Elburn student consults for IMSA through NIU class

Spencer Johnson, of Elburn, was part of a team of Northern Illinois University students working as consultants to the Illinois Math and Science Academy (IMSA).

The consulting project was conducted through the Experiential Learning Center (ELC) 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, drawn from throughout the college and across campus, to apply concepts that they are learning in the classroom to actual business challenges. Along the way, they also learn lessons about teamwork, leadership, researching, presentation skills and more.

Johnson, an accountancy major, and his team created short, high-impact promotional videos for CoolHub, a website that IMSA operates. CoolHub is a collaborative center that allows students, educators and professionals from across the world to create and share various STEM-focused projects.

Each video the team made highlighted one of the CoolHub projects, and the videos are already being used to promote CoolHub. The team presented their findings to directors from IMSA on May 1.

IMSA develops creative, ethical leaders in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. It enrolls academically talented Illinois students (grades 10-12) in its advanced, residential college preparatory program, and it serves thousands of educators and students in Illinois and beyond through innovative instructional programs that foster imagination and inquiry.

About 80 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/