Undergraduate Programs

On the Ball

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UConn Consulting Group
Back row from left: Ezra Okon (Adviser), Justin Lee, Stephen Porcello, Laura Iliescu, Jason Mraz, Kunal Kataria, Romanna Romaniv, Katie Cavanaugh, Kyle Horvath, Paul Millerd (Adviser)
Bottom row from left: Edward Leardi, John McLaughlin, Matthew DeLeon, Jeffrey Noonan (Courtesy of Jason Mraz)

New Student-Led UConn Consulting Group Investigates Ways to Make Basketball Fans Love Games Even More

When UConn Athletics noticed a decline in basketball sales, they began to look for new ways to get fans into games. They introduced new package ticket deals, created the ‘Top Dog’ Program, and brought in the UConn Consulting Group (UCG) to help them further analyze UConn and the college basketball industry.

Primarily made up of undergraduate business students, the UCG is a competitive experiential learning group that pursues real-life (work) experience through select consulting projects. Each semester, the group takes on a new project and works to add value to a client’s strategy and operations while letting students develop skills that are, at best, extremely difficult to learn in a classroom.

The UCG worked with UConn Athletics through the fall 2015 semester to identify ways to improve the game-day experience for fans. They began by performing an in-depth analysis of UConn basketball and the different elements that have dramatically shifted the college basketball industry in recent years, such as conference realignment and technological advances. They also conducted extensive research, reaching out to more than 20 comparable universities, reading more than 50 academic research papers and articles, conducting three surveys and analyzing the results of some 1,800 respondents.

Throughout this process, the UCG identified key elements of success, as well as best practices from other universities that could be incorporated at UConn. At the end of the semester, the UCG presented its final recommendation to UConn Athletics.

“The UCG has gone above and beyond this semester to help UConn Athletics be the best it can be,” said John Seagrave, assistant director of marketing for UConn Athletics. “They have given us a lot to think about moving forward and we really appreciate all the work they did to help us out.”

The consulting group was created by Justin Lee ’15 as a way for UConn students to make an impact on their community. An accounting major, who discovered a passion for management consulting, Lee began by reaching out to alumni in the consulting industry and, with the help of Paul Millerd ’07 and Ezra Okon ’10, was able to form the UConn Consulting Group. UCG started with seven members and two alumni advisers, but has since grown to 13 members and four advisers, with more growth on the horizon.

“UCG has grown faster than I ever imagined,” said Lee, who is still an adviser. “The quality of students, and [their] passion to succeed will drive the group to be a premier organization at UConn. I cannot wait to see the group grow.”

Although the UCG has only completed two projects to date—UConn Athletics and a previous engagement with the UConn Foundation—it has experienced overwhelming success, and more importantly perhaps, has made a significant impact on the members.

“UCG has helped me with everything. My communication and technical skills have improved dramatically and it’s all I talk about in interviews,” said Katie Cavanaugh, a junior who is currently leading a project for a financial services startup. “Plus, UCG’s network of undergraduates and alumni advisers is arguably the best on campus. It really is an exceptional group and an incredible opportunity for UConn students.”

In the coming months, UCG will begin working with two start-ups—one based in Connecticut, the other in New York City. The projects will include detailed analyses of things such as revenue growth, cost/benefit of strategic partnerships, valuation, and overall business plan evaluation.

“The UCG is expanding to two projects next semester, allowing us to further our impact even more,” said Stephen Porcello, managing director. “I am very excited about the future and the numerous ways we will continue to grow and develop, and enhance our impact within the UConn community.”

The UCG is currently looking to recruit new members. If interested, please send an email with your resume to uconnconsultinggroup@gmail.com and a representative will get back to you with further details on the recruiting process.

UConn Students Rise to the ‘Interview Challenge’

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Interview Challenge participants enjoy dinner at Chuck & Augie's restaurant on December 8, 2015 (Juanita Austin/UConn School of Business)
Interview Challenge participants enjoy dinner at Chuck & Augie’s restaurant on December 8, 2015 (Juanita Austin/UConn School of Business)

The School of Business Undergraduate Career Development Office (UCDO) successfully hosted its first “Interview Challenge” in the fall semester. With prizes funded by a Target Corporation Campus Grant, students were challenged to participate in coaching to develop their professional interview skills. Over the course of one month, students who registered for the Interview Challenge had three tasks, or challenges, to complete.

The challenges were:

  1. Choose a random interview question from the “interview bowl” and answer it on the spot for a UCDO career counselor;
  2. Record an online interview utilizing InterviewStream; and
  3. Complete an in-person practice interview with a UCDO career counselor.

The goal of the program was to help students develop their interview skills and become aware of the services that UCDO offers, allowing them to feel more comfortable in the career development process.

For senior international exchange student Guzela Marisova, the Interview Challenged helped ease her fear of interviewing.

“UCDO challenge put me in a situation where I had to show my best in order to get a ‘job.’ What was really good about it, is that this situation was not stressful at all. Lorraine Liswell, who interviewed me, was a very nice and friendly interviewer who made me understand that I’m not in danger (as we are used to thinking while being interviewed),” said Marisova.

As a result of the program, 71% of the mock interviews that were conducted this semester were from students engaging in the Interview Challenge. These students included freshmen up to seniors, business and non-business majors, and first-time UCDO visitors. As a sidebar, another significant result of the program was that UCDO staff had the opportunity to meet business freshman, Seeyashree Sodani, who impressed us so much that we offered her a job in the department. We are happy to announce that she has accepted and will join our student career intern staff this spring semester.

All students who completed the challenge were invited to a dinner held at Chuck & Augie’s on December 8th. This business casual event was an informal and fun way to network with their peers, Target Executives and the UCDO Team to de-stress before finals.

