Business undergraduates compete, win at KeyBank event

December 30, 2009 | News, UToday
By Bob Mackowiak



Three University of Toledo College of Business Administration undergraduate students were among the participants in the 2009 KeyBank Undergraduate Student Leadership and Creativity Symposium held fall semester at Ohio State University.

And by the end of the event, one UT student was among the winners.

“The students, Ryanico Reyna, Savannah Tilman and Jordan Johnson, were selected by their GPA and an essay explaining why they wanted to participate in the symposium,” explained Dr. Terribeth Gordon-Moore, associate dean of the UT College of Business Administration. “They attended workshops on leadership, creativity and use of Excel in the business world.”

Other schools with students participating included the University of Cincinnati, University of North Carolina, University of Minnesota, University of Wisconsin and University of Washington.

Students were placed into groups of six, given a case to explore, and had to prepare a presentation for a panel of KeyBank judges.

Reyna, a junior majoring in professional sales and marketing, said, “We were to uncover issues that were making an exclusive restaurant in Spain lose profits. The judging panel gave each group two hours to prepare, then each group made a 20-minute presentation with our unique recommendations that would generate more profits for this restaurant.”

Reyna’s team won the competition, resulting in each team member receiving a $1,000 scholarship.

“Personally, I was very proud of myself,” Reyna said, “knowing that students from all over the country were competing at a high level. I felt I was among the elite in the country. All six of us had unique ideas that made our team more diverse and successful. It feels very rewarding being on the winning team.”

He added, “I enjoyed every moment of this symposium. I feel my experience with the KeyBank competition gave me more of an understanding of the special skills needed to obtain high-caliber leadership ability.”

“Congratulations to Ryanico Reyna for being a member of the winning team and receiving a $1,000 scholarship,” Gordon-Moore added.

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