Schaumburg student consults for Follett as part of NIU project

Antonio Garay, of Schaumburg, recently was part of a team of Northern Illinois University students working as consultants to Follett School and Library Group.

The consulting project was conducted through the Experiential Learning Center in the NIU College of Business. For the last decade, teams operating out of the ELC have been “hired” by companies looking for fresh insight into a business issue. Companies such as Caterpillar, Wal-Mart and McDonalds have each used multiple ELC teams over the past decade.

The projects allow students, who are drawn from departments throughout the college and across the university, to apply concepts that they are learning in the classroom to actual business challenges. Along the way, they also learn lessons about team work, leadership, researching, presentation skills and more.

Garay, who is majoring in marketing, was part of a team that researched best practices for social media use by education companies. To explore this industry, the team assessed competitors' presence in key social media channels such as blogs, Facebook and Twitter, and also conducted surveys of both internal and external stakeholders.

The team presented their findings to executives from Follett School and Library Group on April 26, 2012. Follett is the largest provider of educational materials and technology solutions to PreK-12 libraries, classrooms, learning centers and school districts in the United States, and a major supplier to educational institutions worldwide.

About 50 students participate in ELC projects each year gaining real world experience and a unique experience to place on their resume.

For more information on the ELC, visit http://www.cob.niu.edu/elc/