In Fresno Pacific University’s first year of competition, a team of three students won the national GoLiveServe (GLS) Business Case Competition.
“I’m very proud of the students from my Strategic Management class—Freddie Lopez, Austin Hussain and Miguel Bermudez faced stiff competition and stiffer judging and performed well. There were more than 50 entries nationwide, and we competed alongside teams from many prestigious schools,” said Andrew Shinn, MBA, business instructor and team sponsor.
Hussain, a senior finance major from Salinas; Lopez, a senior finance major from Tulare; and Bermudez, a senior management major from Tulare analyzed a situation and wrote a marketing/business plan for a for-profit company with a missionary mindset. “The business owner is one of the people who reviewed their work. When they pitch to a panel of judges, the business owner will be listening and evaluating their ideas for implementation,” Shinn said.
The theme of the competition is “Create a Kingdom Solution for a Kingdom Company,” and final presentations were given at the Believers in Business conference hosted by InterVarsity in New York City February 22-23, 2019. GLS is a network of business professionals and students who blend education, career and mission to connect North American churches and churches in East and Central Asia to improve workplaces, build faith communities and collaborate with national leaders.
In its first year of competition, FPU fielded two teams, both of which got past the first of the three rounds of competition. “Some of the other finalists this year (in the graduate track) are from Dartmouth, Yale and Northwestern universities,” Shinn said. “Undergrad finalists, that we will compete against, include teams from Baylor University and Wheaton College. I’m exceedingly proud of the work my students are doing, and I’m gratified that Fresno Pacific’s business program is receiving national attention.”
GLS pays the registration of student finalists as well as a financial award to help cover travel costs. More about the competition at goliveserve.org/glscasecompetition/ and the conference at gfm.intervarsity.org/events/believers-business.