Michigan Tech College of Business Newsblog

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Madison Mattila, BS in Accounting and MIS, Receives PCAOB Scholarship

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Madison Mattila (left)

College of Business undergraduate Madison Mattila has been awarded a Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) Scholars Program scholarship for the 2024-2025 academic year. The scholarship funds tuition, fees, books, supplies, and equipment.

Mattila has a double major in Management Information Systems and Accounting (with a concentration in Data Analytics). She is also pursuing a master of science in accounting and a certificate in accounting analytics. She expects to complete her bachelor’s degree in spring 2025, and her master’s degree in fall 2025.

The PCAOB Scholars Program seeks to benefit students who are likely to become auditors and to make a difference to students who might otherwise choose a different career path. Participating educational institutions nominate a scholarship recipient from among students enrolled in their accounting degree program.

Mattila was recognized as an outstanding student by the accounting faculty in spring 2024. Also in spring 2024, she received the 2024 Dean of Students Award for Possibilities.

Mattila is the president of Kappa Sigma Iota (KSI) Accounting Club, the College of Business representative and public relations chair for Undergraduate Student Government, and vice president of the Women’s Golf Club. She is also engaged in the Applied Portfolio Management Program and the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. Mattila also coaches girls’ soccer at Houghton High School and serves as a Big Sister for Big Brother Big Sisters of America.

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Restoring American History, One Building at a Time

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by Jen A. Miller

Ron Staley standing in front of Michigan Central Station.When Ron Staley ’77 ’80 (AAS Civil Engineering Technology, B.S. Business) encounters a historic building fallen into disrepair, he sees opportunity.

Staley leads one of the country’s most respected historic preservation teams at The Christman Company, where he’s senior vice president and executive director of historic preservation. For nearly four decades, he and his team have restored architecturally significant structures, preserving them as cornerstones of U.S. history.

With each project he tackles, he’s “taking a building apart and putting it back together for future generations.”

Read about Staley’s career and his latest project — Michigan Central Station, a grand old rail station in Detroit that will soon be a 30-acre walkable innovation hub — in our 2024 Michigan Tech Magazine

.

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Huskies Place First, Second in THEProject Competition

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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
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MTU Researchers Complete Economic Impact Analysis of Menominee Harbor Deepening Project

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Menominee River

by College of Business

Assistant Professors Laura Connolly and Jenny Apriesnig (both COB) and Research Engineer Travis White (GLRC) have completed an analysis of the economic impacts associated with the City of Menominee’s project to deepen the Menominee Harbor.

The economic impact analysis was part of a feasibility study conducted by the city in partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The city contracted with the MTU team to complete the analysis, which was delivered to Menominee officials March 15.

In their final economic evaluation, Connolly, Apriesnig and White provided a brief overview of the Menominee Harbor and the local economic context, then estimated the economic impacts associated with the deepening project for both the Upper Peninsula and northeast Wisconsin, focusing on employment, output and tax revenue.

Across the scenarios considered, the trio found that the majority of the project’s economic impacts are concentrated in northeast Wisconsin, with more modest impacts in the U.P. They highlighted the potential economic gains in the local area if the Menominee Harbor is deepened and the “significant potential losses if the status quo is maintained.”

“The COB faculty have developed a reputation for economic impact studies,” said Dean Johnson, dean of the College of Business. “One of the COB’s goals is making a positive societal impact via our thought leadership.  In the last two years, our faculty research expertise has supported the regional economy across the mining, transportation, entrepreneurship and educational sectors.”

Prior to this project, COB faculty completed an economic impact analysis of the Eagle Mine in the U.P. Lundin Mining, the operator of the only primary nickel mine in the U.S., sought out the unique combination of COB faculty expertise in economics, mining, econometrics, data analytics and information systems to establish best practices in mining in relation to regional economic health.

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A Kalamazoo Success Story for MTU’s DECA Chapter 

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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. 

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