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Timmerman Auditorium in the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Timothy J. Hyland Hall hummed with nervous energy during the Midwest High School Pitch and Warhawk Business Plan competitions on April 4, 2018.

For the second year, the evening led off with the high school pitch competition—the only event of its kind in the Midwest where aspiring young entrepreneurs receive feedback from judges and vie for cash prizes. The competition was developed to foster an entrepreneurial mindset in high school students while advancing their business model development and professional presentation skills.

Each student or team had six minutes to present their business idea to the panel of judges, who asked follow up questions, provided feedback, and evaluated the presentations for content and delivery.

Claire Darmstadter from Sun Prairie High School, Mike Henry from Parker High School, and Mathew Hall from the Elkhorn Area High School earned first, second, and third places, respectively. Madeline Eggert and the team of Margaret Mroch and Diamond Orin, all from the Elkhorn Area High School, also presented their plans.

The high school pitch event was followed by the collegiate Warhawk Business Plan competition, which was started in 2007 to help UW-Whitewater student entrepreneurs transform their ideas into startup businesses. The finalists ranked in the top three split $2,250 in prize money to help advance their start-ups.

Entrepreneurship major Sam Lepak and business partner Evan Laird were awarded first place for their start-up Pintful, entrepreneurship major Ben Breitenbucher was awarded second place for Breit Innovations, and communication major Daniel Kry came in third with his pitch for SpecClips.

Sharing the judges’ regard for the aspiring entrepreneurs, Kevin Kaufman, Director of the Small Business Development Center at UW-Whitewater, said, “I was thoroughly impressed with the preparation, presentation skills, and innovation shown by all of the competitors in the pitch competitions.”

Fellow judge Jim Lindenberg of Lindy Enterprises added, “These young adults are already seasoned veterans, and they are going to be very successful people in the future. I can’t wait to read about their success in years to come.”

First launched by the UW-Whitewater CEO student organization in 2007 and originally modeled after the Wisconsin Governor’s Business Plan Contest, the annual Warhawk Business Plan competition supports student entrepreneurs by not only awarding cash prizes, but ensuring they have a fundamentally solid business plan and are prepared to explain their startup idea to prospective employees, investors, and customers.

UW-Whitewater CEO’s mission is to inform, support, and inspire college students to be entrepreneurial and to seek opportunity through enterprise creation. This successful student organization offers access to invaluable resources, such as the UW-Whitewater Launch Pad and UW-Whitewater Incubation Program, as well as exceptional education and networking experiences.

Band students from Whitewater and Fort Atkinson High School traveled to Memphis and New Orleans over their Spring Break! This trip provided amazing opportunities to experience the birthplace of America’s music- Jazz! Students had three wonderful concerts, at Metairie Manor, historic Jackson Square, and Kenner Discovery health and sciences academy! They received a private performance in the historic Preservation Hall and enjoyed dinner and dancing aboard the Natchez Dinner Cruise. So much history, culture, and Cajun food were enjoyed!

Twenty-three students participated in the National History Day regional competition, which took place at UW-Madison on Saturday, February 24, 2018. Whitewater advanced nine students to the state competition in three categories: Senior Paper, Individual Exhibit, Individual Website, and Group Website. The NHD Regional had schools from across South Central Wisconsin. Whitewater High School also had five students who were listed as alternates to the State competition in their respective categories.

National History Day is an academic enrichment program for students in grades 6-12. Students select topics connected to an annual theme and complete their own in-depth research on the topic. This year, the annual theme is “Conflict and Compromise”. Students present their conclusions by creating museum-style exhibits, media documentaries, research papers, interactive websites, and dramatic performances.

The school event is the first step in a competition cycle that can take students from school level to the regional, state, and national competitions. At each level of competition, students share their work with their peers, historians, educators, and professionals in related fields as they compete for special awards and the opportunity to advance to the next level of competition.

Participation continues to grow with more than 500,000 students participating annually across the nation. The National History Day program in Wisconsin is coordinated by the Wisconsin Historical Society.

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater College of Business and Economics was recognized for the excellence of its Bachelor of Business Administration in Human Resource Management at the 36^th annual LEAD Awards on February 8, 2018. In the category of Degree Program with Emphasis on HR, 150 programs were nominated and the top 15 were ranked. UW-Whitewater’s BBA in human resource management placed third in this elite group.

The LEAD Awards program is an exciting part of HR.com’s annual conference. Each year this conference draws esteemed executives and experts from around the country, and the awards celebrate exceptional leadership and innovations in developmental programs by organizations, education programs, and individuals.

UW-Whitewater’s award-winning Human Resource Management major features core credits from the College of Business and Economics’ respected BBA and 24 credits of courses that align with the standards of the Society for Human Resource Management. All students must complete a capstone course that integrates the HRM content from previous courses and builds critical thinking skills.

Program Coordinator and Associate Professor Kelly Delaney-Klinger explained, “The SHRM Competency Model has been very helpful for identifying learning objectives, both for individual courses and the overall major. Having students participate in hands-on activities, research and client-sponsored projects greatly improve learning in the courses. These activities also boost students’ confidence in their ability to perform as an HR professional.”

A relatively new addition to the program is a required e-Portfolio. HRM students all must create an electronic portfolio, which is intended to collect and demonstrate what students learned throughout their HR courses. Students must present their e-Portfolios to HR professionals during the capstone class.

Regarding the e-Portfolio component of the HRM program, Management Department Chair and Professor Jon Werner shared, “This has been an important tool for helping students integrate their knowledge and experiences. It is evident the competency-based curriculum, capstone course and e-Portfolio prepare students to effectively present themselves as HR professionals when they graduate.”

Werner adds, “In the marketplace, the program’s success is ultimately measured in terms of job placement and career advancement. We have seen, on average, that 94% of the graduates of the BBA in HRM are working in their field of study within six months of graduation.”

Dean John Chenoweth was pleased with the LEAD award distinction, which helps highlight the competencies-based model and e-Portfolio component.

Chenoweth explains, “The UW-Whitewater College of Business and Economics places great emphasis on assurance of learning goals. We want to ensure our graduates are prepared to transition successfully from college to career, and that they have acquired the skills and business knowledge they need to succeed. The SHRM Competency Model used in the human resource management program allows faculty to map student outcomes onto the expected learning outcomes of the college.”

Human resource management is one of 14 undergraduate majors available from the AACSB-accredited UW-Whitewater College of Business and Economics.