A team of four Cal Poly Agricultural Business seniors won first place in the National Grocers Association 2022 Student Case Study Competition for their presentation on March 1. This is the second consecutive year that Cal Poly has won first place.

The team included students Carsen Beckwith, Kaylee Earnshaw, Megan Poyar, and Brittney Tran. Agribusiness Associate Professor Ricky Volpe advised the team.

Tran said the opportunity to represent Cal Poly at the national level was something she had dreamed of since her freshman year. “It was surreal to pitch an idea we had worked countless hours on and meet passionate members of the industry,” Tran said. “I couldn’t be prouder of how far I’ve come as a student at Cal Poly and of my team and what we’ve accomplished.”

This year’s competition focused on providing solutions for Woodman’s, a 19-store independent supermarket chain operating in Wisconsin and Illinois. Woodman’s was seeking ideas for improving its e-commerce presence and better utilizing customer data.

Nine schools, including Cal Poly, competed in a bracket-style competition from Feb. 27 to March 1, with Cal Poly and Auburn University competing in the final round. Teams from Arizona State University, Cal Poly Pomona, Findlay University, Fresno State, Niagara University, St. Joseph’s University and Western Michigan University also participated.