MS HRM Students Bring Home First Place at Purdue University Case Competition

COLLEGE STATION, TX, Nov. 20 — For the second year in a row, students from Mays Business School’s Master of Science in Human Resource Management (MS HRM) program took first place in the Purdue HR Case Competition hosted on Purdue’s campus in West Lafayette, Indiana.

Graduate students Kathryn Brown ’23, Katie Mulloy ’23, Haley Ince ’23 and Reese Weatherford ’23 worked in advance of the competition to propose solutions for Eaton and their goal to attract and retain top talent. “Our team decided to take an approach that would bolster resources Eaton already has by developing an internal talent marketplace and enhancing their employee recognition program,” explained Brown.

The team had one week to collaborate and submit their recommendations, ultimately proposing solutions that could be easily implemented and sustainable for Eaton’s overall talent management effort.

“This challenging yet rewarding experience provided our team with the opportunity to collaboratively develop HR solutions and present our ideas to a panel of judges,” said Weatherford. “We had one week to craft recommendations for Eaton using the insights acquired through our MS HRM courses and summer internships. With this knowledge, we entered the competition feeling prepared and confident.”

The formal case presentation was given by the team on Thursday, November 2 to a panel of judges. The Mays Business School team once again secured first place among other competitive schools including Purdue University, University of South Carolina, Pennsylvania State University, Ohio State University, University of Minnesota, Utah State University and University of Illinois. Kathryn Brown was also awarded “Best Responder Q&A” among competing graduate students.

“As I approach the conclusion of my MS HRM journey, the experience of participating in the Purdue HR Case Competition takes on a profound and symbolic significance,” remarked Mulloy. “We, as a team, seamlessly drew upon a variety of knowledge derived from various classes, encompassing a multitude of concepts and theories we have acquired over the past 1.5 years. It was a full circle moment. This experience served as a vivid realization of the MS HRM program’s effectiveness in arming us with the tools necessary to venture into the HR field, ready to confidently confront and overcome any challenges that may present themselves.”

The MS HRM program is strategically designed to equip Mays students with the skills and tools to build a strong foundation in a range of HR competencies with a heavy influence of increased business-acumen knowledge. The team of four students that competed in the Purdue HR Case Competition will graduate with their MS Human Resource Management degrees in December with full-time offers from Phillips66, Dell Technologies, Caterpillar and Honeywell.