On May 6 in The Duncan Family Sky Room at the Mac Mahon Student Center, the Hudson County Chamber of Commerce and Saint Peter’s University hosted the finals of a business consulting competition for a new collaborative program called the Town and Gown Project, which launched this spring at the University. During the semester, students enrolled in a senior business seminar served as marketing consultants to small business members of the Chamber. The major goal of this initiative was to provide consulting experience to senior business students while also providing marketing insights to small business owners.
The evening’s program gave participants the opportunity to present their projects to the University community. Six teams of students competed in the finals, and the top three consulting groups, as determined by judges present that evening, were determined to be the winners of the first ever Town and Gown Project competition.
“All of our student participants are winners,” said Eugene J. Cornacchia, Ph.D., president of Saint Peter’s University. “Taking on this project in addition to your regular class schedule is to be commended. I am sure your hard work will undoubtedly pay off and I encourage students to take what they have learned from this project and, as Ignatius challenged us, ‘go forth and set the world on fire.’”
The presenting teams, which consisted of senior business major students at the University, worked with local businesses on marketing strategies. Hector Hernandez, Jennifer Pliska, Jessica Griggs, Stephany Malaty and Tyreak Johnson collaborated with Brennan’s Florist Company. Aisha Martin, Candace Reed, Karla Flores, Shateiyse Baker and Stephan Collaro worked with the Culinary Conference Center-Hudson County. Anthony Washington, Aslin Rodriguez, Jennifer Ramphal, Marko Knezevic and Richard McGraw teamed up with MACO Office Source. Faria Hossain, Francesco Zimbardi, Laura Reinhart, Regina Raglan and Stephanie Martinez aided A Better Life Physical Therapy. Danielle Del Castillo, Edgar Reyes-Riek, Jeffrey O’Connor, Liam Tivenan and Mario Huljev assisted Quintile Solutions/Website Jungle. Finally, Christopher Lubertowicz, Hanan Bahri, Kevin Croucher and Tanya Chopra worked with the New Jersey Beer Company.
Dr. Cornacchia thanked all of the participating businesses. “Your belief in the quality and aptitude of Saint Peter’s students has truly made this inaugural event a success,” he said. “I hope to continue these relationships in the future as I am sure many of our students can benefit from collaborations such as the Town and Gown Project.”
At the end of the program, the Quintile Solutions/Website Jungle group was named first place winner, The New Jersey Beer Company group was named second place winner and the MACO Office Source group was named third place winner. However, this project was surely a win-win situation for all involved. Students received hands-on training in the business market, while the participating companies gained fresh and insightful marketing strategies from students.
Candace Reed, who worked with the Culinary Conference Center-Hudson County, said, “This project was a very hands-on experience and a simulation of what I will be doing in the business world. I feel I have a better idea now of how to work collaboratively within a company and group.”
She added, “We actually got to visit the company as well, which was much better than just viewing the website because we got to meet the workers and work within the environment.”
Tyreak Johnson, who worked with Brennan’s Florist Company, had a similar experience. He said, “Working with this company really challenged us to do what we do best. I had the ability to be more creative.”
For Johnson’s group’s project, Brennan’s Florist Company asked the students to assist with their customer base and help the company connect with other shops within the community that regularly use floral arrangements. Johnson said, “The ideas we gave them were to spruce up their website and create better promotional opportunities within the community.”
“It is very unique and special to see students, the business community and invested teachers coming together to solve business issues,” said Karl Alorbi, Ph.D., assistant professor of business administration. “Academia and businesses both gain from the experience. Most of all, students learn how things work in the actual world.”
While this year’s Town and Gown event celebrated its initial launch during the May 6 program, it is a program and collaboration that will continue at Saint Peter’ University.
“The Town and Gown Program is highly valuable,” said President of the Hudson County Chamber of Commerce and member of Saint Peter’s Board of Regents Maria Nieves. “I am always on the lookout for win-win situations. Students had the opportunity to work with businesses to deal with real-life challenges. For the Chamber, the program aligns with our mission of shopping in and promoting local businesses. These are the companies that really drive our economy.”
