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NC State Jenkins MBA Team Earns Second Place in National Association of Women MBAs Case Competition

NC State Jenkins MBA Team Earns Second Place in National Association of Women MBAs Case Competition
p. Other NAWMBA teams placing in the top three this year were from the University of Huston, receiving first place, and the University of Minnesota, receiving third place.

Members of the 2010 Jenkins NAWMBA team are:

  • Debranetta Gethers, (MBA 2011), marketing management and financial management concentrations and vice president of finance for the NC State Jenkins MBA chapter of NAWMBA
  • Stacie Nagy, (MBA 2011), supply management concentration
  • Wei Gu, (MBA 2012), services management concentration
  • Manasi Shah, (MBA 2012), marketing management concentration

The competition presented the teams a real-world business challenge: to create a five year growth strategy, funding plan, marketing plan, and learning and development plan for a non-profit mentoring program.

“Our team members leveraged their individual strengths to contribute to the case analysis,” Gethers said. “We used knowledge we gained in different classes – marketing, finance, strategy, etc. – to create a six page write up (with six pages of support exhibits) analyzing the case.”

The case write up determined who would present their ideas to the judges and the winning teams were selected based on their presentation.

“For our presentation, we included a video story board to highlight the case and to serve as an idea for the marketing campaign. We were the only team present our ideas in this manner,” Gethers said.

A total of seven MBA programs had sent teams to the annual competition. They were selected from the initial 20 teams that had submitted cases. First-round judging narrowed the field to the top 15, and a second round of judging narrowed it to the top seven for the finals. The teams had 15 minutes for their presentations, followed by five minutes of questioning from the panel of five judges. The competition is open to full, part-time, and executive MBA students (male or female) and was sponsored this year by Home Depot.

The Jenkins team had a mix of seasoned and new competitors. Gethers had been on the Jenkins NAWMBA case competition team in 2009, when it received first place. She also was on the first place team in the Bayer Environmental Science Case Analysis and on the third place team of the NC State MBA Ethics Case Competition in 2009. Nagy had previously competed in the China Connection.

“Each year I have acquired new insights and have been challenged to think outside the box,” Gethers said of the experiences she’s had in the competition. “ I hope that teams from our program continue to participate in this case competition. It is an excellent learning experience.”

Attending the conference offered other benefits she said, including “the opportunity to network with other MBA students, corporate recruiters, and business professionals.”

Manasi Shah concurred with both points. “It was a good learning experience and it was great to know that NAWMBA will use the suggestions in a real life application,” she said. “We were able to meet students from different schools, and I had the opportunity to attend the career fair and talk with company representatives I wish to target for internships.”

“We are proud of Debranetta, Wei, Stacie and Manasi for their accomplishments and their outstanding representation of NC State and the Jenkins MBA program at a national level,” said Dr. Steve Allen, associate dean for graduate programs and research in the NC State College of Management. “The NAWMBA Case Competition is a unique way for women students to put their business education to the test.”

The Jenkins NAWMBA team received funding from the College of Management and the Jenkins MBA program to attend the conference and compete in the case competition
About the NC State Jenkins NAWMBA Chapter

NAWMBA Mission Statement

To enhance the female presence in the business model by cultivating relationships between students, alumni, and professionals. The Jenkins NAWMBA chapter members also participate in community service activities, such as volunteering with Dress for Success and Toys for Tots. The club also sponsors a mentoring program that matches female business students with professionals and alumni.

Current NAWMBA officers are Bri Tegtmeier, president; Nicole Connor, vice president of alumni relations; Sarah Spoor, vice president of events; and Debranetta Gethers, vice president of finance.

Related links

National Association of Women MBAs | Jenkins Graduate School NAWMBA Chapter

NC State Jenkins MBA Program