Business Leadership Symposium, 2023 organized by Truist Center for Leadership
Truist Center for Leadership hosted the Business Leadership Symposium, 2023 an event designed to bridge the gap between academic theory and practical business solutions. The symposium featured the work of 11 teams of students who presented their individual or team projects, providing a glimpse of the innovative and interdisciplinary approaches they used to tackle real-world business challenges. The Truist Center of Leadership is fashioned to develop the next generation of business leaders with a spirit of discovery and exploration.
A panel of six judges with extensive experience in the business and academic world evaluated the presentations using a common rubric to identify the final winners. The judges included Dr. Elizabeth Alexander, Assistant Prof Tim Bryan, Tim Hazelett, Dr. Alan Letton, Dr. Uday Tate, and Dr. Shaorong Zhang.
Eleven teams participated in the symposium, and the winners of the cash prize were:
- First Place: Student Exchange & Study Abroad. The team members were Romane Soleillant, Anaïs Vincent, and Marine Kersuzan. They presented the experiences faced by French exchange students who came to study abroad for a semester. Their presentation included the experiences and challenges of adapting to a new culture, navigating unfamiliar academic techniques, and communicating in a non-native language.
- Second Place: Sustainable Waste Management was a project by Maddy Braham, who shared concern for the rising amount of garbage generated and proposed an app that can help with garbage segregation and create a technologically advanced garbage management system.
- Third Place: Surviving Recession: Focus on Small Businesses was won by Mackenzie Rider, whose project deals with ideas for small business growth for dealing with economic recession.
The other work presented included ideas on Ethics: The Emerging Force presented by Colton Horn, George Karnes, and Isabel Horter; Holiday Shopping Affects Consumer Behavior presented by Caitlin Auld, Adriana Collelo, Cyrah Moore, and Elise McClelland; The Mobile Dentist presented by Abbagael Seidler; Viral Marketing and the Emerging Popularity of Social Media by Lilly Dewesse, Audrey Chwalik, & Emily McLatchey; Momentivity Events and the Need for Specialized Services presented by Shelby Blackburn; Neuromarketing as an Emerging Trend was presented by Victoria Blickenstaff & Olivia Perdue; Epic Games: The Legality of Loot Boxes was presented by Annika Behnke; Augmented Reality Impacts Consumer Marketing was created by Ripley Lyon.
The master of ceremonies for the evening was Ms. Alissa Stewart Sparks, Executive Director of Goodwill Industries. The opening remarks were given by Commodore Tony Martin. The keynote speaker for the event was Mr. John C. Stevens, President, and Co-Owner of Thermal Solutions. He was felicitated as Dean’s Speaker by Dr. Ron Area, CEO, Marshall Foundation, Dr. Jeff Archambault, Associate Dean, LCOB, and Dr. Nancy Lankton, Associate Dean LCOB. Mr. Patrick O’Malley, Reginal President and Mr. Joshua Scott from Truist Bank addressed the students on the role of leadership in the banking industry. Other members from Truist Bank also spent considerable time with the students in understanding the work presented by them. Dr. Monisha Gupta, Director of the Truist Center for Leadership expressed her gratitude to everyone who helped make the event a success. The event was well attended by over seventy people, including students, community leaders, academicians, and industry representatives.
Submitted by Dr. Monisha Gupta, Director, Truist Center for Leadership
