Trial and error: Leadership Capstone students put their skills to the test

As the old saying goes, you can't succeed unless you to learn to fail-often, multiple times.

In the world of business, being able to pick yourself up again after experiencing a setback is crucial to achieving success. That's why CWU College of Business Professor James Avey has embraced the concept of "if at first you don't succeed, try, try again" for his Management 478 students.

"The idea is to get students to learn how to fail and adapt quickly," Avey said of the Leadership Capstone class he has been leading for the past five years. "I want them to realize it's OK to experience failure. It's what you do next that matters."

Avey said he's intentionally quiet during the first three weeks of the quarter, insisting that his students "figure it out." He begins the term by telling the class that his only expectation is for them to lead a project. Then he turns them loose.

"I give them 10 weeks to prove to me that they can actually lead something," he said. "No papers, no tests. Just plan out a project and see it through to the end."

Naturally, this approach can prove rather stressful for some students, but Avey doesn't make them suffer for very long.

"At the end of week three, I get a lot more hands-on with everyone," he said. "I just like to turn up the heat a little early on-let the water level rise-so my students learn to solve problems and overcome adversity. That way, they get to see how things work in the real world."

Seven groups of three or four students each give multiple project updates per quarter, outlining their goal, vision, and strategies. After receiving feedback from their classmates, some groups decide to scrap their original ideas and pivot to a new concept with less than two months left in the term. They always seem to deliver, Avey reports.

"About three weeks before the end of the quarter, I show them some examples of past projects, which kind of gives them that final push they need to get it done," he said. "Then, the ones who are struggling take their work to the next level and sprint toward the home stretch."

Each of the teams finished out the quarter with a video synopsis and posted them on YouTube. This spring's Management 478 capstone projects were:

• Cornhole for Cops: A cornhole tournament in Cle Elum to raise money for "Behind the Badge" police efforts
• Pantry Events: Raised several thousand dollars for the CWU Wildcat Pantry
• Cat Scratch: Put on a separate women's and men's self-defense classes taught by CWU Police, plus a safety awareness workshop by the Wellness Center
• Classic Car Show: Event raised $1,300 to develop a scholarship for Ellensburg High School students interested in automotive repair
• Youth Rugby Club Golf Tournament: Raised nearly $10,000 for a local kids' rugby club for safety equipment
• Pantry Spring Donation Drive: Brought in over 1,400 pounds of food for the Wildcat Pantry
• Unified Basketball Game: Brought community members and Ellensburg Special Olympics athletes together for an event at Ellensburg High School

Avey said he was proud of the progress his students made last quarter, and he feels like they are now better prepared to manage similar endeavors in their careers. As someone who thrives on mentoring others and setting them up for success, he can't think of a class that better suits him than the Leadership Capstone course.

"Success in this class is contingent on building relationships-with me, with your classmates, and with total strangers," Avey said. "Mentoring young people is what gets me really excited, and it's in these small groups that I can really thrive. At the same time, I'm able to get the most out of my students."

Capstone projects are one example of high-impact practices (HIPs) that CWU will be emphasizing in the years to come.

Transferrable Skills

As much as Avey has gotten out of leading the Management 478 class, his students ended up being the true beneficiaries. Dozens of his now-graduated students recognize everything he has done for them-especially his ability to inspire them to plan and carry out an influential community service-oriented project.

"Doing this capstone project was really important to my development," said Logan Ingle, a business administration graduate who specialized in management, leadership, and finance. "It was the first time I got to do something on campus that applied directly what I will be doing in my career. We had a lot of freedom to choose whatever idea we wanted to pursue for our project, and we all learned a lot. This experience ended up being super beneficial for everyone in the class."

Ingle and his teammates—Tabitha Sikes, Hayley Gaines, and Vecinda Keyes—led a project to raise money for the Wildcat Pantry, CWU's on-campus food resource center. After their initial idea of putting on a 5K run failed to materialize, the team ended up raising several thousand dollars through donations and a pair of events at Iron Horse Brewing and Cornerstone Pie.

"We spent a lot of time building community support and marketing our events on social media and through word of mouth," Ingle said. "It was kind of stressful at times, but this class was way more engaging than any other class I've ever had. This was the most I've ever worked with a group of other students where everyone was equally involved from start to finish. We gained a lot of confidence and the experience is really going to help us in our careers."

Another 2023 business administration graduate, Marques Fuala'au, came away with the same sense of accomplishment as Ingle, noting that the skills he and his team put into practice for the capstone project proved to be the most rewarding aspect of the class.

Fuala'au teamed up with Landen Neff and Nicolas Germino to put on a fundraising golf tournament to support the Ellensburg Youth Rugby Club. By going out into the community and selling their idea, the trio managed to raise nearly $10,000 through hole sponsorships, participation fees, a raffle, and a silent auction.

"The most important thing for me was working with the sponsors-we had to put in a lot of work to get them on board," said Fuala'au, a former standout for the Wildcat rugby team hoping to be selected in the Major League Rugby draft later this month. "I never thought of myself as a salesman, but this experience taught me a lot about myself. I learned that I could go out and start up conversations with potential sponsors and persuade them to get behind our cause."

He and his teammates were able to put many of the skills they learned in the College of Business to the test, such as public relations, accounting, teamwork, team-building, and delegating tasks. They also learned to deal with real money, making sure every dollar ended up where it was supposed to go.

Most importantly, Fuala'au learned how to move forward after being told "no."

"I started off really shy, and it was hard to hear 'no' at first," he said. "But toward the end, I knew what it felt like and I built up the confidence to keep going. That's going to help me a lot with my career."

Laying a Foundation

The student team of Braden Szczepanski, Garrett Madsen, and Austin Ohland experienced similar ups and downs as they put on a classic car show at the Ellensburg Rodeo Grounds this spring.

Through their event, the team raised $1,300 for a new scholarship fund for Ellensburg High School students, coming out to a $325 scholarship per year for the next four years.

"Our big goal was to create a scholarship that would last into perpetuity, long after we graduate," said Szczepanski, a business administration alumnus. "We were pretty ambitious with our initial goal of $20,000, but we really appreciated the support from our sponsors and others in the community who donated."

The hardest part, Szczepanski said, was convincing sponsors to commit. He and his partners learned to remain consistent with their sales pitch and stay in touch with all of their potential sponsors. The team received significant support from TTI Power Tools, Napa Auto Parts, and D&M Auto Repair, while other local businesses donated items for a silent auction.

The team also spent a lot of time networking so they could build interest around the region. That strategy proved to be the main reason for the event's success.

"The most important thing we did-and what I believe made for a successful event-was going to other car shows around the Yakima Valley and talking to people," Szczepanski said. "Because of that, we ended up having a pretty good turnout."

Like the scholarship, Szczepanski and his partners expect the car show will live on even though they are no longer living in Ellensburg.

"There's a lot of interest in doing it again, and I definitely think it will continue," he said. "The event is very tied in with the community, and we built up a lot of good contacts who want to keep it going. In the end, we were all really proud of what we accomplished."