Thunderbirds Organize Case Competition for National Association of Women MBAs
She estimates that, alone, she spent 150 hours on the event while her team, as a whole, devoted approximately 500 hours to the case event. No small feat, the case competition involved three rounds initially attracting 37 teams from 26 different business schools in the United States. Organizing the event also involved tracking down 34 judges and a corporate sponsor, managing the competition and creating Web content and advertising. “As the coordinators, we had the opportunity to meet and correspond with judges from all different companies and universities,” says Jantzi. “Two of us also had the privilege of sitting with the judges while they debated the outcome of the event – which was an amazing experience. These women were experts in their fields, and listening to their questions – watching them share perspectives and frameworks – felt like I got to experience a trimester of learning in only two short hours.” Participants in the case competition were asked to solve a real-world business challenge from the corporate sponsor, Hilti Corp. “The questions stemmed around feasibility, financials, strategy and cultural relevance,” explains Jantzi of the proprietary case study. Among the case competition contenders were teams from Emory, Brandeis International Business School, Georgetown, Temple, Purdue, University of Miami, and Thunderbird, to name a few. A top prize of $5,000 was awarded to a team of women from Georgetown University; the second-place $3,000 award went to a team from University of Texas - Dallas; and the third-place $2,000 prize was awarded to Georgia Tech. “The case competition provided an opportunity for students to work together, to challenge themselves, and to think outside the box,” says Deanne De Vries '03, keynote speaker and NAWMBA board member. “When we were discussing the case competition at a board meeting, I suggested we approach Thunderbird to organize and run the event because of their case experience, global element and support of NAWMBA.” Thirty Thunderbird women traveled to the NAWMBA conference and career fair, where some assisted with the case competition, others participated in the competition and still others interviewed for positions with companies such as 3M, Goldman Sachs and others. Thanks to the work of Jantzi and team, all NAWMBA participants were exposed to judges representing companies such as Wells Fargo, Deloitte Consulting, Fishnet Security and Estee Lauder. “It was a win-win,” says Jantzi, indicating that organizing the case provided not only increased awareness and branding for Thunderbird, but it also gave women valuable hands-on experience. |  |
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In only five months, Rosanne Jantzi ’07 – aided by seven other female T-birds and members of the school’s Career Management Center – managed the impossible. While continuing her full-time studies and leading the Thunderbird Student Government, Jantzi also organized a case competition for the National Association of Women MBAs.
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