Four students from the Sam M. Walton College of Business took fourth place in the National Diversity Case Competition held Jan. 15-16 at the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University.
Byron Alley, Cordell Griffin, Tatiana Polydore and Boston Woodworth competed against 33 other teams in a case competition focused on inclusive retail strategies. Walton’s Office of Diversity & Inclusion, along with Sue Sedberry, managing director of Walton College’s Innovations Lab, sponsored and advised the team.
“NDCC provides you with an experience that you can’t receive from just going to class,” Griffin said. “I believe it gave me a new sense of confidence in knowing that I competed with some of the best students from the best universities in our country. I was so grateful to be a part of the team.”
The top winners were University of North Carolina (first), University of Southern California (second) and Louisiana State University (third). Other schools competing included Ohio State University, Penn State University, University of Arizona, University of California Berkeley, University of Georgia, University of Iowa, University of Illinois, University of Maryland, University of Michigan, University of Tennessee, University of Texas Austin, Washington University, Yale University and Rutgers University.
“I am so proud of our students,” said Barbara Lofton, director, Office of Diversity & Inclusion, and team adviser. “They went toe-to-toe with teams from throughout the country and did a great job representing the university, Walton College and our state.”
All participating teams had the opportunity to network with business leaders and attend workshops.
“I absolutely loved how everyone was so willing to network as well as push each other to do their best,” Polydore said. “I’ll be looking forward to next year!”
