In the Spotlight

Kallie Mac, an accounting student at Western Michigan University’s Haworth College of Business, received a competitive $10,000 scholarship from the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board for the 2022-23 academic year. The merit-based scholarship is intended to encourage accounting students to pursue careers in auditing. She has also accepted a full-time job with Rehmann as a staff auditor, beginning in 2023.

Dr. Bernard Han, Western Michigan University professor of business information systems, has earned a highly competitive Fulbright Specialist Award from the U.S. Department of State. As part of the award, Han completed a project at National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University in Taiwan that focused on state-of-the-art smart medicine through the application of artificial intelligence and data analytics using real-time data collected by Internet of Things devices.

Two teams of digital marketing students from Western Michigan University took second and third place among 217 undergraduate student teams from across the world in the Digital Marketing Competition hosted by Purdue University Northwest. Other Western student teams finished in 6th, 11th and 12th place in the competition. The second-place team (pictured left) was comprised of Brandon Westbrooks, Derek Gleaton, Andrew Charles and Crizio Sinuraya.

In fall semester, Western Michigan University seniors Erin Rogers and Trenton Sands placed second overall as a team at the State Farm Marketing and Sales Competition. In addition, Rogers took first place and earned $3,000 in prize money in the life insurance sales role-play category. The team spent weeks preparing for the competition and tested their skills against 12 universities from across the nation.

WMU and Kalamazoo College are embarking on an exciting partnership that allows students from both institutions to go outside the classroom to gain powerful experiences in leadership and business strategy by consulting with local companies on their business challenges. The collaboration is managed by Drs. Doug Lepisto and Derrick McIver, co-directors of Western’s Center for Principled Leadership and Business Strategy, and Amy MacMillan, L. Lee Stryker Associate Professor of Business Management for Kalamazoo College.

The Food Marketing Conference returned to Kalamazoo in spring 2023 and brought an exciting new format. Attendees could enjoy sessions in person or online in a “live-hybrid” format—and a new conference app encouraged engagement. This year, “A Taste of West Michigan,” a signature event that highlights opportunities to give back to organizations focused on food innovation, food insecurity and connecting local food producers to potential markets, was embraced by the nearly 800 conference attendees.

A WMU Haworth integrated supply management student is among six students from across the country to receive a coveted nationwide business scholarship awarded by the Richter Foundation and the Institute for Supply Management’s Richter Scholarship Fund. Madison Dober received a $10,000 award from the foundation and will have the opportunity to be mentored by established executives and former Richter Scholars.

Western Michigan University’s sales talent was on display this spring at the Desert Cup, Arizona State University’s Collegiate Sales Competition, where senior Madi Miller took first place in the sales role-play category, and the Western team placed second overall in the competition. In addition to Miller, Sydney Kjelden, Julio Nardinelli and Jack Taylor comprised the WMU team. Western competed against 13 other universities in speed selling and sales role-play.