Hull students compete in real world case competition

Awards were announced March 6 for the CSRA Institute of Internal Auditors annual Case Competition, with 17 Hull College of Business teams competing in the third year event.

Teams were asked to write a memo and create a display board to address financial issues with a fictional business named Joyful Noise Preschool. Specifically, teams were asked to address fraud risk and overall improvements to corporate governance.

The teams of two undergraduate students were given approximately a month to develop their case solution with the assistance of a faculty mentor. The finalists were awarded the assistance of a professional mentor from the community to aid in the oral presentation to judges.

The 2020 winners were senior marketing student Merye Gobernate and junior financial services major Maria Alice Vieira. They split the top prize of $3,000.

The winners in the annual case competition were:

• First place: Team Fuzi, Merye Gobernate and Maria Alice Vieira, $3,000 prize, mentors Simon Medcalfe and Sarah Murray.
• Second place: Team Royalty Incorporated, Amanda Mines and Jachua Polcyn, $2,000 prize, mentors Cathy Slade and Melissa Richard.
• Third place: Team Atropa Belladonna, Danae Lawrence and Elizabeth Souza, $1,000 prize, mentors Roger Duke and London Smith.
• Fourth place: Team Spance, Eva Miralles and Marie Cantenot, mentors Simon Medcalfe and Steve Munn.
• Fifth place: Team Phi Delt, Austin Jones and Robert Apfel, mentors Jonathan Leightner and Kurt Mueller.

“I was very impressed by the college students and the way they applied the hypothetical situation. Their presentation skills were impressive,” said Tillman Sauls, the Commercial Group Leader for Queensborough National Bank and Trust Company.

Sauls was on the panel of judges, which included Stephanie Davenport, Vice President of Client Services for ADP, Jay Forrester, Regional President of South State Bank, and Katie Rhodes, Vice President of Marketing for Hunter Rhodes Law Firm.

“I was pleasantly surprised to see young people of this generation so committed to projects like this and how they take what they’ve learned throughout their time here at AU and put it into practice,” Sauls said.

Seven of the student teams set up their presentations in the main ballroom at the Jaguar Student Activity Center for award ceremony attendees to browse and ask questions, and choose the winners of audience choice awards.

Those winners were:

• Best in Show: Team Fuzi, Merye Gobernate and Maria Alice Vieira.
• Most Professional Display: Team Atropa Belladonna, Danae Lawrence and Elizabeth Souza.
• Most Creative Display: Team Debit to Win, Michael Myers and Angela Dowds.
• Most Creative Team Name: Team Kicking Assets, Jordan Birdsong and Leslie Riddle.
• Most Humorous/Entertaining Display: Team Debit to Win, Michael Myers and Angela Dowds.