Master’s students Ballard, Bonds and Sehgal win award in case competition

left to right: Sehgal, Bonds and Ballard

Three master’s degree candidates in the Department of Health Policy and Administration were awarded second place in the 2007 Everett V. Fox Student Case Competition, held in Dallas, Texas, on Oct. 2-6.

Jasmine Ballard, Jennifer Bonds and Saumya Sehgal each received a $3,000 scholarship for her efforts in the event, which is sponsored annually by the National Association of Health Services Executives (NAHSE).

The case competition is designed to give first- and second-year graduate students experience in problem analysis and presentation skills. Students are asked to analyze real and diverse issues facing a health care organization and then present their analysis and recommendations to a panel of judges representing leaders in the heath care field, corporate sponsors and academia.

The event is open to minority graduate students in health administration programs. Each program may sponsor one team of up to three students. This year, 20 teams participated.

“We are thrilled at the team’s performance – which resulted from intense analysis, preparation and practice over a period of only a few weeks,” said Bruce Fried, PhD, associate professor and director of the residential master’s program in health policy and administration. “It is remarkable to see how these individuals found time and energy to commit to this while successfully meeting rigorous academic and personal commitments.”

All three women praised the practical value of the experience.

“The competition showed how individual ideas are strengthened through team dynamics and forced me to think analytically in balancing the financial and non-financial goals of a healthcare organization,” Sehgal said.

Bonds said the event allowed her “to apply everything I’ve learned thus far in the MHA program to a ‘real world’ experience.”

“The scariest part of the competition was presenting in front of some of the top executives in health care,” said Ballard. “They asked tough questions. However, their being there showed me that they cared about educating and preparing me for the real world.”

School of Public Health contact: Ramona DuBose, director of communications, (919) 966-7467 or ramona_dubose@unc.edu.