University of Dayton entrepreneurship students conducted industry research and presented business recommendations to Total Quality Logistics, an Ohio-based third-party logistics company, gaining real-world experience in the classroom.

"I could tell the students took the time to make sure they had data and research to back up all of their recommendations," said Madeline Gregoire, a Total Quality Logistics rep. "We have done projects like this with other groups before, but these students found a way to bring fresh, unique ideas and suggestions to the table."

The undergraduates in a capstone course presented recommendations to Cincinnati-based TQL in four key areas: international expansion, becoming an asset-based company, going public and domestic growth.

Grace Phelps, a senior and entrepreneurship major, led the group that addressed whether the company should have an initial public offering. She applied the experience she gained from a summer internship for a consulting firm in Chicago, and learned some new skills, too.

"[The project] translated a lot into my career goals. We had to learn about a company and an industry I didn't know before, and that’s what consulting is all about, especially on the corporate side," Phelps said. "It affirmed that I enjoy this work and I can gain so much from every project I work on."

Previously, the capstone class required students to work on projects for smaller companies. Having a large corporation pose questions instead allowed the students to work in smaller teams for a larger group effort and present it all in one package at the end of the semester.

"This was a great opportunity and exposure for our students to the challenges a large, privately owned firm has. They have to apply knowledge they have gained from their other undergraduate coursework in business, and provide a whole-company solution to a large, growing firm," said Vince Lewis, executive director of UD’s L. William Crotty Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership and senior lecturer of strategy and entrepreneurship at the University. "This type of culminating experience for a UD entrepreneurship student is key to developing both the hard and soft skills needed to be successful in today's business world."