MBAs from University of Maryland’s Smith School of Business
Win National MBA Case Competition

A team of four MBA students from the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business took first place in the MBA case competition at the 2005 Reaching Out MBA conference in Boston, on February 4-6. The Smith team successfully competed against student teams from Berkeley, Thunderbird, and Kellogg in a case that addressed the effects of high HIV/AIDS rates on workforce and overall productivity for a large South African mining conglomerate.

The Smith team included Michael Carney and Catherine Sheehy, both first-year MBAs, and Ivan Cayabayab and Christina Nichols, who are second-year MBAs. All four are members of the newly-formed Smith Pride Alliance, which was created to raise awareness about lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) issues in the workplace, encourage dialogue within the community, build alumni relations and promote progressive diversity within Smith.

“Our academic experiences at Smith definitely helped prepare us for the competition,” said Sheehy.

“This win is a great reflection on the outstanding quality of Smith students and a great example of MBA students who have social concerns a very active part of the agenda,” said Cherie Scricca, Associate Dean of the master’s programs at the Smith School.

More than 500 participants and 40 sponsors attended the conference, which was hosted by Reaching Out MBA, a student organization that promotes the education, visibility, and networking capabilities of LGBT business leaders worldwide. The annual conference provides a forum for students, recent alumni and business leaders to share information, build networks and promote cooperation. It was founded in 1999 by students at Harvard Business School and the Yale School of Management.

The MBA case competition was sponsored by Booz Allen Hamilton. Teams were judged on three criteria that included quality and strength of analysis, strategic recommendation and solutions, and communications and presentation skills. Judges included John Newsome, co-author of the case and manager at Bridgespan Group, a non-profit strategy consulting firm affiliated with Bain & Co.; Wendy Alexander, small business solutions unit leader at Capital One; Joaquin Avino, associate at Booz Allen Hamilton; Ron Dostal, senior manager at Deloitte and Touche, and J.D. Schramm, associate professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business.

Smith students also organized a panel on “Achieving Workplace Equality,” where panelists covered the opportunities and challenges of implementing equality in the workplace. The panel was moderated by George Robinson, associate of strategic planning and operations at Intel, and a 2002 Smith MBA graduate.

MBA Students Take a Break on the Slopes

Week of Asia

With the Year of the Rooster beginning on February 9, the opening of the Week of Asia could hardly have been better timed. Organized by the MBA Asian Association (AMBAA) and co-sponsored by the MBA Indian Club, the Week of Asia (WoA), AMBAA’s signature event, which received an overwhelming interest and support when held for the first time last year, aims to raise the profile of the Asian cultures in Smith as well as encourage greater interaction between students hailing from different parts of the world. Countries represented in this year’s WoA include China, India, Japan, Hong Kong, Korea, Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam.

Said Jennifer Wu, VP - Marketing AMBAA, “AMBAA has always worked towards bridging the cultural gap in the Smith program by introducing the beauty of Asian countries and passion of Asian people to the rest of the Smith community. Last year we had a smaller scale event as a good start, and this year, with the ardent support of first-year members (in terms of club budget votes and active attendance of club events), we decided to provide a more comprehensive introduction of Asia to all Smith students and faculties. We not only extended Day of Asia to Week of Asia, but also covered 9 countries so that all Smith folks can experience the diversity of Asia culture to the fullest.”

Not only did everyone have a chance to experience the authentic Asian tradition without leaving home and learn to say greetings in each country’s local languages, they were also treated to an delectable spread of Asian cuisine at no cost! For those who were not at the event, these are some mouth-watering cuisine that you have missed (unfortunately!): Korean Sweet Rice Cake, Singapore Thousand Layer Cake, Thai Tomyan Noodle, Chinese Spicy Tofu & Beef, Japanese Rice Ball, Taiwanese Bubble Tea and many more.

Besides bringing the sale of exotic crafts right to everyone’s doorstep at very affordable price, this year’s WoA was unique as it presented a fantastic opportunity for all Smith students and faculty to help those who were the victims of the Tsunami disaster. A silent auction for unique Asian specialty items such as Chinese Painting, Dining Sets, Traditional Apparel was conducted during the event and all the proceeds was donated to the UN Tsunami Relief Fund. Through the generosity of our students and faculty, AMBAA managed to collect a total of about $400. We could all be proud of the great effort put in by AMBAA to help those hit by the disaster.

While we await for the next WoA to dawn upon us, together, let us make the Year of the Rooster a year of abundance for everyone.

Chinese Night

Pictures from the International Club event on February 9th.