The championship team participated in the 31st Annual Kogod Case Competition<\/strong> at American, a three-month challenge that concluded in mid-February. The winning team also included Adam Skarre<\/strong> \u201925 (mechanical engineering), Tara Sperry<\/strong> \u201926 (marketing) Matthew Conroy<\/strong> \u201925 (finance) and Shane Markle<\/strong> \u201925 (finance).<\/p>\n The case competition was organized by Lightility, an energy company, and focused on electric-vehicle infrastructure. The challenge involved marketing, scaling strategies, and financial projections. The UConn team competed against the University of Pennsylvania, Boston University, Indiana University, Loyola University and George Washington University.<\/p>\n \u201cAs the faculty advisor and mentor for the club, it has been a privilege to witness their dedication firsthand,\u2019\u2019 said management professor Sami Ghaddar<\/strong>. \u201cThe credit for this victory undeniably belongs to the students, whose strategic insight and hard work truly set them apart.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cOur students\u2019 victory in the junior\/senior division is a testament to the quality of education and experiential learning at the UConn, showcasing the exceptional talent we nurture,\u2019\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n Martin and Markle both said they enjoyed the challenge of solving a real-world issue.<\/p>\n \u201cI thoroughly enjoyed developing a strong understanding of a unique, innovative, and timely industry,\u2019\u2019 Martin said. \u201cThe electric-vehicle industry is constantly changing, and developing expertise in an industry rooted in sustainability was particularly interesting,\u2019\u2019 Martin said. \u201cI didn’t find devoting three months to the project difficult, considering there was so much to understand and gain foundational knowledge on. Throughout the three months, our understanding of the case in its entirety shifted many times.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n Markle agreed that the case was intriguing.<\/p>\n \u201cIt allowed me to learn about business beyond the classroom and delve into all the moving parts behind decision making,\u201d Markle said. \u201cDevoting three months to this project was time-consuming, but I don\u2019t think I could have asked for a better team to work with, which made the process very enjoyable.\u201d<\/p>\n Skarre said the team\u2019s varied academic backgrounds, from business, engineering and liberal arts, proved valuable.<\/p>\n \u201cThis diversity allowed us to leverage each other’s strengths, fostering both individual creativity and collaborative synergy,\u2019\u2019 Skarre said. \u201cBy combining our different perspectives, we maintained a holistic approach throughout our work.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n Sperry said the staff and students at AU were welcoming and the team had a great time networking with them along with the judges, Lightility’s directors, and other competitors.<\/p>\n \u201cThis experience has enhanced my communication and teamwork skills,\u2019\u2019 Sperry said, adding that the experience will make her a better professional.<\/p>\n \u201cOur team communicated, supported, and respected each other’s ideas and opinions which contributed to our success,\u2019\u2019 she said.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the biggest lesson that this experience has taught me is how to get out of my comfort zone. It was my first case competition so I didn\u2019t know what to expect, but with the support of our team, we were able to succeed,\u2019\u2019 Markle said. \u201cLearning how to take that leap out of my comfort zone and try something new is a skill I will definitely be able to use in my future endeavors.\u201d\u2019<\/p>\n Martin said the case competition enhanced his leadership, time management, problem-solving and team work skills.<\/p>\n Although it was a great deal of work, Conroy said his team made it enjoyable.<\/p>\n \u201cMy favorite part was honestly spending time with my groupmates,\u2019\u2019 he said. \u201cSpending three months on a project with people I enjoyed being around made the process enjoyable, even when it was stressful at times.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n Martin said he and the team never really focused on the competition.<\/p>\n \u201cTo be completely honest, I never gave thought to the other competitors. To me, case competitions are about working with your team to create the best possible end-product. The reality is you cannot control how other teams perform,\u2019\u2019 he said. \u201cWe just made sure we showed up finalist weekend with a product we were proud of. We are beyond proud to positively represent UConn and bring the trophy home to Storrs!\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cAs thrilling as taking home this award is, it is more than just winning, it’s about showcasing UConn’s caliber on a national level and reinforcing our status as a \u2018Public Ivy,\u2019 \u201d Skarre said. \u201cUConn being No. 1 should be expected in all arenas.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n For more information about joining the Husky Case Competition Club, see @huskycasecompetitionclub<\/a> and\/or our email: huskycasecompetitionclub@gmail.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The championship team participated in the 31st Annual Kogod Case Competition<\/strong> at American, a three-month challenge that concluded in mid-February. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121,"featured_media":210285,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1862],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[2105],"class_list":["post-210284","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-busn"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-25 20:51:16","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210284","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/121"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=210284"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210284\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":210290,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210284\/revisions\/210290"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/210285"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=210284"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=210284"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=210284"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=210284"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=210284"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Varied Academic Backgrounds Proved Helpful<\/h3>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/case-comp-400x600-1.jpg\")
Tyler Martin, Shane Markle, Tara Sperry, Matthew Conroy, Adam Skarre. (Contributed Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u2018I Never Gave Thought to the Other Competitors\u2019<\/h3>\n