POTSDAM -- Six students from SUNY Potsdam's Department of Business Administration recently made virtual presentations to judges in the International Business Ethics Case Competition, during a two day competition, held on April 20 and 21.

The students included Tanner Armstrong of Ogdensburg, Maycee Ward of Norfolk, and Caitlin Fields of Massena.

The competition was the culmination of several weeks of intensive research, team meetings, practices, and full-dress rehearsals to get ready to compete against colleges and universities from the U.S., Canada, Iran, and Russia.

"The students were randomly formed into two teams early in the Spring 2023 semester and worked hard and furiously to select an interesting business ethics quandary and prepare for the competition," said Professor Dr. Edwin J. Portugal, who served as the faculty advisor.

The two teams, consisting of students from Portugal's Ethical Issues in Business course, included:

Tanner Armstrong '23 of Heuvelton, Zion Smalls '23 of Harlem, Maycee Ward '24 of Norfolk, Caitlin Fields '24 of Massena, Teddy Morey '23 of Saratoga Springs, and Brian Pod '23 of Oceanside, N.Y.

Students from 19 colleges competed including teams from Fordham University, West Point Academy, U Mass at Amherst, Penn State University, California State University at Northridge, Oxford University in the United Kingdom, Ranepa University in St. Petersburg, Sharif University in Tehran, University of Manitoba, and Concordia University in Montreal.

The SUNY Potsdam teams did not win the top honors but were delighted to have participated at a high level with other students from around the world.

After the competition, the students were able to look back and assess their performance. "Preparation for the competition was challenging, but the hardest part was when a member did not show up for the rehearsals and actual competition. It was tough for all of us, but it gave us a life lesson that in a crisis situation, we must act professionally and face what life throws at us at any given moment in a work environment," said Brian Pod, the manager of Team Creative Consulting.

 SUNY Potsdam's Department of Business Administration offers flexible bachelor's and master's degrees in competitive fields, and provides students with an understanding of how for-profit and non-profit organizations function efficiently and effectively in the global marketplace. The College offers its undergraduate business administration program both at the Potsdam campus and in Watertown, N.Y., at Jefferson Community College. Its Master of Science program in management is offered 100 percent online, to serve graduate students around the world. For more information, visit potsdam.edu/academics/SOEPS/BusinessAdmin.