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Majors & Degrees

Eleven DSU students headed to PBL national conference

April 21, 2017

Eleven Dakota State University students are headed to a national competition after a strong showing at the regional Phi Beta Lambda (PBL) Spring Leadership Conference in Ames, Iowa on March 31 and April 1. 

The team took home twenty-six top place finishes, including 14 first place awards and 10 second place awards. All competitors placed in the top five in every event in which they competed. This qualifies all 11 to compete at the National PBL Conference this summer in Anaheim, Calif.

DSU PBL’s team took first place in the Desktop Publishing team event and competed in the Forensic Accounting for the first time. Other categories include information management, various marketing networking concepts, and statistical analysis, to name a few.

In the quality-adjusted rankings provided by the conference organizers, DSU’s chapter came in second overall in this year’s conference rankings when both number of awards and relative success were taken into account. 

Co-advisor Dr. Dan Talley also noted the effort of DSU PBL Treasurer Lindsey Vogl. While on crutches after knee surgery; she competed in Business Ethics and Job Interview categories, which include oral presentations and question and answer sessions.

In total, 60 students from six colleges and universities in the region, including large teams from leading Iowa universities, competed at this regional conference. Judges were members of the regional professional community.

Talley and co-advisor Dr. Yenling Chang agreed that “the impressive success of DSU students in competition stands as an ongoing testament to the opportunities for leadership and academic excellence available at Dakota State University.” Talley and Chang are faculty in the College of Business and Information Systems.

DSU’s Phi Beta Lambda is the local chapter of a national organization that allows students to develop business leadership skills, promotes professional and ethical conduct, and provides opportunities to demonstrate academic excellence through competitive business knowledge and professional skill events. Phi Beta Lambda is the collegiate-level counterpart to Future Business Leaders of America.  DSU PBL is open to all majors.

Students participating included: Casey Bethke, Kelly Brusven, Colin Miles, Cassandra Morgan, Lindsey Vogl, Isaac Citrowske, Thomas Lange, Megan, Rau, Leah Rogness and David Weidler. In addition, Morgan DuHamel participated in online testing but could not attend the conference. 

PBL WINNERS

Casey Bethke,* DSU PBL President
  1st Place in Desktop Publishing (Team with K. Brusven)
  1st Place in Help Desk
  1st Place in Information Management

Cassandra Morgan,** DSU PBL Vice President (Membership)
  1st Place in Accounting for Professionals
  1st Place in Cost Accounting 
  2nd Place in Programming Concepts

Kelly Brusven, ** DSU PBL Historian
  1st Place in Desktop Publishing (Team with C. Bethke)
  1st Place in Administrative Technology
  2nd Place in Organizational Behavior and Leadership

Isaac Citrowske**
  1st Place in Cyber Security
  1st Place in Networking Concepts

Thomas Lange**
  1st Place in Computer Concepts 
  1st Place in Programming Concepts

David Weidler**
  1st Place in Forensic Accounting (Team Event with L. Rogness and M. Rau)
  1st Place in Statistical Analysis

Lindsey Vogl, DSU PBL Treasurer
  1st Place in Business Ethics
  2nd Place in Job Interview
  2nd Place in Statistical Analysis 

Leah Rogness
  1st Place in Forensic Accounting (Team Event with M. Rau and D. Weidler)
  2nd Place in Personal Finance
  2nd Place in Sports Management and Leadership

Colin Miles, DSU PBL Vice President (Administration)
  2nd Place in Management Concepts
  2nd Place in Marketing Concepts
  2nd Place in Marketing Analysis and Decision Making

Megan Rau
  1st Place in Forensic Accounting (Team Event with L. Rogness and D. Weidler)
  4th Place in Organizational Behavior and Leadership

Morgan DuHamel, DSU PBL Secretary
  1st Place in Global Analysis & Decision Making

*First place in all events     **First place in two events