By Cecilia Yontz, OSCPA marketing and communications intern
Competing in a case competition as a student can be arduous, but it is a great opportunity and a rewarding experience.
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“On the actual day of the competition, seeing our hard work pay off was really rewarding,” said Amanda Wolfe, senior accounting student at the University of Akron. “I really loved the dynamic that [our team] had, and when we got up to present, we felt like we were the dream team.”
In February, Cleveland State University hosted an Intercollegiate Ethics Case Competition prompting six teams of three to four students from universities around Ohio to present their solutions for an ethics case study.
In the end, the team from the University of Akron, comprised of Wolfe, Zachary Cutting and Lars Wesley, won first place.
As a nontraditional student, Wolfe, known outside of school by her married name, Amanda Geremia, has a husband and two kids, but has still made a point to get involved and make the most of her collegiate experience.
When the opportunity to join Akron’s case competition team first came about from a classmate looking to fill an empty spot, Wolfe said she decided to join. “It was a competition that I'd not had a chance to do yet in my college career, and it was material I was interested in.”
Competition preparation, which began in December, was initially daunting, Wolfe explained, but leveraging each other’s strengths allowed the process to flow well.
Working in teams has always been something that Wolfe has enjoyed, and working with a team that complemented each other so well made the experience even better.
“I don't think it's possible to overstate how important it is to have a good team of people to work with,” she said. “We're better together.”
The case competition presented students with the task of breaking down an ethical dilemma, something that Wolfe finds beneficial for her future career.
“It's really important [to learn about ethics] because eventually you are going to be faced with an ethical dilemma,” she said. “And if you haven't been exposed to those types of questions beforehand, it might catch you off guard, and you're not going to know what to do.”
After graduating in December, Wolfe plans to start full-time with Marcum LLP. She is excited to continue with the firm after interning and now working part-time in the audit department.