4th Annual SCMA Chevron Case Competition

By Angela Shershin, MBA Class of 2014

On March 21st, the SCMA in conjunction with Chevron hosted the 4th Annual SCMA Case Competition. The case was distributed to about 36 participants, divided into 9 teams, two days prior on March 19th. Then the teams worked diligently over the next 40 hours to develop a 15 minute presentation outlining their recommendation.

In the early afternoon on March 21st, the initial presentation rounds began. Each team presented their recommendation to a small panel of 2 – 3 judges. The judging panel Continue reading

Duke MBA Games

The team with our Special Olympic athletes, “Birdman” (far left) and Kristin (2nd from right)By Anthony Cheng, MBA Class of 2014

The tradition lives on!!  MBA students from Penn State again participated in the Duke MBA Games, which raises money and awareness for the Special Olympics of North Carolina (SONC).  Since 1989, teams from top business schools have enjoyed a weekend of friendly competition while positively influencing the lives of adult athletes, spending time with and encouraging them during athletic activities.

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Congratulations to the New SCMA Board!

By Angela Shershin, MBA Class of 2014

On April 1st, the SCMA celebrated the transition of the Executive Board with an ice cream social!  Here, SCMA members were able to network with the new board and each other while enjoying three different and equally delicious ice cream flavors from the Creamery.

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How can a MBA program differentiate you from other master programs?

By Masoud Ghayoumi, MBA Class of 2014

One of the main reasons for which people want their MBA is to raise their salary by either: changing careers, changing companies, getting a better position or working globally. The biggest question is how? How can a MBA program differentiate you from other master programs?  To me, “putting theories into practice” is one of those differentiating factors.  In fact, with four years of experience and a master of Industrial Engineering, I wanted a program that would help me put theories I’ve learned and all Continue reading

4th Annual SCMA SAP Competition

By Angela Shershin, MBA Class of 2014

On Valentine’s Day, approximately 20 SCMA members, divided into 10 teams, delayed any date plans to try their luck with SAP during SCMA’s 4th Annual SAP Competition.

Paul Winkler of Penn State’s Applied Research Lab provided guidance through this SAP simulation and game.  First, Paul explained the fundamentals and importance of SAP in modern supply chains.  Then Paul walked us through how to read the various screens and reports which would proved to be crucial during the competition.  Finally, Continue reading

Rice Marketing Case Competition

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By Effie Li, MBA Class of 2014

On Feb 6, a Smeal MBA team that consisted of two-second year students, Effie Li and Carrie Zhou, and two first year students, David DeFlice and Nancy Nie, went to Houston, TX for the National Marketing Case Competition. Since a snow storm just hit Pennsylvania, it took us 12 hours to get Houston from State College. We attended the reception ceremony held in Johns Business School and met 15 teams that came from all over the country. During the warm up session, we played the spaghetti challenge game, and learned more about team dynamic. Continue reading

Congratulations to Travis Lesser – Winner of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Round of the Walmart Better Living Business Plan Challenge!

On February 21st, Smeal MBA 2nd Year Student Travis Lesser traveled to George Washington University in DC to compete in the Mid-Atlantic Regional Round of the 2014 Walmart Better Living Business Plan Challenge. After a successful day of competition, Travis finished in first place and will now move on to compete at the finals on April 9-11 at Walmart’s headquarters in Bentonville, AR. Congratulations, Travis!

Smeal MBA Student Travis Lesser and Katherine Jennrich, Senior Manager Renewable Energy for Walmart.

Smeal MBA Student Travis Lesser and Katherine Jennrich, Senior Manager Renewable Energy for Walmart.

MBA Finance Association on NYC Roadshow

On February 21, 2014, the MBA Finance Association went on a NYC Roadshow with 23 members.  We learned about the US Central Banking System at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, got to visit the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange, spoke directly to the President of the Bank of New York Mellon, and saw the closing bell at NASDAQ.

Here’s what the members said were the best part of the trip: Continue reading

Happy New Year and Welcome Back

This is my second consecutive year living in the United States.  Despite being so close to New York, I missed out on the celebrations at  Time Square New York, last year. I was not going to let it happen again. So, I and a couple of my classmates decided to drive to New York to celebrate the New Year this time around. It was a five hour drive, but we were able to make it fun, thanks to the very inspiring movie ‘Night at the Roxbury’. Continue reading