UPPER BURRELL, Pa. -- Penn State New Kensington business students can earn a $500 award at the second Business Degree Program Essay Competition.
Full-time bachelor’s or associate degree-seeking students are eligible to write a paper on “Why I Chose the Business Program and My Career Development Plan.” Participants must have earned at least 45 credits, be enrolled in at least their fourth semester, and carry a 2.5 or higher grade-point average. Deadline for submitting the essay is Friday, Sept. 18.
The 600- to 800-word papers will be judged on writing skill, organization of the paper, and creativity by a selection committee. The award recipient will be notified by Sept. 30. The winning entry will be published on the campus website.
For complete guidelines of the contest, visit http://www.nk.psu.edu/Academics/45873.htm
Inaugural Award Recipient: Samantha SimonSamantha Simon, a senior management and marketing major, won the initial competition last year. She outlined her academic strategies and career aspirations in her essay.
“The business program at Penn State New Kensington appealed to me for various reasons. Penn State New Kensington was a relatively smaller school; it was close to home; and doesn’t cost nearly as much as I was expecting. These were all huge plusses in my eyes,” Simon wrote in her essay. “But why did I choose the business degree program? Opportunity. I felt that majoring in business would open doors for me that no other major could, in terms of job stability and salary. While all of my other previous career dreams were based on insignificant experiences in high school, enrolling in the business degree program at Penn State New Kensington felt like, for the first time, I was on the right track to my future.”
A staple of the Dean’s List, Simon has earned the top grade-point average for her class in the business program as a sophomore and a junior. She will graduate in December with a bachelor’s degree and enter the workforce before beginning an MBA program.
The Leechburg High School product is the recipient of numerous campus scholarships, including the Patrick and Mardelle Sacco Kopnicky Trustee Scholarship. The Kopnicky endowment was established in 2008 by Patrick and Mardelle Kopnicky of Natrona Heights. The Kopnickys were the campus co-chairs of the “For the Future” campaign that raised $3.8 million for New Kensington students.
Last year, Simon was a member of the history-making team of campus business students who competed in the “Smeal Case Competition,” an undergraduate competition. It was the first time a New Kensington team earned an invitation to the elite competition. The case study challenges students' knowledge, problem-solving abilities, and teamwork skills to solve realistic business problems in a 24-hour format. Sixteen teams were selected to devise solutions for business cases that required marketing, management and financial analysis.
Questions about the competition can be directed to Yang Xu, associate professor of business administration, yuk4@psu.edu
For Simon’s winning essay, visit http://www.nk.psu.edu/Academics/45873.htm