Elizabeth Hilgemann, Mai Bui, Kate McDonald and Cole Harris impressed the judges at San Diego State’s International Business Case Competition.
Out of 12 teams from business schools across the nation, the team of four TCU Neeley students, who are all Neeley Fellows, took second place in a competition that applied their knowledge and skills to solve an international business case on the future growth of Paris Baguette.
“Even though we didn’t train specifically for this competition for months like many other schools did, we were able to apply the skills we have learned throughout our time at TCU to put forth an exceptional product,” Hilgemann said.
“This competition made me appreciate the way that the Neeley School and the Neeley Fellows program prepare us to work in teams, solve problems and be good presenters,” McDonald said. “While other schools specialize in case competitions, TCU produces well-rounded students who can be successful in any environment.”
The TCU team sailed through the preliminary morning round to advance to the final round in the 2018 SDSU International Business Case Competition.
The team from the University of Washington took first place.
The TCU Neeley team of Elizabeth Hilgemann (marketing), Mai Bui (business information systems), Kate McDonald (entrepreneurial management) and Cole Harris (finance), shown here with their advisor, Marketing Professor Chris White, took second.
“It felt great to get second place, but it felt even better to grow closer to my teammates and produce meaningful work,” Harris said. “I can’t wait to apply the lessons that I learned in San Diego in the classroom at TCU.”
“I’m thankful for the opportunity, my teammates, our adviser Dr. White and other friends who supported us,” Bui said. “The competition taught me about real-world business challenges, the power of team synergy and the commitment Neeley puts into helping students reach our full potential.”
“I am very proud of our Neeley Fellows case competition team,” White said. “They were poised, confident and thoroughly professional.”
Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania and Loyola University of Chicago took third and fourth. Other participating schools were The George Washington University, Texas A&M University, University of Oklahoma, Washington State University, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, James Madison University, San Diego State University and Marist College.