Category: Student Spotlight

Student Impressions: Summer Study Abroad Germany

Students in Germany with MTU flag
For three weeks over summer 2023, a group of Michigan Tech students across majors experienced Germany’s supply chain and logistics systems.

The second-annual faculty-led study abroad to Germany, hosted by Dr. Ulrich Schmelzle, assistant professor of supply chain and operations management, exposed Huskies to new cultural and industrial experiences that shape their personal and professional worlds. Read a recount of their travels:

Second-Gen Involvement = Sweet Success(ion) for Family Business

strawberries
Following a bountiful strawberry season, Heidi’s will bring sweet cherries and blueberries to market. (Image courtesy Heidi’s Farmstand and Bakery)

Second-generation family businesses play a crucial role in family-owned enterprises’ stability and growth. As highlighted in the Harvard Business Review, the second generation can make or break a family business’s future. While they inherit a legacy, they also face extraordinary challenges, such as managing relationships, implementing changes, and establishing their own identity. Research from the Smith Family Business Initiative at Cornell emphasizes that only about 30 percent of family businesses survive into the second generation. This brings to focus the importance of effective succession planning. Second-generation family business leaders can create a lasting and prosperous tradition by leveraging their inherited wisdom and adapting to market changes. 

Ivy Stoller in front of Husky statue
Ivy Stoller ’23 celebrates earning her Michigan Tech degree. (Image courtesy Ivy Stoller)

As a native Michigander, Ivy Stoller was born in downstate Lowell and made the trip up north to Houghton to pursue her education. Ivy graduated from Michigan Tech with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting, concentrating in data analytics, in the spring of 2023. During her time at MTU, Ivy was active in various clubs and student organizations. She participated in Kappa Sigma Iota (KSI Accounting Club) and was a member of the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program helping with tax returns for fellow MTU students and local community members. Additionally, Ivy was a member of Beta Gamma Sigma, an honor society for business students. Beyond academic achievements, Ivy cherished her time at Michigan Tech as a period of personal growth and building lifelong friendships. 

Ivy’s family owns a business called Heidi’s Farmstand & Bakery located on 30 acres in southern Lowell. The family farm was founded in 1949 with many functions: raising cattle, running a dairy operation, and growing corn, soybeans, and wheat. Its business operations were started in 2006 by Ivy’s parents in collaboration with her mom’s brother. Later in 2007, the business was sold to Ivy’s twin uncles. Now, since Ivy has graduated, the family plans on changing it to a joint venture between the uncles, Ivy, and at least one of her siblings. 

Marketing Major Named MTU Leading Scholar

Ruby Walker
Ruby Walker will study marketing at Michigan Tech beginning in fall 2023.

Incoming College of Business marketing major Ruby Walker has been named a recipient of Michigan Tech’s Leading Scholar Award, the University’s premier competitive award. The Leading Scholar program recognizes incoming first-year Huskies who best exemplify leadership traits and scholarly achievement in and outside the classroom.

Husky Teams Sweep State Project Management Competition

Group photo of Team “HACME” at THE Project project management competition
Representing Michigan Tech in first place of THE Project—Team HACME—L to R: Mithil Masutage, Keith Wallace, Shivkumar Gaikwad, Anastasia Motta, Andrew Kleehammer, Benjamin Leinonen, Liam McDonough, Roger Woods (Photo courtesy THE Project)

Michigan Tech teams earned both first and second place in THE Project 2023, a semester-long project management competition sponsored by the Western Michigan Project Management Institute. Finals were held last month at the Pinnacle Center in Hudsonville, Michigan, where Huskies went up against competitors from Ferris State University, Grand Valley State University, Hillsdale College, and Western Michigan University.