Reflections on the #SHRMStudent Case Competition
A few weeks ago five Villanova HRD students—Emma Edoga, Hannah Parker Carver, Megan Peiffer, Rita Snell, and Nick Kruger—competed in the #SHRMStudent Case Competition- East Division. This year, the East Division Case Competition was held in Philadelphia, PA at The Warwick Hotel. Each year, teams are presented with an HR-related case where students must use their own knowledge and experiences to propose solutions without input from any HR professional or faculty advisor. This year’s case was about a family-run farm in Idaho that displayed issues in its dairy and egg productions as well as the Human Resources function. In response to key questions, students wrote a two-page executive summary and created a 15-minute presentation to propose their solutions in front of a panel of judges. These solutions included analyzing the dairy and egg productions by conducting a thorough job analysis and assessing the human capital needs via a workforce planning model.
Here are some comments from the #VUHRD team about the event:
“The whole process of the SHRM case competition was invaluable! From the preparation of all our materials to the actual presentation, there was so much opportunity to practice our HR skills and get great experience! We also met some fantastic people and made great connections which I'm sure will be useful in the future. I look forward to participating again next year!”
—Hannah Parker Carver
“This was my second year competing in the SHRM Student Case Competition and I’ve learned something new with each experience. This year my takeaway is learning to ask the right questions. When putting together our materials, we were challenged to think about our audience, the timeline and costs of our proposed solutions, and other “real world” factors. This competition is a great opportunity to take a deep dive into applying everything we’ve learned about HR into practice. In addition to the learning experience, I really enjoyed exploring the city and eating too much at Fogo de Chao!”
—Rita Snell
“The case competition taught me the power of teamwork, strategic thinking, and feedback. Our team worked very well together and utilized each other's strengths in case analysis and presentation. One of the most influential parts of experience was having the opportunity to watch the finalist presentations. We were able to understand how other teams approached the case to identify our strengths and areas we could have improved. This was a very fun, influential experience and I'm thankful to have had this opportunity!”
—Megan Peiffer
"Attending the Case Competition for my first year was an amazing and informative learning experience. The competition provided for me an opportunity to apply the knowledge I've learned so far in my courses in solving an HR-related problem in the case study. It was also great to see the presentations of the finalists, as it gave me different perspectives on how other teams went about solving the problem and ways to improve our presentation for next year. I loved spending quality time with my fellow GAs and I can't wait to do it all again next year!"
—Emma Edoga
"What I enjoyed most about the case competition was the time spent with my teammates. Aside from doing an outstanding presentation, we were able to enjoy some of the nightlife in the city, not to mention our visit to the greatest place on earth-- Fogo de Chao."
—Nick Kruger
To learn more about the #SHRMStudent Case Competition, check out the SHRM website information here.
