Written by Justine Rumbel, Assistant Director, Admissions
Looking up from my coffee-scented office on a Friday afternoon, the snow piling up outside my window, I take a break from reading applications to refill my mug.
As I walk down the hallway, I see a once-familiar sight from this time last year: Carla has put the Simon Scholars team signs on a few select admissions counselors’ office doors. It’s almost time to put a few faces with the names on paper I’ve been seeing for the past few weeks.
On Sunday, February 15, all twenty-one of our registered competitors traversed far and wide through snow drifts and flight schedules to make it to our third-annual Simon Scholars Business Case Competition. Modeled after the Early Leaders Case Competition held by the Simon Graduate School of Business for current undergraduate students across the globe, our competition for high school seniors is no less challenging. Of the ninety-two applicants who wanted to participate in the $15,000 scholarship business competition, only twenty-nine students were invited, making this our most selective year to date.
They were each given a copy of the business case approximately one month in advance. It was then up to the individual students to come prepared with their own research ideas and work together on a solution with their team. Within less than 24 hours of meeting each other, team members presented a fifteen-minute PowerPoint presentation Monday afternoon to a group of four experienced judges.
This year’s case was particularly challenging and required students to combine their analytical and interpersonal strengths while communicating effectively with each other and the judges. For most, this was their first experience delving into a case competition, and to say they’ve proven themselves for success in future business projects is an understatement.
Although they’ve all done an incredible job, I’m excited to announce that we have selected nine winners for the 2015 Simon Scholars competition! Two teams and three individuals were chosen to receive the $15,000 Simon Scholars annual tuition scholarship at the University of Rochester. Selection was based on the judges’ score sheets, peer evaluations, our interactions with all competitors throughout the two-day event and beyond, and students’ applications for Simon Scholars and general admission. Believe me when I say this was no easy task.
The team winners for the Case Competition for their collaborative skills, innovative ideas, and excellent responses to the judges’ questions were from Team A and Team G!
Team A (from left to right):
Julia Allen from Susquehanna Valley High School (NY)
Myles Novick from Irvington High School (NY)
Kavya Sreedhar from Lakeridge High School (OR)
Team G (from left to right):
Kassra Eshraghi from Notre Dame High School (NY)
Madeline Hoey from Warwick Valley High School (NY)
Graham Rutledge from Altamont School (AL)
Three individual competitors were also recognized by the judges and selection committee as Simon Scholars winners. They stood out within their teams as strong contributors while also demonstrating their professionalism, communication skills, and desire to be problem-solvers throughout the event:
William Moore (Team D) from Niskayuna High School (NY)
Jade Miller (Team E) from Fayetteville-Manlius High School (NY)
Xueying Chen (Team F) from Charlotte Country Day School (NC)
Last but not least, I want to thank our wonderful judges, our panelists, and our incredible business librarian, Suzanne Bell, for dedicating their time and expertise to the Simon Scholars Business Case Competition. Without all of you, we would not be able to make this opportunity for students such a success!
To learn more about the Simon Scholars competition from a current student’s perspective, check out a blog post by our 2014 winner, Nirupama Muralidharan.