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November 17, 2010
NHCC recently hosted its first ever "Fall Challenge," a competitive event for business students to demonstrate their skills in the fields of marketing and entrepreneurship.
Nearly 100 students competed, both individually and in teams, to research, prepare, and present their ideas to professional judges. These events were created by NHCC’s business department to increase emphasis on student engagement. This initiative was in conjunction with NHCC’s student chapter of College DECA, which provides opportunities for business students to develop their professional, career, and leadership skill-set through conferences, workshops, and competitions like the Fall Challenge.
Students competing in the entrepreneurship event were tasked with creating a smart phone application, known as a "Web App," that would benefit a college or university. Students were given roughly 24 hours to review the case, prepare a viable product, and present before judges. Yang Her, winner of the entrepreneurship competition, stated, “I used a lot of eye contact, spoke clearly, and really knew my presentation. I rehearsed it several times prior to going in and that helped me feel more comfortable.”
Pictured: Yang Her and Melanie Heins
Marketing students were challenged with a time sensitive case that involved helping a respected furniture store create a new product line and market it in various channels and contexts. Students had 40 minutes to review the case and prepare a 10 minute presentation to judges. Melanie Heins was the Marketing Management winner.
Judges consisted of various NHCC stakeholders, including business professionals, community members, former students, transfer partners, and even a few faculty and staff. They each had a dedicated scorecard and ample opportunity to provide valuable feedback to students.
"Feedback is where the learning takes place," commented Todd Johnson, NHCC business faculty member and this event’s organizer. Judges were instructed to give accurate and thorough feedback in an effort to let students know where they stood with their presentation skills and business acumen. They were specifically instructed not to artificially inflate scores to make students feel better, but to give students an honest understanding of how they appear to potential hiring managers in the future.
Students who competed received a detailed summary of their performance, including their actual scores in 10 different areas, as well as their percentile ranking in those areas. "Events like these have a lot of value because they incorporate real stress, such as time-pressure and public speaking, into the creation and execution of ideas. They help students apply what they are learning in the classroom, and give them experiences to grow from," said Johnson.
In the spring, Collegiate DECA students will have the opportunity to compete in similar state and national events. Johnson hopes to expand participation in groups like Collegiate DECA at NHCC in an effort to help students experience their learning in concrete ways.
"Students who compete several times over the academic year grow in confidence and ability, forge new relationships, expand their professional network, and really feel engaged by the business program. Students help lead the events and hold weekly meetings to prepare for competitions. They also participate in service projects such as helping out at local food shelves, or planning and implementing alternative activities for disadvantaged youth. These are engaged students – they are a really good group,” Johnson said.
For more information about NHCC’s Collegiate DECA organization, contact Todd Johnson at tjohnson@nhcc.edu.
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