Business students put skills to the test in out-of-class competitions

For students in the School of Business, learning doesn’t stop when they walk out of the classroom. The school offers its students numerous opportunities to take part in out-of-class business competitions. These activities provide students with the chance to test their newly acquired skills and knowledge by attempting to solve real-world problems. It’s all part of a culture in the school that values active student engagement within and outside the classroom.

This past semester alone, several groups of TCNJ business students have competed against each other as well as against their counterparts at other schools of business. Here is a brief summary of some of these experiences.

Lion’s Apprentice

The Entrepreneur Club Consulting Group took home the $500 top prize in the third annual Lion’s Apprentice, which took place throughout the fall semester. Modeled after the Donald Trump show The Apprentice, the TCNJ version creates an environment where “business gets real,” said Patty Karlowitsch, manager of operations in the School of Business. The teams in TCNJ’s competition cater to real clients by participating in real-world challenges, which help develop teamwork, presentation, analysis, and networking skills.

Clients this year included the Trenton Devils hockey team, the Credit Union of New Jersey, the Trenton area Habitat for Humanity and Pantaluna. At the conclusion of each challenge, the client chooses the winner and the winning team receives a prize.

Flamur Rama, senior political science and economics/finance double major, George Guhr, senior international business and economics double major, and Sherry McKeever, senior marketing major, made up this year’s winning team.

Rama described one of the projects the team worked on. “We started off with the task of helping the local Trenton Devils hockey team get TCNJ students out to hockey games. We came up with the ‘Devils’ Experience,’ which entailed the Devils’ picking students up, driving them to the game, then to a night spot…and then back to campus.”

“I felt that [the Lion’s Apprentice Program] tested and demonstrated my competency as a business person and my ability to compete. It was an amazing experience and I bonded with my teammates along the way,” Rama said.

Serving as judges for this year’s competition were Alfred Pelham, associate professor of marketing; Lorraine Allen, director of TCNJ’s Small Business Development Center; Joanne Savino, director of marketing of the Savino Financial Group; and Jason Akers, financial representative at Savino. The judges graded each team on its presentation skills, grasp of the material, organization, analysis, persuasiveness, conclusion, and the quality of slides/handouts.

Fed Challenge Team

TCNJ’s Fed Challenge Team earned Fourth Place–Honorable Mention at the College Fed Challenge Second District Semi-finals on November 16. The team consisted of seniors Jonathan Campos, accountancy and finance double major, and Flamur Rama, political science and economics double major; sophomores Matt Ravaioli, accountancy and finance double major, Manan Sampat, biology and economics double major; and junior finance major Brian Yarzab.

TCNJ’s team was awarded $5,000, which includes $2,000 for the team and $3,000 for the School of Business.

The College Fed Challenge is intended to help students become more knowledgeable about the Fed and the decision-making process of the Federal Open Market Committee, the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy-setting group.

RBI National Sales Challenge

TCNJ School of Business students placed fourth out of 17 university teams competing at William Patterson University’s Russ Berrie Institute National Sales Challenge this past November 8-10. Senior Jacqui Town (marketing and professional selling major) and juniors Allen Soriano (biomedical engineering and professional selling double major) and Stephanie Cwynar (marketing major) represented the College at the competition, which was held at William Paterson University. Town placed sixth overall out of 46 students competing in the competition.

“The opportunity to compete in three real-world business situations was invaluable. I learned so much [more] about myself as a salesperson than I ever could have in a classroom,” Town said of her experience.

“The RBI National Sales Challenge was truly an amazing experience,” Cwynar added. “Not only did we participate in a great hands-on experience, we were able to meet employers and students from all around the country.”

TCNJ’s team competed against teams from schools with larger sales education programs. The students against which Town, Soriano, and Cwynar competed typically had completed four to six sales courses, and were in the top one percent of 175 to 350 students majoring in sales at their respective institutions. When you consider the fact that Soriano and Cwynar had completed only one sales course, and Town was in the middle of her first sales course, at the time of the competition, it makes TCNJ’s showing in the competition that much more impressive.

The team was coached by Al Pelham, associate professor of management and marketing.

The College began a professional selling minor program three years ago. The program is one of only 27 Chally Verified university sales programs nationally. To date, 15 students have enrolled in the program or indicated intent to enroll. A small number of marketing majors have chosen sales courses for their emphasis area.

The goal of the RBI National Sales Challenge is to promote the sales profession by providing students the opportunity to demonstrate their skills and capabilities in a series of sales challenges.

PwC xTAX Competition

The Pricewaterhouse Cooper xTAX (short for extreme tax) learning experience is designed to foster interest among students in the world of tax and provide them with exposure to a “real world” tax case. In 2006, over 1,100 students from 30 colleges and universities participated.

This year was the first time that TCNJ students competed, and 30 students from the College took part in the challenge. The $1,000 first prize for teams from TCNJ went to Team Dilbert, whose members were Rachel Fetterman, sophomore accountancy major; Matt Hiznay, junior marketing and digital arts double major; Steve Kocher, sophomore accounting major; Paul Staunton, sophomore accountancy and finance double major; and Alison Weld, sophomore accountancy major.

Hossein Nouri, professor of accountancy, served as the adviser for the event.