Michigan Tech College of Business Newsblog

Category: Undergrad Information

Oliveira Named Student Organization Advisor of the Year

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Finace Club advisor, Emanuel Oliveira, names Student Organization Advisor of the Year.

Each year the Student Leadership Awards celebrate and reward the individual and group efforts of students involved in organizations across campus. There are awards for student employees, residence halls, and student organizations.

Congratulations to the following students, student organizations, and advisors for inspiring community, scholarship, possibilities, accountability and tenacity within Michigan Tech as well as our community.

Within the School of Business and Economics Senior Lecturer in Economics, Emanuel Oliveira, was selected at this year’s Student Organization Advisor of the Year. Emanuel participated and motivated the Finance Club organization’s membership and is respected by members of the organization. However, the greatest activities contributing to this award was the Finance Club’s FinanceU event last semester.

Yu Summer Gu, an MBA student, was also selected as an award recipient from the School of Business and Economics.  Summer was actively involved and enthusiastic in campus activities .  She was the driving force behind a greatly improved Chinese Night which had a larger attendance this year, almost tripling participation from any year prior.

Here are your 2013 Student Leadership Award recipients:

  • Melanie Hoffman, President’s Award for Leadership
  • Michael Adler, Provost Award for Scholarship
  • Claire Meneguzzo, Vice President’s Award for Service
  • Kevin Cassell, Exceptional Leadership in Student Governance
  • Yu Summer Gu, Exceptional Enthusiasm as a Student Leader
  • Jason Cattelino, Student Employee of the Year
  • Hannah Altscheffel, Rising Star of the Year
  • Caleb Vogt, Undergraduate Research Expo, Exceptional Program of the Year
  • Society of Women Engineers, Most Improved Student Organization
  • Leo Ureel II, Breaking Digital Barriers, Exceptional Community Service Project
  • Memorial Union Board, Student Organization of the Year
  • Emanuel Marcos R. Castro Oliveira, Student Organization Advisor of the Year

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Two Bows seeks funds for summer apparel line!

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Two Bows-- the apparel line with the outdoorsy woman in mind-- is seeking funding for their summer line samples!

Three years ago Management major Jessica Tompkins started her own company Two Bows LLC .  Now a senior in the School of Business and Economics, Jessica needs our support!

Two Bows has been accepted by Kickstarter – an online threshold pledge system for funding creative projects– to raise funds for their Spring/Summer apparel line. She encourages everyone to follow the project, choose a reward, and pass along the word.  Two Bows only has 30 days to reach their goal of $5,000.  This money would then allow them to move forward taking the next big step to develop their company.

Jessica credits the School of Business and Economics and her classes for her growing success. Day by day she uses skills and knowledge she has gained at Michigan Tech while continuing to build the company’s foundation. Two Bows has previously been funded from several resources including: business competitions, Crowdbackers crowdfunding, and non-monetary awards. These sources, combined with social media (Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin) have enabled her to market the company at a low cost.

However, in an effort to grow Two Bows, they are searching for additional funding sources to add a Spring/Summer line. This new line will supplement the products currently being sold for Fall and Winter. Jessica hopes the new line will allow Outdoorsy girls, like her, to be comfortable and look great while enjoying the hobbies they love!

By meeting their $5000 goal, Two Bows will have enough funding to create their new line, have professional photos taken, and update their website.  They only have 30 days to raise the money, and get their backers the rewards they earn in return for their funding! The rewards stack, so the more you back, the more you receive. Every donation helps!

Two Bows needs all the support it can get to reach their goal!  Let’s help out one of our own, click here to read more and make a donation!

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Tech Business Teams Take 2nd and 3rd in THE Project

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Business and Economics students from Michigan Tech had another successful showing at THE Project, taking 2nd and 3rd places respectively.

Two Michigan Tech teams competed in the second West Michigan Project Management Institute THE Project 2013 competition. There were seven collegiate teams competing for $10,000 prizes, and both Michigan Tech teams made it to the Final Four.

