Reinhardt Students Showcase Business Skills in Competition

Staff Report

A select group of Reinhardt students recently competed at the Phi Beta Lambda (PBL) National Competition in Nashville. Students earned their spots to compete at the national level by placing at the state-level competition held in April.

"We are very proud of our students," said Dr. Katherine Hyatt, assistant professor of business and PBL advisor. "They worked extremely hard to reach that level of competition, and they represented Reinhardt well."

At the national competition, competing in the Emerging Business Issues team event were Terrance Duke, a sophomore marketing major from Conyers, and Martina Shaw, a junior public relations and advertising major from Atlanta.

Shaw also competed in Web Design. Jamieson Palmer, a sophomore political science major from Rome, presented in the Entrepreneurship Concepts session. Sarah Barker, a junior business major from Ball Ground, also qualified to compete in the national competition but was unable to participate because of her internship obligations.

Earning top honors at the competition was Alexander "Alex" Bryant, a senior marketing major from Canton. He placed second in Business Presentation and eighth in Sales Presentation at the national level.

Students also had the opportunity to participate in an open event at the national competition if they chose to do so. Bryant took the opportunity to compete in this additional event, and placed first in the presentations for Nonprofit Management.

Bryant credits his classroom experience to his success at the competition.

"My business communication course with Bob Fain, [business lecturer,] and advanced computer applications course with Tina Boosel, [instructor of business,] were both a great benefit to me in honing my presentation skills," he said. "Both of my Phi Beta Lambda events were presentation events, so I felt completely prepared to compete successfully. Walking into the room to present at the national competition was just like another day in the classroom."

Currently president of PBL at Reinhardt, Bryant encourages all students to participate in the organization.

"The wide range of competitive events for Phi Beta Lambda gives students a chance to represent Reinhardt, and put the skills they've learned in the classroom to the test, no matter what their major," he added. 

Bryant also serves the University as Student Government Association President. This summer, he is interning at Liberty Mutual Insurance in sales.

Reinhardt University's Phi Beta Lambda is a chapter of Future Business Leaders of America - Phi Beta Lambda, which is a nonprofit organization that prepares students for careers in business and business-related fields.