DENTON (UNT), Texas — Three teams of University of North Texas students earned cash prizes totaling $7,400 in the Spring 2014 Northwestern Mutual Integrated Business Case Competition. The competition has been held twice every year at UNT since 1995 as part of the capstone course for graduating seniors in the UNT College of Business.
Students in the competition get hands-on experience solving complex problems for a real-world client. This year, the teams helped TeamConnor Childhood Cancer Foundation develop a plan for the future of the foundation.
Seven teams of finalists presented their solutions to competition judges Jennifer Bolton, executive director of Team Connor Childhood Cancer Foundation; Finley Graves, dean of the UNT College of Business; Scott Jamison, vice president of Ze-Net Technologies Inc.; and Julian Johnson, sales executive at Northwestern Mutual.
The following students earned first place and won$700 per team member:
- Brandon Simonton of Mineral Wells
- Caitlin Kite of Flower Mound
- Caleb Mobley of Denton (formerly of Bedford)
- Holley Brazzel of Spring, Texas
- Kristin Tonthat of The Woodlands, Texas
- Michael Chapman of Denison (formerly of Plano)
- Stephanie Connelly of Lake Jackson
- Trent Hunt of Fort Worth
The following students earned second place and won $150 per team member:
- Christian Cunningham of Belington, West Virginia
- Danielle Peruchi of Sunnyvale (a former Euless resident)
- Jeff Johnson of Fort Worth
- Michael Nguyen of Lewisville (a former Abilene resident)
- Oscar Nieto of North Richland Hills
- Sandra Rivera of Frisco
- Stephanie Farris of Oak Point
- Thomas Swift of Trophy Club
The following students earned third place and won$100 per team member:
- Adeola Adeosoye of Mansfield
- Darrin Taylor of Duncanville
- Janelle Rodriguez of McAllen
- Melissa Maples of Natchez, Mississippi
- Sara Fogassy of Azle
- Wariner Stahl of Gainesville
Past clients for the case competition have included Target Corporation, ReStore operations of the Dallas Area Habitat for Humanity, the Texas town of Cross Roads, Service King Collision Repair, Denton Community Hospital, Enterprise Rent-a-Car, Sonic and more.
Northwestern Mutual and UNT alumnus Tait Cruse, managing partner, Northwestern Mutual—Dallas, have pledged $100,000 over four years to organize the event and to fund students’ awards.