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The heartbeat of the Mike Cottrell School of Business is to equip future leaders to be catalysts for progressive and creative thinking in the business world.
A recent group of MBA graduate students exemplify the success which the business school believes that each student can experience. Jacque Earp, Casey Allison, Mark Bennett, Raegan Harvey and Nick Townsend comprised the team that was presented a list of potential organizations for which they would develop a new marketing plan.
Of the possible candidates, the five-member team elected to work with Interactive Neighborhood for Kids ( INK), a non-profit organization benefiting children in Gainesville/Hall County near NGCSU. INK provides children the opportunity to learn at their own pace while exploring their imaginations through hands-on learning. It also serves as an interactive museum of real-world experiences, from banking and money management to healthcare.
“The more we learned of INK, the more drawn we were to help Sheri [Hooper, INK executive director] and staff improve marketing, operations, and financial stability so the company can continue to grow and educate so many students and visitors in our area,”said Harvey.
Hooper likewise was elated to work with the students, who showed a genuine interest is furthering INK’s overall vision.
"The knowledge and background of the team was incredible. The value of the information they gave us was absolutely priceless," said Hooper.
The marketing plan addressed INK’s market reach and current – as well as potential - impact in an effort to increase visitation to the museum. The team also implemented a business plan, which serves as an outline of INK’s operations. This plan provides INK with a practical approach to furthering the management, marketing and accounting aspects of the organization in addition to a document that provides INK’s background information for potential donors.
The students quickly discovered that the impact of working with INK reached far beyond their academic responsibilities, leaving each student feeling more prepared to take on challenging projects and tasks in their respective work environment.
"North Georgia's school of business has had a great impact on me both personally and professionally," said Allison. "In both my undergraduate and graduate degree studies, MCSOB faculty pushed students to take an active role in solving problems. The INK project helped me use the specific materials and theories learned to both find the problems and rectify or improve the situation."
Each member of the team expressed their gratitude for the opportunity to work with INK, and gained a newfound perspective of business marketing and the way in which that pertains to non-profit organizations.
Hooper shares their sentiments.
"I wish they were my personal team to work with every day of the week," she said. "They were great.”
INK will continue to thrive and have an impact on the lives of children for years to come. Thanks to the preparation and experience the Mike Cottrell School of Business has afforded these graduates, Hooper will likely have been the first of many business professionals to be grateful to have worked with them.
By Ben Helton. Republished with permission from The Cottrell Connection, Fall 2011 |
On October 20, students in the Operations Management course in North Georgia’s 2012 MBA Cohort received a visit from local McDonald’s executives.
Michael Higley, U.S. International Managing Director at FedEx Express, spoke to North Georgia’s 2013 MBA cohort as part of the school’s Executive in Residence program. The dinner-and-discussion event took place on October 12, 2011 at the Cumming Graduate Center.
As part of the 
