MHA students take home top prize at case competition
A Master of Health Administration student team at The University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth recently won first place at the 2024 American College of Healthcare Executives North Texas Chapter’s student case study competition.
Winning students Darshan Amin, Philip “PJ” Hamilton, Michael “Justin” Hilton, Alyssa Manzano and Emily Sander worked together to analyze and provide recommendations for a challenging case involving a health care biotech start-up facing significant operational and financial hurdles. The team used critical thinking, collaboration and the development of innovative ideas to solve and present their case. Each member brought their unique perspectives, experiences and knowledge to the project, working together as seasoned health care executives would do in a real-world situation. This exercise not only challenged the students, but helped them sharpen their skills and practice the role of a future health care leader.
The ACHE competition is based on a case study topic reflecting the latest issues or challenges in the health care industry. Teams were required to submit a written case study resolution to the issue presented, including an executive summary, with the top three teams selected for an oral presentation. Students from other North Texas MHA programs also competed in the program.
“Participating in the ACHENTX Student Case Competition was an invaluable opportunity for our team to apply the knowledge and skills gained throughout the MHA program at HSC, as well as our diverse personal and professional experiences,” said winning team member Manzano said.
“We utilized financial, operational and strategic insights to conduct our analysis and develop comprehensive, public-health centered recommendations — which we believe set us apart from the competition. It was a challenging case, but our ability to collaborate as a team and leverage each other’s strengths ultimately contributed to our first-place win. This achievement was incredibly rewarding and would not have been possible without the support of our faculty, staff and peers,” Manzano added.
Amin, who was also part of HSC’s winning team, called the case competition “an incredibly enriching experience.”
“Not only did it challenge us to think critically and solve a complex health care problem, it also allowed us to compete with brilliant minds and foster relationships with current and future health care executives. Working alongside my talented teammates and friends to bring home the first-place prize was an honor and a testament to the power of teamwork and dedication,” Amin noted.
For Hilton, taking part in the competition was an “invaluable opportunity” to apply the knowledge he has gained at HSC.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better team to share this experience with; we all truly gave our best effort in tackling the case together, and had fun doing it. Considering this was our first time participating in a case study competition, I am extremely proud of what we accomplished.”
“I am really excited about the future of the MHA program here at HSC and how we continue to grow beyond this milestone,” Hilton said.
Social media