Tyler Holsopple always dreamt of receiving his MBA and in just a couple of weeks, this dream will be a reality, as he graduates from Case Western Reserve University Weatherhead School of Management.
Holsopple also attended Case Western Reserve as an undergraduate, where he obtained his bachelor’s degrees in business management and cognitive science.
“Case Western Reserve was on my list for MBAs because I had such a good experience as an undergrad and decided to come back,” he says.
After starting his two-year MBA journey as a full-time student, he joined the Fowler Center for Business as an Agent of World Benefit Fellows program.
“I fell in love with it,” Holsopple says. “The center is about doing good through business and I knew it was going to be a good, mutual fit, that I could be helpful, but also that I could learn through it as well.”
As a fellow in the program, Holsopple has helped to edit and publish student-written stories about businesses that are both profitable and positive in achieving one or more of the United Nations Global Goals.
“We really got to see how many businesses are doing good, and that's just motivating to continue preaching even beyond being a student here,” he says. “It's something I'll want to be an advocate for going forward.”
Each year, the Fowler Center hosts an Impact Investing Competition for Case Western Reserve undergraduate and graduate students to teach them about impact investment—using capital investments to target positive social, economic or environmental impact alongside financial returns—through a unique exercise and networking opportunity.
This competition and others like it were Holsopple’s favorite activities as a fellow.
“We are facilitators of the competition talking with judges and the students to make sure they're informed,” he says. “So not only are we getting to practice the facilitation aspect, but also when you're preaching about impact investing, you're buying into what you're talking about while trying to motivate people to get involved.”
This spring, Holsopple competed in the International Business Ethics and Sustainability Case Competition at the Loyola Marymount University College of Business Administration with four of his Fowler Center fellows peers, where he took home first-place in the 90-second portion of the competition.
“This was a valuable experience,” Holsopple says. “It was good learning for us, but also a good opportunity to stretch your abilities and be a little uncomfortable doing a presentation.”
At the competition, the Fowler Center fellows presented on MGM Resorts International and analyzed the ethical, sustainable, and legal issues associated with their energy consumption. They identified areas in which MGM is consuming the most energy and proposed solutions in order to reduce their energy consumption, as well as utilize more renewable energy sources.
The competition included a 25-minute presentation, where all fellows on the team participated, a 10-minute presentation, where only some of the students participated, and a 90-second presentation, where Holsopple presented alone.
“It honestly felt amazing,” Holsopple says when he learned he won first place for his team in the 90-second portion.
Holsopple’s recommendation for anyone on the fence about signing up to compete in a case competition is, “Just do it because you will gain more by doing it than by not. I'm a big advocate for action.”
When reflecting on the MBA program, Holsopple says, “It’s an incredible exposure specifically, for people that have never taken a business class. They’re exposed to business in a way they just would have missed out completely on having not taken this program.”