Joining the Family: UIW Grads Finish MBA Capstone

在道成肉身的大学, there’s a class like no other – the Master of Business Administration Capstone. A course anticipated by MBA students with both excitement and apprehension, the Capstone experience is said to be something that one cannot truly understand unless they’ve lived through it. Graduates of UIW’s MBA program agree that to successfully complete the class is to join a family of few who can say they’ve done the same. 但是这周, as students in the course wrapped up final presentations and turned in 200-page books of analysis and strategy, 一批新的mba学员自豪地加入了他们的行列. 狮子座Maltos, 芭芭拉·席尔瓦, •迪奥戈Seabra, 塞德里克Szymczak, Rosalie Gomez and Koen Vos are crossing that finish line hand-in-hand.   

The MBA Capstone brings real stakes to the academic setting. Dr. David Vequist, professor in the 工商管理学院, teaches the course. 每学期, 他寻找现实世界的企业, non-profits and entrepreneurs that students can take on as their clients for eight weeks. Student groups meet with their assigned clients to identify pain points or growth opportunities, then get to work researching and developing strategies, 还有复杂的金融模型, 向他们的客户展示, who often ends up implementing the students’ suggestions.

Maltos, 席尔瓦, Seabra, Szymczak, Gomez and Vos were assigned to the Children’s Bereavement Center Rio Grande Valley (CBC-RGV), a non-profit organization that provides free grief counseling to children. 认识到对这类服务的需求日益增长, CBC-RGV consulted with the MBA Capstone group to determine an optimal expansion site, considering all associated costs and the viability of fundraising opportunities in the new location, as well as other recommendations for improved operations.

“A successful expansion plan would allow the bereavement center to offer services to 1,每437名儿童 到2025年底, 另外还有3个,500 grieving children over the course of our 3-year plan,” explained Syzmczak of the group’s proposed strategy to relocate headquarters and open an additional satellite location.

The final proposal took weeks of work-filled nights, 数小时又数小时的研究, 无数的小组会议, moments when the team thought it may be better to just start from scratch, editing and re-editing their financial model and a lot of caffeine. 但最后, the team knew they delivered something truly valuable, 不仅仅是CBC-RGV, 但对于它所服务的社区来说.

“Aside from all the business expertise gained in strategic planning, we felt enriched with learning about the nonprofit realm and all the facets involved in this industry,Szymczak继续说道. “By understanding how the Children’s Bereavement Center – Rio Grande Valley impacts many lives, we certainly experienced a rewarding feeling considering we could somehow positively influence their operations.”

The group also learned more about themselves as individuals. In moments when the course tested their resolve, they had to push themselves further than they knew they were capable of.

“The most important aspect I learned about myself is that if I work hard and stay resilient, 我可以完成任何事情, especially when you have a wonderful team to support you,马尔托斯解释道.

He found that wonderful team in his MBA Capstone group.

“From the first day that our group committed to developing the project, 我们之间的关系已经改变了,西布拉想。. 他指出，要想成功, each team member knew that communication would be key and equal contribution was not optional.

“And the proof is that over time, we all became friends, more than just group partners,” he added. “With all the demands that the project required, we were able to laugh and share moments of joy while working together. This ability to come together in support of the project and establish friendships was what allowed us to maximize the strengths of each of us and generate work that was both valuable and gratifying.”

“I trusted this team with my eyes 关闭d,” 席尔瓦 agreed. “我只知道他们会提供最好的.”

The group will cross the commencement stage together on Saturday, 5月7日, 当他们这么做的时候, they know they are forever bonded to their group partners and every UIW MBA graduate who came before them. After graduation, each member will go off to different places and take on new roles. 席尔瓦 will return to her home country of Brazil to finally be reunited with her loved ones before settling down in the Rio Grande Valley. Maltos and Gomez hope to utilize their new skills with a career change. Vos is heading to Georgia where he’ll work as a financial analyst. Seabra will travel to Portugal to visit family and friends before returning to San Antonio in July. And Szymczak has accepted a job with the City of San Antonio. While the future certainly looks bright, they admit it’s bittersweet to be done.

“You invest so much time and effort in the class that you don’t really take a break or realize how special what we’re doing is,沃斯说。. “再过几年, 回顾过去的几个月, I’m sure we will all be proud of what we accomplished.”