What the Simon Scholars Competition Taught Me

Written by Kate van der Sloot, Class of 2017 and winner of the Simon Scholars Case Competition, 2013.

When I first heard about the Simon Scholars competition, I had no intention whatsoever of applying to compete. I didn’t know much about business at all. Sure, I had taken a couple of business classes in high school and was also involved in student council and other leadership positions but, as far as I was concerned, I knew nothing about the subject. I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to attend the University of Rochester; I only lived fifteen minutes away and I was always that girl who wanted to go to university as far away as possible. Despite my skepticism, I reluctantly applied to compete. Once chosen as a finalist and upon receiving the case study, my nerves only increased.

Following group assignments, the wind began to change. I was in a group with two other people, neither of whom was particularly well read in business either; still, we took it in stride and got to work. As we were working, we found that all of us operated well in a group and compromised fairly easily. We also found that, as we got further and further into the project, we were actually having fun learning together. We were all prepared, efficient, and focused; we began to realize that we had just as much of a chance at winning as all the other groups, despite lacking any business background. We walked into our presentation with confidence and left with pride, knowing we had done our absolute best, whether or not we won.

Upon receiving the phone call that our group had won, everything changed for me. The scholarship made attending the University of Rochester far more affordable, contributing to an offer that was extremely hard to refuse. Far more important than the money, I came to a huge realization following the competition that would change the next four years of my life: the University of Rochester is a school rich in opportunity. The University of Rochester served as a medium in which I could explore my future before I even knew where I wanted to go to school. Out of the nine other schools I applied to, not a single one had come close to providing such an opportunity.

Kate and her team members, Kenzo Esquivel (far left) and Shomik Ghosh (far right)

The competition also taught me a lot about business, even if not from a purely academic standpoint. Through the competition, I realized that being successful in business is not solely dependent on known facts and memorized statistics; it requires confidence, an ability to work in groups, and quick thinking. No matter what I end up deciding to study, I will carry these lessons with me in all of my future endeavors. This is why I chose the University of Rochester.

This competition provided inspiration for me to continue in my business interests. My tentative undergraduate plan is to major in business and minor in political science. Should I decide to continue my studies following undergrad, I am also interested in attending the Simon Business School to earn my MBA.

To all of you future contestants, be confident. You don’t have to be the most well versed in business to win this competition. You need to go with your gut and stay calm. Communicate well and stay on good terms with your group members—you are all in this together. Do not leave any group members out; you are all working together and it is vital that everyone understands what they are talking about.

I wish you all the best of luck. Whether or not you win, I hope you will all take away as much from this competition as I did.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me via email at kvander6@u.rochester.edu.