NIU College of Business students in the college’s Business in Action (BIA) course discovered fertile learning opportunities during their fall 2021 semester consulting work for a nonprofit. We Sow, We Grow — located in the nation’s third largest city — is dedicated to educating the public about urban farming.
BIA partners first- and second-year NIU students across all majors with faculty instructors/coaches to tackle a variety of business issues for either an established business, a startup or a nonprofit. The students function much like consultants and operate as a team. Throughout their semester work, they receive guidance from their faculty coach.
The student team consulting for the Chicago-based nonprofit We Sow, We Grow received coaching from BIA instructor Scott Rosenfelder.
Rosenfelder is also an entrepreneur as well as an NIU alumnus, graduating from NIU in 1985 with a bachelor’s degree in computer science. One of his earliest career roles was that of software development manager with Motorola. There, he performed his professional duties with aplomb and soon doubled down to include studying for and earning an MBA from Benedictine University. When he reached that goal, his horizons expanded again.
“I have always had an entrepreneurial background,” Rosenfelder admits.
In 1992, he departed Motorola to become the founder and chief operating officer of ClearPoint Technology, a business that enjoyed significant success. Within eight years’ time, both the company and Rosenfelder’s leadership were acquired by Big Four accounting firm Deloitte Touche.
But no matter the path of his career, the constant for Rosenfelder has been his active commitment to NIU. His volunteer work with the university includes sitting on executive advisory boards in the College of Business and the Department of Operations Management and Information Systems and providing presentations on a regular basis in various classes and on panels. He recently retired from his position as managing director with Deloitte, which opened up the opportunity for Rosenfelder to become even more active with his alma mater. Specifically, he joined the NIU College of Business faculty roster for its Experiential Learning Center. He also teaches in the college’s Business in Action course.
Rosenfelder is excited to share his varied background in software development, management, entrepreneurship, leadership and data analytics with NIU students.
“I bring a lot of important topics and vantage points to the table to help enrich the educational experience for NIU students,” he says. “How you present well, how you add value, how you hit that mark with the client — those are things that I can really help students with.”
Case in point: In their work with We Sow, We Grow and with Rosenfelder’s guidance, first- and second-year NIU students hit the ground running and provided solutions to issues that included staffing, online marketing and budgeting.
BIA student and accountancy major Alex Ary explains, “For my part, I offered information regarding industry norms for wages associated with potential positions that the co-directors of We Sow, We Grow were looking to create. I also recommended an onboarding plan to help train new employees.”
Ary credits his team members Owen Spear and Joe Koleno for their work with researching tax regulations and creating organizational structure, respectively.
“Scott’s work with the students kept them focused on our true mission and message,” says Natasha Nicholes, executive director of We Sow, We Grow.
“He’s truly made us feel like peers,” adds Shomari Nichols, Natasha’s husband and assistant farm manager of We Sow, We Grow. “He was even more excited than we were to get to work at our first meeting together.”
“We were happy with the research and suggestions the students provided, particularly on hiring,” Natasha says. “I feel very confident that quite a few of their recommendations will help us meet and exceed our goals in the next fiscal year. I’m excited to see the positive impact from all their work on our organization. We plan to use a lot of what was recommended over the next few months.”
BIA student Ary admits the work was often detail heavy but also fun and rewarding.
“It was a great learning experience,” Ary says. “Professor Rosenfelder did a great job laying out what the class would entail. It felt great to work with such a special nonprofit organization in Chicago. I learned quite a lot.”
“Business in Action is a fantastic launching point for students in NIU overall and in the university’s College of Business,” Ronsenfelder adds. “The students did a fantastic job digging into the details and shaping up a formal set of conclusions, analyzing recommendations and putting forth a series of solutions to assist our client in its growth as a nonprofit.”
by Sam Serpe, Journalism ‘20, 2L NIU Law; digital marketing graduate assistant for the NIU College of Business Impact Lab. Editorial oversight by M. De Jean, director of marketing, NIU College of Business.
