Beyond the BASE-ics
A unique undergraduate capstone experience gives Leeds
students better command of the tools they鈥檝e learned
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For many Leeds students, the required BASE experience is a chance to see the different lines connecting business disciplines while developing the skills needed to advance their professional development. For Liv Delgado (Bus鈥�22), it was so much more.
BASE鈥攕hort for BCOR Applied Semester Experience, the core set of business courses Leeds students take in their first two years鈥攊s a capstone where sophomores apply what they鈥檝e learned to real-world problems. It鈥檚 also where Delgado, a junior who interned with Wiland over the summer, started to doubt whether her accounting and finance major aligned with her aspirations.
鈥淏ASE gave me a much broader perspective on marketing and product management,鈥� said Delgado, who changed her degree鈥檚 emphasis to marketing after completing the class. 鈥淭he company where I鈥檓 interning does a lot in product and operations management, which I learned about in BASE.鈥�
Professor Laura Kornish, associate dean of undergraduate programs, taught Delgado in BASE, and said her story isn鈥檛 uncommon.
鈥淏ASE provides an experience for students to explore the ways different business disciplines intersect and overlap, while encouraging their professional development,鈥� Kornish said.
The idea of offering an undergraduate capstone experience level isn鈥檛 unique, but BASE takes it to a level few, if any, other business schools approach. The integrative approach鈥攑ulling in the entire business toolkit students learn early in their core鈥攊s impressive, but so is the faculty commitment. Hundreds of sophomores take BASE simultaneously; the varied nature of the course鈥檚 themes means professors do some learning outside their areas of expertise.
鈥淲e鈥檙e asking students to be fluent in all these business disciplines鈥攂oth individually and in how they interact with each other鈥攁nd the faculty model that, too,鈥� Kornish said.
For a course that in the spring had 900 students, professors do a remarkable job personalizing the experience. Caitlin Thompson (Bus鈥�21), a financial advisor with Primerica, said Kornish offered 鈥渁 great balance of constructive and positive feedback.鈥�
鈥淲hen you鈥檙e presenting to the room, you鈥檙e sort of vulnerable, and she always offered you criticism that made you want to improve, and not make you scared to go up there again,鈥� said Thompson, who plans to return to Leeds for a master鈥檚 degree next fall.
To help keep students engaged, faculty work with brands local to the Colorado area鈥攊ncluding Justin鈥檚 and Noodles & Co., both popular with students鈥攐n projects like recommending a new menu item, or determining how a product launch failed.
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A team at Justin鈥檚 sat down with Leeds faculty to share what went wrong with its snack packs, which were discontinued a few years ago; 鈥渢he students then study the product development process and try to determine what the brand could do differently to avoid that situation in the future,鈥� Kornish said.
"BASE helped me challenge my assumptions about the best solution to a problem while also teaching me the confidence to advocate for my ideas."
- Caitlin Thompson (Bus鈥�21)
Financial Advisor | Primerica
Students repeatedly mentioned the project of creating a new menu item for Noodles as a valuable experience. 鈥淎t first, you think it鈥檚 going to be simple to just propose a new menu item,鈥� Delgado said. 鈥淏ut it really showed you
everything involved with product management, factoring in all the materials that needed to be allocated and the customer perspective.鈥�
Delgado enjoyed being able to bring her marketing expertise to the table while trusting her teammates in finance, operations and other specialties to bring those skills to the table. Those teamworks skills are crucial in BASE and beyond, Thompson said.
鈥淚 appreciated the diversity of thought you got when you approached a problem as a team,鈥� Thompson said. 鈥淏ASE helped me challenge my assumptions about the best solution to a problem while also teaching me the confidence to advocate for my ideas.鈥�
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INTEGRATIVE
BASE is a capstone that pulls in all the disciplines students learn about early on at Leeds. Programs elsewhere are optional, or stay discipline-specific.
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LOCAL
The projects students work on are all scenarios from Colorado-based companies. "It was easier to make better judgement calls and allow your creativity to run with products you're more familiar with," Liv Delgado said.
IN DEMAND
"BASE was designed with feedback from employers on the most important things students need to know when they graduate," Laura Kornish said.
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PROFESSIONAL POLISH
The couse accelerates professional development by helping students better understand鈥攁nd apply鈥攖he discipline-specific knowledge they learn in core classes.
