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April 21, 2011
Francesca Young is 17, Caucasian, female, and Generation Y. Joe Kellum is 33, African American, male, and Generation X. This is just a small sample of the diverse demographics at many community colleges in Minnesota, especially at North Hennepin Community College (NHCC).
Young and Kellum are both business students at NHCC. They, along with 1,500 other students from across the country, attended the International Career Development Conference in Orlando, Florida this April to compete in 15 different business event categories.
The conference not only allows students to showcase their leadership and marketing skills, but they also learn about entrepreneurial skills, hear from speakers on career development, and network with professionals from all over the nation.
For their specific event category – Sports and Entertainment Marketing – Young and Kellum were given a situation to analyze, one hour to prepare, and 15 minutes to present before judges in the industry field.
"It was our different perspectives that earned us the win," said Kellum. "Francesca was able to bring in the viewpoint of younger people, single moms, and women in general. I had a good marketing initiative to reach African American and Hispanic groups, as well as men. We brought both of our backgrounds and frames of reference into play and melded them into a really nice plan. The judges really liked our idea!"
Indeed they did. Out of nearly 200 students who participated in the Sports and Entertainment Marketing event alone, Kellum and Young advanced through the semi-final round to be crowned the International Champions at the conference’s Grand Awards Gala.
"They really make NHCC proud," reflected Todd Johnson, business instructor and Collegiate DECA advisor at NHCC. "I get an interesting view watching them work together, prepare, practice, and then reflect on their own performances. They all work together so well. The collaborative efforts provide great learning experiences and the relationships they are building will last a lifetime."
Other top finishers from NHCC include Matt Houck, Jessica Noyes, Elizabeth Schoenle, and Andrew Froemming. This team of 4 finished in second place in an event called Management Institute. Here, students toured a store and developed a business plan to increase market share amongst 21-24 year olds. They were required to design a slogan and a national marketing plan to reach the stated demographics. Vicki Nurnberg was also recognized for strong performance in a hospitality marketing event entitled Restaurant Marketing Management.
Collegiate DECA is a student engagement initiative sponsored by the business department at NHCC. This effort works to develop leadership, career, and professional skill-sets for students through conferences, workshops, and competitions. To learn more about this and other student clubs and organizations at NHCC, visit www.nhcc.edu/clubs. |