University of Dallas Students Make Lasting Change Through Capstone Consulting Experience

A group of MBA students at the University of Dallas Satish and Yasmin Gupta College of Business recently made a lasting change for the town of Greenwood, Louisiana, through the university’s Capstone Consulting Experience (CCE).

A team of UD MBA students was put to the task of collecting and and analyzing community input that would ultimately lead to the creation of a new logo for the town. This included extensive market research work to help students “discover what makes Greenwood, Greenwood.” The MBA students conducted online surveys, asked for community input through social media, and attended town hall meetings.

“I enjoyed getting the responses to the surveys and talking with the citizens,” Mary Weisse, MBA ’17, and one of the students on the Greenwood consulting team, said. “The people were interested in moving their town forward—even though there were several points of view on how to do that. On the last day of the semester,w e gave our presentation to the mayor and city officials.

The consulting team of MBA students was the result of the university’s Capstone Consulting Experience, a requirement of all MBA students in their final year. During this project, students will apply their knowledge and skill to an organization as it faces a business challenge.

After the MBA students gathered the research, results were sent to a branding company that designed the new logo around the community input. The logo was revealed at the 38th annual Pioneer Heritage Festival, a community gathering which celebrates the town’s heritage.

“In the Capstone Consulting Experience, we look to help any organization that needs our students’ expertise. In this case, the town of Greenwood didn’t have the resources to hire a marketing research firm, so they turned to us,” commented Scott Wysong, a UD associate professor of marketing who served as faculty adviser for the project. “The mayor and other leaders of Greenwood were very pleased with all of the data collected and the recommendations made by the students.

regions: Dallas

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