In mid April I received a email from the University of Nebraska-Omaha Association for Computing Machinery-Women (ACM-W)

I was not able to attend the event, but I asked around to my teammates.  who helped with my very first meeting with the ACM-W volunteered to go.

On Friday, April 12th from 12 PM – 3:30 PM was the University of Nebraska-Omaha College of Business Administration Capstone Cup Spring 2019 finals.

This was my second time being a on the judges panel for the Finals.  This is one of the perks of sponsoring the Capstone Cup is FCSAmerica has a judges seat reserved for each round of the competition. I arrived about 12:45 p.m. to do a debriefing with the other judges in a class room. We were told for the final round of competition, the final four teams will be developing recommendations for Roku Inc. Once again, each team’s job is to identify a strategic issue facing Roku, conduct strategic analyses and come up with a strategic solution/recommendation that is driven by their analysis. The judges would be the ones deciding the overall winner.

The day of the finals I posted on social media a video that was created to show FCSAmerica’s support for the competition.

Presentations

About 1:00 p.m. the judges were taken to the auditorium which is a two-story, 186-seat capacity which was standing room only. I found out that actually over 200 RSVPS were sent in for the event. The Judges are placed in the front row. A wide variety of Omaha Companies sponsor the event.

The Associate Dean Harlandof of the CBA says a few words while revolving display of Agenda, sponsors and thank you to judges appear.

Teams presented every twenty-five minutes. Each group has 12 minutes to present, with warning times given for 5 minutes, 2 minutes, and 1 minute. This is followed by 5-10 minutes of Q&A with the judges.  The level of the presentations were good. Two of the teams presenting I heard in round 1 and round 2. At about 2:35 the Judges will leave and deliberate.

The format for the next hour was different then previous Capstone Cup finals. The students that have not made the final round have been asked to address the final case in a Poster Session Competition where guests can vote on their favorite case recommendations.  I made sure to vote the students I met from Innovation Works Here.

During the deliberation. The organizing professors asked if a two judges would be willing to announce the winners. I raised my hand to volunteer. I was given runner up. I also had to determine what to say. I kept in simple.

Before the winning team was announced. The professors gave each judge a thank you plaque.

After the winning team was announced. I stayed and networked with the students and faculty.

A few days later I received a thank you note.

I believe having someone at FCSAmerica on the  judges panel is a good thing. I enjoyed the overall experience as a judge.  I am sold that supporting this event for the future is money well spent.

In mid March I was sent a email from Laura Sansoni, Director, CBA Career Development to be part of a panel for a University of Nebraska-Omaha College of Business Admiration student group Financial Management Association (FMA). Like most request I would be happy to sit on the panel if chosen.

Then sometime in April I received a email from Ray LeBlanc who the faculty advisor for UNO’s Financial Management Association confirming that I will be on the April 9th panel. I did offer to sponsor any snacks or treats which the professor let me know that was covered.  I also offered to get some gift cards to raffle away to everyone that attends which he was fine with.

Panel

The student meeting was held on Tuesday, April 9, from 4:30-5:30 in Mammel Hall. When I arrived to the room there was about 25 to 30 students. There was food catered in from Hy-Vee.  So I understand how that was covered. I asked the advisor to make a sign up sheet so I know who to give the gift card to.

What I realized in a hurry that this originally was supposed to be a Human Resources Panel. There were representatives from National Indemnity Company, KPMG, and Valmont. Everyone I recognized was someone who I saw at a previous UNO career fair.

Questions

This was the sample questions for each panel member to answer, followed by open Q & A from our students. Initial questions include:

– An introduction of panel members and their company, providing a brief overview of their professional/educational background.

– Discussion of entry level jobs for students graduating with finance degrees at their firm.

– Importance of internships (and availability, if applicable).

– What are the most important factors you look at when sifting through applications and interviewing for internships/entry-level positions?

– Discussion of the culture at their firm. (This is an area I feel that most students do not take seriously enough out of college)

– Describe your most successful new hires. What characteristics do they exhibit? (and the opposite as well… What should you NOT do once you’re on the job?)

– Any other tips/advice for current students that are looking to enter the workforce?

After the panel members address the issues above, there is usually about 20 minutes remaining for more open Q & A from students, which may be directed at a specific panel member or all panel members.

My Responses

This was my notes from the various conversations going back and forth between the students and panel.

At the end a random person was selected which I gave a $10 dollar Applebee’s gift card to.

A few days latter I received a thank you note from the student leadership.

Overall this was a good experience for myself. I built a relationship with another student organization for future appearance’s.