Michigan Tech Team B placed 2nd overall and received $3,000, and Michigan Tech Team A placed 3rd overall and received $2,000. Team B consists of Danielle Boettger (Economics), Evan Beckner (Operations and Systems Management), August Skultety (Operations and Systems Management). Team A consists of Kira Eck (Marketing), Mitch Fedie (Management), Amanda Halonen (Operations and Systems Management), and Mandi Severn (Management). All students were enrolled in BUS4950 Advanced Project Management this semester.

Details about the competition are located at: http://www.wmpmi.org.

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Students Tackle Silicon Valley over Spring Break

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The School of Business and Economics led a student group to Silicon Valley for an Alternative Spring Break trip.

Alternative Spring Break trips are all the rage at Michigan Tech!  These trips enable students an affordable way to get away from Houghton and have some fun over Spring Break.  The School of Business and Economics offers a students the opportunity to tour the high tech companies of California’s Silicon Valley.

“Going on the Silicon Valley trip was a great way to spend break because I got to meet a lot of cool and inspirational people, while touring top-notch technology companies,” says scientific and technical communications major Armando Flores. The School of Business and Economics organized this trip to give students a backstage pass to tech giants like Google, Autodesk, Cisco and Brocade Communications. The visits came with plentiful opportunities to network, learn about business strategies and explore a whole new world of career options.

Aside from connecting with industry leaders, the students got to experience a culture that differs from what they are accustomed to. “I caught a glimpse of what life is like in California. It really is a melting pot of people, culture and innovation,” Flores says.

The trip wasn’t strictly business, however. The students also had time for fun, creating memories that will last a lifetime. “The most memorable experiences for me were visiting The Gallery at Autodesk, riding a G-Bike at Google and then visiting the Hacker Dojo,” says Flores. “Swimming in the ocean was pretty cool too.”

These thrilling experiences may have made returning to classes a challenge, but they also gave Flores something to strive for. “The trip put everything into perspective and motivated me to keep working hard. One way or another, I will go back,” he says firmly.

Click here to read the full Tech Today article that describes other Alternative Spring Break opportunities Michigan Tech students engaged in this year.

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Business and Economics students compete in Global CFA Institute Research Challenge

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In 2013, Michigan Tech students qualified and competed in the CFA Institute Research Challenge for the first time.

Students in the Applied Portfolio Management Program are expanding their resumes by competing in another investment competition and gaining valuable real world experience.

The CFA Institute Research Challenge was introduced to a global audience in 2006 and is considered, “the investment Olympics” for university students.  The event which hosted more than 3,000 students from over 650 universities, 89 businesses, and 106 societies in 55 countries and territories.  This challenge is an annual global competition which provides hands-on mentoring and intensive training in financial analysis and professional ethics.  Despite 2013 being the first year they competed in this challenge, our finance and economics students were able to advance to the global final of the event.

By compiling the highest combined report and presentation score and winning the regional competition, Michigan Tech qualified for global final.  “As a team we set aside many hours of our time to research, compile, analyze, prepare, rehearse, and finally present our findings to a panel of judges. The true amount of work this project entailed is staggering, however we are thankful for the opportunity afforded to us,” said senior Finance major, Justin Wilson.   Joining Justin to represent Michigan Tech was fellow Finance major Jessica Zaiki as well as economics majors Eli Karttunen and Anna Paul.

Each student was tested on their analytic, valuation, report writing and presentation skills and gained real-world experience as they assumed the role of a research analyst.   Upon the team’s return, Jessica Zaiki noted that having the exposure to the CFA institute, investment professionals, and the high caliber of competition at the Americas competition expanded her knowledge of stock analysis and furthered my interest in pursuing a CFA in the future.

The experience was valuable for our students and it is a competition we look forward to having continued participation and success at in the future.  Financial support for the student participation was provided via the James and Dolores Trethewey APMP Professorship.

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