The Walker College of Business hosted the first-ever 2026 Dean’s Club Strategic Business Competition, bringing together undergraduate and graduate student teams for a real‑world challenge focused on strategy, collaboration and professional presentation, with prize money at stake.
The competition was held in conjunction with the Appalachian Research in Business Symposium. View event photos.
“This is the final round for our teams,” said Associate Director for Graduate Business Programs Cele Burt, who helped organize the competition. “Teams were given their case about a month ago, along with supporting documentation and data files needed to formulate a solution. They also participated in Zoom calls with the client to ask questions and gain additional insight.”
The case, titled “Meals, Markets and Metrics: A Campus Dining Strategy,” challenged students to analyze an internal business scenario connected to Appalachian State University’s campus dining operations. Teams were evaluated on their analysis, development of alternatives, recommendations, implementation plans and presentation quality, with a heavier emphasis placed on analytical depth and
Working in teams, they developed and presented strategic solutions to a panel of judges drawn from business and academic communities.
2026 Competition Winners
After a competitive round of presentations, the following teams were named winners.
Graduate Divison
Madalyn Stephens, Elizabeth Russell, Leah Uteg‑Winkleman and Amy Hu earned first place in the graduate division, winning $1,800.
Stephens, Russell, Uteg‑Winkleman, and Hu
Chayse Barney, Sawyer O’Donnell and Siddhartha Thapaliya earned second place in the graduate division, winning $1,000.
Barney, O'Donnell, and Thapaliya
Undergraduate Division
Riley Klebe and John Baker earned first place in the undergraduate division, winning $1,200.
Klebe and Baker
Grayson Lucas and Lexi Wingo earned second place in the undergraduate division and won $800.
Lucas and Wingo
Burt thanked the judges: Elizabeth Reedy, executive director of App State Campus Dining; Joshua Bolick, senior director of finance and systems for Campus Services; Katie Grubb, director of brand management for App State Campus Services; and Jared Rorrer, managing director at Accenture and member of the Graduate Programs Advisory Board. She also said IT Project Manager Nikki Crees had been instrumental to the competition.
“Thank you to our judges for your participation in this competition. This is a great learning experience for our students, especially those interested in careers like consulting, and your insight, questions and feedback are a critical part of that process.”
Opportunities like the Dean’s Club Strategic Business Competition reflect the Walker College’s commitment to connecting students with industry leaders and to providing real‑world experiences that prepare them to lead in their future careers.
About the Walker College Dean's Club
Contributions from Dean's Club members provide unrestricted support each year for critical needs in the college, such as student scholarships, travel funds for faculty and students to attend course-related conferences and/or visits to corporations, seed money for new programs or opportunities within the college, and resources to bring guest lecturers, such as leaders in business and government, to the classroom. Learn more about the Dean's Club at business.appstate.edu/give/deans-club.
A student competes in the 2026 Dean’s Club Strategic Business Competition at App State on April 17
Photo by Kyla Willoughby