05/2/08

Four Baker University business students returned home from Erie, Penn., with more than just a smile on their faces.

Seniors Robert Fulbright, Jenny Hall and David McCain and junior PJ Matulka won first place and $500 for their case study analysis after attending the 2008 Midwest Decision Sciences Institute Conference.

The conference, held April 17-18, required the students to prepare a case study and PowerPoint presentation.

Kevin McCarthy, professor of business and economics, traveled with the students in full support of their case study and witnessed the outcome of the presentation.

“The students put together a 10-page case study regarding ways to find a solution to entrepreneurial finance situations,” McCarthy said. “With three other teams present in the conference, we knew there was going to be some competition.”

Fulbright said a lot of research and preparation was put into the paper, making it easier to present the PowerPoint and answer questions from the panel of business judges.

“Each person came up with a different solution for our topic, entrepreneurial finance, and was able to incorporate them into our paper,” Fulbright said. “I thought we had a good team where everyone knew what they were going to talk about and was able to answer questions quickly about the paper if necessary.”

The quality of the paper paid off for the team as they walked away with the accomplishment of winning first place.

“I was very happy to find out our team got first place because we were up against three other schools that had to do something similar to us,” McCain said. “For all of the work we put into writing the case study and preparing for the presentation, I definitely think it paid off – in more ways than one.”

After answering a number of questions regarding their presentation, McCarthy said he was very impressed by how well the students were able to speak in response to the judges.

“I would think the way they all answered the questions from the panel was by far one of our strong points,” he said. “It was a good opportunity for the students to test their wings off campus at an event where they need to compete in a strong, timely manner.”

As for the competition as a whole and the experience the four students had in being a part of the conference, McCarthy said they would always be able to carry it with them.

“Winning the competition was such a great way to show the recognition for both the students involved and Baker University as a whole,” he said. “I am so proud of them for their accomplishments with regards to the conference, and they earned exactly what they were awarded.”