NSO Divisions

by Savannah White

As a J&W student, I was required to attend the Career Conference on November 9, 2006. I remember going last year, networking with companies and watching the NSO Role Play Demonstration for the first time. I recall thinking, “I don’t think that’s something that I could ever do”. Yet, just a couple weeks prior to this year’s conference, Dr. Erin Wilkinson asked me to participate.

I was hesitant, but agreed. I had competed in Human Resource Management at the DEX
National Competition in Texas earlier this year and decided to compete in the same category for Career Conference. The case was about an employee who did not have the degree indicated on his/her application. I was given a couple of weeks to prepare and was able to research and make a strong argument. I had to present a rough draft of my case to Dr. Wilkinson. She gave a lot of insight about my competitor, who is a senior and a winner of multiple competitions similar to this.

On the day of the competition, I was nervous. I met my opponent, Stephen Sperandio, a couple of hours prior. He was just as I had imagined him, confident and very intimidating. I knew I was in for a challenge, but I also knew that, like him, I was sure of my argument. Regardless of all of this, we hit it off well and helped other students prepare for their competitions.

When it was time for our case, I volunteered to go first. My competitor had to leave the room while I presented. There were two judges for our competition; John Bowman, Regional Human Resource Manager for Old Navy and Rebecca Limson, Recruiting Manager for Enterprise Rent-a-Car. I presented my case and felt pretty good, but was nervous about my opponent. I was allowed to stay in the room while my challenger presented his case. I was very impressed; he took a completely different approach, which made it much more interesting. After it was all said and done, Dr. Wilkinson gave the judges a couple of minutes and included the crowd in a little question and answer session. It was neat to see how they would have handled the case. When the judges came to their decisions they announced I was the winner!

Becoming a part of NSO has been so beneficial. I have been rewarded with several scholarships and priceless opportunities. I was even offered an externship with Old Navy! Being involved in NSO has literally paid off.