Students share Gen Z employee strategies in national contest

Fresno State agricultural business students composed one of 11 teams from across the nation that were invited to compete in a case study at the National Grocers Association convention in Las Vegas in late February.

Senior Jenna Koetsier, juniors Alissa Amaral, Faith Garza and Nathan Hansen and freshman Vanessa Jauregui-Salgado worked together to create a presentation tied to improved Millennial and Generation Z employee recruitment and retention methods for a St. Louis grocery retailer (Dierbergs).

Students came up with three strategies (good, better, best) for a $1 million budget for their 12-minute presentation. The four-person panel of judges and industry professionals were then allotted 8 minutes for questions and answers.

Each student spent approximately 3-5 hours a week since last fall preparing and integrating perspectives from faculty Dr. Patrick Berends, Dr. Serhat Asci and others into their research and solutions.

Students also networked at the event since firms utilize the event as a hiring resource, and also helped judge entries in another expo competition rating exhibitor displays in the category of 'Sustainability in Store Design and Equipment.'

The trip was also a great way for students to learn about industry financial and marketing trends at education sessions. Our department is a proud member of the Food Industry University Coalition, an NGA work group, which works to foster collaboration between universities and industry.

 

In March, another group of three students worked with Dr. Srinivasa Konduru, department chair, to create a proposal for the USDA Agricultural Export Market Challenge. 

Seniors Zach Dilldine, Amber Kelton and Logan Stout made their their final presentation in early March tied to promoting a soy protein nutrition bar. Competitors emphasized the climart smart aspects of product, as well as export strategies through a a five-year marketing and promotional plan that included a 10-minute oral presentation and one-page document.

The Fresno State student cgroup  . The group also had the opportunity to work with two foreign agricultural service mentors, Lazara Sandoval and Kelly Skupnik. 

Teams were judged on their understanding of the topic, economic analysis, marketin gplan, presentation and summarization.The event was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and 

The contest included 17 teams from 17 universities cacross the nation, including three others from the California State University System (Cal Poly Pomona, CSU, Bakersfield and Chico State).