2010 Entreprenuerial Business Award Team Selects Finalists

December 14, 2009

Springfield, OH--- WittCAM PR consultants Melissa Cederqvist, Katherine Yuskewich, and Andrea Berry spent the fall semester of their senior year working on collecting and reviewing nominees for the 2010 Entrepreneurial Business Award. After implementing a successful integrated public relations, advertising, and promotion campaign, the team received more than 30 nominees to evaluate for the award. The team narrowed the list of nominations to six companies by reviewing the company websites and doing initial phone interviews. The team then visited these businesses and again assessed each based on its on-site visit. The findings of the six site visits were then presented to the managing partners who selected three companies that the team will present to a panel of judges in January.

After the winner has been chosen, the team will have a busy spring semester. They will then write and produce a promotional video about the award winner, formulate a plan to promote the winner and the award, and develop teaching notes to be used by area civics and economic teachers. The team looks forward to moving into with the finalist process and is excited to see the outcome of the judging process in January.

Meet the WittCAM Entrepreneurial Business Award team:

Andrea Berry ’10, is a senior management major with a concentration in marketing, from East Amherst, New York. This past summer Berry interned at a Columbus advertising agency as a media intern where she learned the media industry and gained exposure to the agency world. This semester she is interning at another agency as an account services intern. She is very involved on campus and is the 2010 class treasurer, a member of the Wittenberg University honors program, a starter on the women’s varsity lacrosseteam, the Student Athlete Advisory Committee, the Build a Better Wittenberg Committee, Student Senate Finance Committee and serves as recruitment chair for Omicron Delta Kappa leadership honorary society,and as Vice President of Tau Pi Phi, a management honorary. As a management student, Berry has been a member of other WittCAM projects that included: developing an advertising plan for the community service office on campus and raising more than $40,000 for orphans and vulnerable children in Lesotho, Africa. Berry enjoys playing and watching sports, travelling and enjoying good food. After college, Berry plans to pursue a career in the field of marketing or advertising.

Melissa Cederqvist ’10, is a senior chemistry and management double major with double minors in Computational Science and Economics from Huskvarna, Sweden. The Student Director of the Wittenberg Center for Applied Management (WittCAM), International Senator on Student Senate, a member of the American International Association (AIA) and Chemistry Club, Student Representative on the Budget Compensation Advisory Committee (BCAC) and a Team Captain for Relay for Life with the American Cancer Society for the past two years, Cederqvist is also a member of Wittenberg Honors Program, Tau Pi Phi honor society in Economics and Management and Alpha Lambda Delta. This past summer she performed computational science research in Berlin, Germany on the simulation of drug resistance in treatment of HIV and AIDS. Cederqvist plans a career in the pharmaceutical or fashion industry.

Katherine Yuskewich ’10, is a senior management major with a concentration in marketing from Columbus, Ohio. As a Sports Marketing Intern in the Athletic Department, Yuskewich plans promotional events for athletics. As a management student, Yuskewich has also participated in the Creative Advertising Partnership and served as a Springfield High School Scholarship project consultant. As a member of the Advancement Office at Wittenberg, Yuskewich serves as the Tiger Club Student Manager where she assist’s with athletic fundraising and marketing. A member of the women’s varsity volleyball team, Yuskewich played in atwo consecutive Final Four appearances and two Regional Championships, as well as two North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Championships. Representing the team on the University’s Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), Yuskewich was nominated to attend the NCAA Regional Leadership Conference in January 2009. As a member of Delta Gamma, Yuskewich has held officer positions including Director of New Member Education and Director of Scholarship. As President of Wittenberg Human Resource Management Association (WHRMA), Yuskewich assists with organizing career workshops for students and administering the Merit Award. She also serves as a member of the Student Appellate Board and several honor societies including Alpha Lambda Delta, Tau Pi Phi, and Order of Omega. Yuskewich is interested in pursuing a career in the field of marketing.

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Entrepreneurial Business Award: The EBAward was initiated by Louise Lambert, President of Junior Achievement, Ed Levental, General Manager of Valco Industries, and Pamela Schindler, Director of the Wittenberg Center for Applied Management in 1997. Together their common interest in education and business vitality led to the idea of showcasing local business success stories. The EBA recognizes and encourages the entrepreneurial spirit and practices of area companies by recognizing businesses that have implemented innovative ideas to better serve their customers, enhance the skills of their employees, improve their competitiveness or benefit the community. The EBAward has been a student-managed project in the Wittenberg Center for Applied Management (WittCAM) since its inception. Past winners include: Oxiem Marketing Technologies , Comfort Keepers, Safety Through Engineering, The Happy Soul, Young’s Diary, Freedom Feeds, Kapp Construction, Ohio Feedlot Inc, Rothschild Berry Farms, Rittal Corporation and Acusource. Corporate sponsors are Security National Bank and Springfield News-Sun.

Wittenberg Center for Applied Management (WittCAM): The Wittenberg Center for Applied Management, better known as WittCAM, offers alternative coursework to upper-level students who are focused in management. As an alternative to a classroom-based course, WittCAM provides students with the opportunity to serve as consultants to businesses, government agencies and not-for-profit organizations. Students and organizations have a choice of opportunities, including: Small Business Institute, Project Management Assistance, Management Internship, and the Creative Advertising Partnership. Students may work in groups or as individuals on projects. Some projects require specific management course prerequisites; these vary depending on the nature of the project. Directed by Professor Pamela Schindler, more than 450 students have been involved in WittCAM projects in the last 30 years.