“Not only was the interview challenge fun and helpful, but it was easier than I thought it would be. The staff is so approachable and really cares about helping each student, plus there was food afterwards!”

noted Evan Wexler, a Management and Engineering for Manufacturing junior.

This program would not have been possible without the support of Target Corporation. Over the last couple of years, Target’s Campus Grants have sponsored a number of career development events including:

  • Leadership Speaker Series—Spring and Fall 2014
  • Freshman/Sophomore Case Competition—Spring 2015
  • Intern Queen Presentation—Fall 2015
  • Interview Challenge—Fall 2015

UCDO would like to thank Target for their continued support and commitment to student development. The success of the Interview Challenge set the ground work for the program to be continued each year.

Internship Success Story: Dylan Deleon

Posted on by Nancy White

Dylan Deleon is a marketing senior who currently has an internship with Nerac, a research and advisory firm for companies developing innovative products and technologies. He is an Account Development Intern who consistently communicates with team members and clients, builds rapport with clientele, sets up meetings for future senior analysts and sales representatives, and looks for new clients in the biotech, medical device, and pharmaceutical sectors.Continue Reading

UConn Shines at Northeast Intercollegiate Sales Competition

Posted on by Nancy White
Tyler Elliot, Adam Lefkowitz, Instructor Bill Ryan, Beau Baker, and Dylan DeLeon
Tyler Elliot, Adam Lefkowitz, INST Bill Ryan, Beau Baker, and Dylan DeLeon

For 150 students interested in professional sales across the Northeast, the Northeast Intercollegiate Sales Competition (NISC) at Bryant University is the ultimate chance to prove their selling skills. This past November, four UConn students from the UCONN Program for Sales Leadership (PSL), Marketing Department, joined Marketing Instructor Bill Ryan to compete at NISC. William Baker ‘16, Dylan Deleon ’16, Tyler Elliott ’16, and Adam Lefkowitz ’16 competed in sales role plays with sales professionals that represented various companies, attended sales development seminars, and networked with 24 corporate sponsors. Other competitions involved social media and the classic elevator pitch. The students used their strongest persuasion abilities to convince corporate recruiters, managers, or vice presidents that they were the strongest job candidate.

Out of the 17 attending universities, UConn took third place for Overall Sales Team. William Baker, a senior finance major, won second place out of 150 students. He remarked, “It was a fantastic opportunity to get a chance to network with some great companies and individuals. Bryant put on a great competition, and I strongly recommend UConn students interested in professional sales to attend the next one.” About his second place standing, he said, “I’m very pleased with how I did at the competition, but there is always room for improvement.”

The UConn School of Business offers a Professional Sales Concentration for Marketing majors and a Professional Sales Minor for non-marketing business majors and non-business majors taking classes in the school of business. There are two marketing electives offered each semester – Professional Selling and Sales Management and Leadership. And, coupled with a sales internship over the summer, you can prepare yourself for a successful performance at a collegiate sales competition or a professional sales role after graduation!

Internship Success Story: Taylor Hammeke

Posted on by Nancy White

Taylor Hammeke is a senior marketing major who interned with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), a global pharmaceutical company. She heard about this internship by researching medical companies and discovering that GSK is a leader in the pharmaceutical industry. This opportunity seemed right up her alley so she applied and got the internship!Continue Reading

Internship Success Story: Christopher Day

Posted on by Nancy White

Christopher Day is a senior who interned with Athenahealth last summer. Athenahealth is a healthcare technology company in Massachusetts. His product marketing internship comprised of doing competitive research to see how other companies are positioning certain products as well as helping connect the product development team and the sales groups to make sure they know the product and use the correct terminology. After working at a healthcare technology company, Chris realized a corporate setting is not as scary as he thought it could be. He said his department was great at answering his questions and he learned a lot about the company within a 15 minute meeting. Chris’s useful recommendation: don’t be afraid to put yourself out there!

Christopher Day (UConn School of Business)

Next, Chris described his most memorable moment at Athenahealth where he had to give an hour long presentation to employees discussing how other companies are marketing their Clinical Messaging and how Athena should frame their services on their website. Chris admitted, “I had to answer a lot of questions from people who have a lot more experience than me which was a pretty nerve-racking experience. In the end, I felt that I was able to answer the questions well.” His marketing classes helped him achieve this eye opening experience. When putting together his presentation, he thought back to the marketing concepts he learned in class such as the SWOT analysis to demonstrate how products should be marketed. His manager also appreciated his use of Excel and PowerPoint.

When asked about how Chris found the Athenahealth internship, he replied, “I was interested in the healthcare technology field and applied to a position in Product Innovation that I found on a job search site.” Sadly, Athenahealth did not have a spot for him in that field but recommended other positions which led him to product marketing. After completing his internship, Chris really enjoyed working in this line of work and will be applying to jobs in the healthcare technology field. This experience helped him narrow his job search and discover which jobs align with his strengths. Chris’s internship at Athenahealth meant a lot to him and created a great foundation for his future.

Chris’s advice to others: “Try to network as much as you can at internships. Your job becomes easier and more fulfilling when you get a better idea of the big picture of the company and what everyone is working towards.”

Internship Success Story: Christopher Reschberger

Posted on by Nancy White

Christopher Reschberger, a marketing senior, completed his summer internship at Bayer Material Science. Chris saw this opportunity on Husky Career Link which led him to an interview. Amazingly, he was offered the internship the same day!

His main responsibilities entailed day-to-day marketing communications activities and assisting with re-branding initiatives for his location. He was able to show off his creative side by adding his own personal twist to the re-branding projects, something he didn’t expect to do! He had daily check-ins with his supervisor who encouraged Chris to exchange ideas and feedback about re-branding strategies. He said the check-ins were great opportunities to share his input and receive advice.Continue Reading