COLLEGE PARK, Md. (May 6, 2016) — In early April, members of the Omega Theta Chapter at the University of Maryland provided an opportunity for local high school students to participate in a case competition and use real business concepts.
“Prior to being given the case, students were divided into five groups for a quick learning session taught by Omega Theta members: accounting, finance, marketing, supply chain, and operations,” said Jiening Wu, Omega Theta member and the project’s lead. “After the overview of their focus area, the students came together and were presented the case, which was to create a strategy module for a new shoe brand.” Though the day was quick, it was filled with eager and excited students. They prepared their strategy and presentation in only 45 minutes, and then presented their cases by choosing 3-5 members from their school as representatives.
The competition brought nearly 100 students from five local high schools that were either in a business program or taking business courses. The purpose of the competition was to expand their knowledge and encourage development of business practices within the students. Though some of the students won’t pursue a business degree path once they enter college, the Omega Theta Chapter wanted to motivate the students to keep learning about these skills and concepts.
The Omega Theta chapter was incredibly excited to give back to the students and share their knowledge. They knew that providing an opportunity to work on a fast paced challenge with a group would be rewarding in the long run. Even though the purpose of the day was to get students acquainted to a real business experience, the chapter members gained an appreciation for teaching and inspiration with hopes of growing the program in years to come.