Category: Events

Huskies Place First, Second in THEProject Competition

by Roger Woods, College of Business

Students in OSM4350 Advanced Project Management, led by Roger Woods (COB), participated in the 12th annual Western Michigan Project Management Institute (WMPMI) collegiate project management competition — known as THEProject — where they took home first and second place.

The teams gave their final presentations Monday (April 8) in Hudsonville, Michigan.

The Project, Team Name:  Anchor Management
Photo credit: THEProject
Team Name: Anchor Management
Photo Left to Right: Travis Puesel, WMPMI THEProject Director with MTU Students: Easton Armstrong, Meredith Raaslo, Jacob Maurer, Blake Lewis, William Zinser, Alexander Bos

Students on the winning teams include:

  • First-Place Team — Anchor Management:
    Jacob Maurer (team lead), Blake Lewis, Easton Armstrong, Alex Bos, Will Zinser and Meredith Raasio
  • Second-Place Team — Lake Superior Salute:
    Gregory Lapetina (team lead), Connor Zavislak, Ethan Kennedy, Maggie Gallup, Ashley Haen and Simon Karnoe
THEProject Team Lake Superior Salute
Photo credit: THEProject
Team: Lake Superior Salute

A Kalamazoo Success Story for MTU’s DECA Chapter 

by Dylan Dunneback

Earlier this month, 11 members of the Michigan Tech Collegiate DECA chapter attended the State Career Development Conference in Kalamazoo, MI, to compete in three different types of events: individual, team, and prepared business plans. In addition to the competitions, the MTU DECA Chapter also made tie blankets for charity. 

DECA students holding awards.

Below are the students who participated, as well as the events in which they placed: 

  • Jaylen Body (Marketing & Management): Finalist, Hotel & Lodging
  • Veronica Frystak (Marketing & OSM): 2nd place, Fashion Merchandising and Marketing
  • Dylan Dunneback (Marketing): 1st place, Restaurant and Food Service Management
  • Allyana Grochowski (General Business): Finalist, Human Resources Management
  • Zach Hooper (MIS & Engineering Management): Finalist, Entrepreneurship Operations
  • Sammy Perrone (Marketing): Finalist, Fashion Merchandising Marketing
  • Ethan Semenchuks (Engineering Management): 3rd place, Sales Management and Leadership
  • Gavin Walters (Engineering Management): Finalist, Marketing Management
  • Joe Anthony (Electrical Engineering)
  • Wilson Yax (Finance)
  • Isaac Pilgrim (Finance)

The following teams also placed:

  • Joe Anthony and Gavin Waters placed 3rd in their team event, Business to Business Marketing
  • Dylan Dunneback and Allyana Grochowski placed 2nd in their prepared business plan event, Digital Marketing Strategies
  • Jaylen Body and Veronica Frystak placed 2nd in their team event, Entertainment Marketing
  • Zach Hooper and Sammy Perrone placed 3rd in their team event, Marketing Communications.

Jaylen, Veronica, Dylan, Allyana, Zach, Sammy, Ethan, Gavi, and Joe all qualified for the International Career Development Conference in April 2024 in Texas. 

COB Marketing Students Excel in Regional Marketing Competition

Michigan Tech’s AMA (American Marketing Association) students recently participated in the largest regional AMA conference held at the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater on October 26 and 27. The twenty AMA members from diverse academic backgrounds, including Finance, Accounting, Supply Chain and Operations Management, Management, and Marketing, competed with approximately 300 students from 25 national and international universities across six competition categories.

AMA students. Photo credit Dr. Junhong Min

Excelling in all categories, particularly in four prominent categories were:

  • AcuRite Digital Marketing Strategy Competition: 1st place was Lydia Sterly (marketing) and David Miller(marketing)
  • Sherwin-Williams Design Competition: 2nd place was David Miller(marketing), Stephanie Franco (marketing), Veronica Frystak (marketing)
  • Henry Schein Mock Interview Competition: 2nd place was Jaylen Body (management and marketing).
  • Colony Brands and Carol Wright Marketing Strategy:  2nd place was Nicholas Pate(marketing), Max Schramm (accounting), Veronica Frystak (marketing)

Nicholas Pate, the AMA President, expressed his enthusiasm, stating, “This past week was amazing – to be able to grow my marketing skills and learn a little bit about the future of AI and how it will play a role within the workplace. “Special thanks to Junhong Min, Matthew Monte, and Dan Green for providing unique insight and guidance on how to successfully execute within multiple marketing and sales competitions.”

Nicholas Pate, the AMA President, expressed his enthusiasm, stating, “This past week was amazing to be able to grow my marketing skills and learn a little bit about the future of AI and how it will play a role within the workplace.” He also states, “Special thanks to Junhong Min, Matthew Monte, and Dan Green for providing unique insight and guidance on how to successfully execute within multiple marketing and sales competitions.”

Dr. Junhong “Jun” Min, the advisor of AMA at Michigan Tech, shared his thoughts, saying, “This year, there was an almost two times increase in student participation compared to the previous year in the 2023 UWW marketing competitions. I hoped that the students would prioritize enjoying the new learning experiences over solely focusing on winning. Nevertheless, the Michigan Tech AMA students demonstrated remarkable self-motivation, an incredible dedication to competitions, and a strong sense of teamwork, assisting each other in securing victories in the competitions. I was very thrilled when Michigan Tech was announced eight times during this year’s AMA award ceremony.”

Max Schramm, Veronica Frystak and Nicholas Pate

President’s Award for Leadership Goes to Aerith Cruz

President Richard Koubek stands to the left of student Aerith Cruz
Cruz, pictured here with University President Richard Koubek, also served as co-host of the 29th annual ceremony.

Management information systems (MIS) major Aerith Cruz, a 2020 Chaska High School graduate, is the 2023 recipient of the President’s Award for Leadership, presented annually to one Husky selected from a pack of nominees who provide exemplary leadership to peers through activities at Michigan Tech. At the Student Leadership Awards Ceremony on April 14, Michigan Tech President Richard Koubek honored Cruz with the award. The annual event celebrates and recognizes leadership, excellence, kindness, and achievement.