Tobin Competes in the 2012 Georgetown Business Strategy Challenge

February 28, 2012

Four undergraduate students represented the Peter J. Tobin College of Business in the Business Strategy Challenge at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. from February 22 to 26, 2012. Elizabeth Janson, Morgan McCarthy, Kay Mordeno and Alina Rizvi were selected from the selective Executive-in-Residence Program (EIRP) run by Drs. Larry Boone and Linda Sama.

The competition, developed in 2005, is the only undergraduate business plan competition in the country that focuses on strategic management of non-profit organizations. Each year, a leading non-profit organization is invited to present an issue they are facing.  The competing teams then have two days to analyze and prepare a solution for the client and a set of senior executives who act as judges.  

This year’s client, Street Sense, is a Washington, D.C.-based 16-page biweekly street newspaper distributed by homeless people in the area in order to empower them and help them to make a connection with other members of the community. The St. John’s team prepared an excellent presentation, which included a set of initiatives with a consistent and integrated image in order to modernize the approach of the organization.
In addition to their EIRP’s experience, the students had some specialized preparation in spring 2012 including developing presentation skills and working on a non-profit project for the Law School Clinics at St. John’s University, helping them to identify potential sources of external funding.

The student teams at the competition were from twenty leading and international universities including:  Florida State University, Georgetown University, McGill University, New York University, Northeastern University, University College Dublin (Ireland), University of Michigan, University of Western Ontario, and Washington University. 


About the Peter J. Tobin College of Business
The Peter J. Tobin College of Business has provided a high-quality business education for over eighty years, offering individuals from throughout the world the opportunity to study in New York’s dynamic business environment.  The innovative curriculum emphasizes an analytic and hands-on understanding of business practice that prepares graduates to excel in today’s global marketplace.

For more information about this or other programs at the Peter J. Tobin College of Business, please contact Asia Hauter at  hautera@stjohns.edu or visit www.stjohns.edu/tobin.