A team of Rider University graduates has been recognized with third place in the national Small Business Institute Consulting Project of the Year competition. Since Rider University began participating in the competition in 1998, they have achieved a total of 40 top 10 finishes in both the undergraduate and graduate divisions.
Dr. Ron Cook, professor of entrepreneurial studies and director of Rider’s Small Business Institute program, expressed his pride in the students’ hard work being recognized and praised the university’s consistent success in the competition. He emphasized that exceptional students achieving practical solutions for clients is what leads to excellent results.
This year’s team consisted of Kaitlyn Kurfuss ’23, Lindsey Mulrooney ’23, Doris Martin ’23, and Ryan Dougherty ’23. They worked on developing a consulting report for Wolf Tree Wilderness Therapy in Ithaca, New York as part of Cook’s fall 2022 consulting class. Wolf Tree specializes in Wilderness Therapy programs and Mindful Outdoor Experiences in the psychotherapy and wilderness therapy fields. The students’ report proposed innovative strategies to enhance and optimize Wolf Tree’s brand presence in the wilderness therapy sector to attract more clients and increase revenue.
Kurfuss shared her experience working with Wolf Tree Wilderness Therapy, emphasizing that collaborating with a real business helped her gain practical skills that cannot be learned from a textbook. She mentioned that managing a business, focusing on marketing, finances, and legalities are valuable lessons that will serve her well throughout her career. David Molnar ’76, Rider’s entrepreneur-in-residence and former vice president of sales at Heraeus Sensor Technology, also played an important role as a mentor to the team by sharing his industry knowledge during weekly meetings.
Overall, this achievement highlights Rider University’s commitment to providing students with hands-on learning experiences through real-world projects like this one.
The Small Business Institute (SBI) was established in 1976 with the goal of providing college students with practical experience working directly with clients while conducting analysis. Since its start at Rider University in 1998, it has produced over 40 top 10 finishes across both undergraduate and graduate divisions.
Dr. Ron Cook expressed his delight at this year’s team receiving recognition for their hard work on behalf of Wolf Tree Wilderness Therapy in Ithaca New York.
“When exceptional students come together to create practical solutions for our clients,” he said “we see outstanding results.”
The team consisted of Kaitlyn Kurfuss ’23, Lindsey Mulrooney ’23, Doris Martin ’23 and Ryan Dougherty ’23 who were tasked with developing a consulting report for Wolf Tree as part of Cook’s fall 2022 consulting class.
Wolf Tree specializes in Wilderness Therapy programs and Mindful Outdoor Experiences within psychotherapy and wilderness therapy fields.
Their report proposed innovative strategies to enhance Wolf Tree’s brand presence within wilderness therapy sector to attract more clients and increase revenue.
Kurfuss shared her insights on working with Wolf Tree Wilderness Therapy stating that collaborating directly with real businesses helps student gain practical skills they can use throughout their careers.
