employers are seeking persons with this kind of training.”
The Stetson team competed against four other teams in the Capitol Hill Bracket, including Babeș-Bolyai University of Romania, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, University of Calgary, and ESADE Business School. Each of these schools has award-winning business case competition programs and Stetson was truly up against the best in the world.
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“This intellectual challenge moved me to a new level in the development of skills that will undergird my continuing professional development,” said Manglardi, a Management major from Winter Park, FL. “While the preparation was intense and challenging, the opportunity to compete on an international stage was very rewarding.” Matthew Clements, senior Finance major and punter on Stetson’s football team from Melbourne, Australia, said, “I had a fantastic time working on the case and it was an honor to collaborate with my teammates. I’m excited to continue developing and honing my talents with the team in upcoming events.”
Stetson was the smallest university to field a team in the international competition and the only U.S.-based school to make the finals. Other U.S. schools in the competition included Emory University, Florida State University, Georgetown University, Oakland University, and The George Washington University.
Teams were given a real-life business case and 28 hours to develop a solution. This year’s case was based on D.C.-based non-profit organization GOODProjects which works to transform poverty-dense communities into GOODZones (communities where 100% of families sustain annual incomes of $80,000 or more). As the GOODProjects organization is experiencing a critical growth stage, the teams were challenged to develop a business plan to help the organization assist more families to escape the cycle of poverty. The teams developed their plans based on a thorough analysis of the financial, market, and managerial aspects of the organization and then delivered a 20-minute presentation on their plan and recommendations and answered intense questions from business professionals in the D.C. area. The lead sponsor of the competition, PNC Bank, which is also a major sponsor of GOODProjects, provided judges for the competition.
Bec Hett, this year’s captain of the BECC, said, “The business ethics team has been a tremendous growing experience for me during my time at Stetson. This case truly challenged our analytical skills for a meaningful cause. I am looking forward to seeing how the business ethics team continues to excel in the future!” Bec joined the team in her sophomore year at Stetson and has competed in multiple competitions across the country, representing Stetson extremely well.
“The outstanding performance of Amandine, Bec, Mark, and Matt on this international stage is both illustrative of the capability of our students and illustrative of the core values of the University,” said Tichenor, associate professor of management and holder of the Eugene M. Lynn Chair of Business. “Our students continue to embrace and apply the values of integrity, responsibility, and fairness in their analysis of real-world business issues. This is one of the many ways we give our students opportunities for experiential learning beyond the classroom walls.”
About Stetson University
Founded in 1883, Stetson University is the oldest private university in Central Florida. Stetson focuses on intense learning experiences in a supportive community that allows students to develop their voice in a connected, inclusive environment. Stetson University ranks No. 5 on U.S. News & World Report’s 2019 list of Best Regional Universities (South) and has been recognized as one of The Princeton Review’s 385 Best Colleges, 2020 edition. Stay connected with Stetson on social media.
