Michigan Tech College of Business Newsblog

Category: Announcements

Captain Amanda Nerg ’10 Recieves Michigan Tech’s Outstanding Young Alumni Award

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Nerg, Amanda Capt photoThis award is presented each year to alumni under the age of 35 who have distinguished themselves in their career. The award recognizes the achievement of a position or some distinction noteworthy for one so recently graduated.

Captain Amanda (Taylor) Nerg ’10 believes in leaving a place better than when you arrived.

“Your actions will affect those around you and you can be that guiding force in creating a better future for those who come after us.”

For Nerg attending Tech was coming home. During her childhood, she lived near Tech while her mom served as the commander for the Air Force ROTC. “When we moved I missed everything about the area. When I began my search for a college, I only applied to one school, Michigan Tech. It was exciting to return to the place I had once called home.”

Nerg received a bachelor of science degree in business administration in 2010. In 2014, she earned her master of business administration at the Naval Postgraduate School.

She says the training she received at Michigan Tech prepared her for a career in the Air Force. Her first assignment she served as a contract administrator at Grand Forks Air Force Base in North Dakota where she managed a $7.6 million architect-engineer services program.

“Michigan Tech instilled a passion for innovation and creative thinking. The Air Force ROTC program guided me to become a strong leader and follower in the military. Alpha Gamma Delta taught me the values of living with purpose and impacting the world. Every class, every extracurricular activity provided the foundation for who I am today.”

Nerg is the Chief of Contracting Office at Moron Air Base in Spain, where she supports multiple Air Force, Marine, and NATO missions. While working on her master’s degree at the Naval Postgraduate School, she says her analytical background from Tech calculus and statistics classes helped create her thesis on geospatial information systems (GIS) and their use in humanitarian and disaster response, developing a transportation routing model for fuels distribution.

She says she has many fond memories from Tech include meeting her husband, Steve Nerg ’11. The couple has been married for more than six years.

Tech helped Nerg discover who she wanted to be. “Everything you do and have done at this university has shaped you into who you are today. Aspire to be your best and do your job with integrity and passion.”

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Student Chapter (Branch) of ASQ

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The American Society for Quality, an international organization promoting quality management and continuous improvement, has approved a Student Chapter (Branch) of the American Society for Quality at Michigan Tech.

We are the first chapter in Section 1014 representing northern lower Michigan and the Upper Peninsula. The founding membership has 17 student members. The major objectives of the chapter are to promote professional certification, foster a culture of lifelong learning and to connect students with chapters across the country as they transition from student life to their chosen careers.

We are especially thankful to Lisa (Gippert) Smith ’98 (ME) for her work in getting the chapter established. We are also thankful to Don Brecken and Nicole O’Reilly from American Society for Quality, Milwaukee. Three of the 17 members have completed the ASQ Six Sigma Yellow Belt Certification. There are several more who will take the exam in May 2018.

The founding officers are

Stephen Butina, President

  • Management major with a concentration in Supply Chain and Operations Management
  • Hometown: Painesdale, MI

Tim Bart, Vice President

  • Engineering management major
  • Hometown: Brighton, MI

Kelby Chrivia, Treasurer

  • Engineering management major
  • Hometown: Hale, MI

Gabriela Mayorga, Secretary

  • Engineering management major
  • Hometown: Grand Rapids, MI

Dana M. Johnson (SBE) is the advisor for the organization. She is a Senior Member of ASQ.

In the Fall semester, the organization will actively begin recruitment of students. The organization is open to all students including undergraduate and graduate students. Any interested students should contact Stephen Butina or Dana Johnson.

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2018 Sam Tidwell Outstanding Man and Woman in Business

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Each year the School of Business and Economics recognizes two students who bring honor and pride to the school through high scholastic achievement and involvement. Students eligible for this honor went through an intense interview process that included an essay and interview with faculty.  This year 4 men and 7 women applied.

We are pleased to announce the 2018 winners: Joe Platz (accounting) and Emma LaFleur (engineering management).

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Project Management Institute Competition

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Each year Michigan Tech’s OSM4200 Advanced Project Management course competes in the West Michigan Chapter of the Project Management Institute (PMI) competition in Grand Rapids Michigan.  This year, two Michigan Tech teams competed: “Lettuce Taco ’bout Food Waste” and “Squash the Waste”.

This year’s project plan was to design, create and package an educational program that draws current practical information from the national, state, and municipal levels to show what people can do to reduce food waste. Michigan Tech’s “Squash the Waste” placed 3rd out of 8 teams in THE Project 2018 project management plan competition on Monday, April 9.  The team’s mentors were Ginger Connin and Thomas Conquest.  Roger Woods, Senior Lecturer was the team’s Project Champion and Faculty Advisor. The team members were:

John Carey: undergraduate student – engineering management major

Shelbie Koenitzer: undergraduate student – management major with a concentration in entrepreneurship

Emma LeFleur: undergraduate student – engineer management major

Austin Riipli: undergraduate student – engineering management major

Nihar Brahmbhatt: graduate student in electrical engineering

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Incoming Marketing Student Qualifies for Business Professionals of America Nationals in Dallas, Texas

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MENOMINEE — The Menominee High School Business Professionals of America (BPA) team has its second student in six years be a national qualifier.

Senior Coleton Kotecki, president of Menominee’s chapter of BPA, is the school’s sole qualifier for nationals, which will be held May 8-13 in Dallas, after placing at state in Grand Rapids, Mich.

“I’m honored to be able to represent Menominee, the U.P. and Michigan because I’m only the school’s second national qualifier in the past six years,” he said.

Kotecki competed in the category of extemporaneous (extemp) speech. In this event, participants are given limited-preparation time to develop a speech based. Topics in BPA extemp tend to be focused on business aspects.

“BPA’s extemp category is very similar to impromptu speaking,” he said. “First, I go to the prep room. I have eight cards lying face down with business related topics on the other side. I choose two of them, not knowing what the topics are. Once I see the topics I have to choose one of the two to give my speech on.

“I am provided with three index cards. I’m not allowed to use any references besides my brain. I have 10 minutes to prepare my speech. Once my time is up, I must deliver a two-to-four minute speech relating to my topic to a panel of two to three judges.”

The first competition the team attended was the Regional Leadership Conference at Bay College in Escanaba, Mich. At regionals, he placed first.

“The top four at this event move on to states,” he said. “Roughly 25 students compete at this level.”

Those students who made it to state competed at the State Leadership Conference at the Amway Grand Hotel in Grand Rapids.

“I competed against 40 kids at this level and the top three made it to nationals,” he said.

Kotecki will be competing against 77 students from 25 states and Puerto Rico in a little over a month.

“It’s going to cost about $1,400 for my advisor (Mary Fay Daigneau) and I each to go,” he said. “The National Leadership Conference is not only a great honor to be a part of, but it’s quite expensive.”

IMG-0507Kotecki is in need of donations in order to compete in Dallas.

For those interested in donating to help him make the trip, contact Kotecki at 715-923-6778 or koteckicoleton@gmail.com or Daigneau at 906-863-7814 or dagineaum@gomaroons.org. Donations can also be accepted on Kotecki’s Go Fund Me page.

“While participating in this event, I plan on expanding my leadership skills, mastering my speaking skills, and developing relationships with new people,” he said. “I plan to take what I learn from the National Leadership Conference with me to Michigan Technological University this fall, where I plan to major in marketing at their School of Business & Economics.”

– Chelsea Ewaldt, EagleHerald Staff Writer

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