Students in the NIU College of Business are all phenomenal individuals who we love to celebrate. As commencement approaches, it’s our great pleasure to share a couple examples of the many outstanding students who make up the Class of 2022. These individuals were nominated by their faculty and academic advisors to be spotlighted by President Freeman during Spring commencement. All told, more than 20 NIU College of Business students were nominated by college faculty and staff throughout the college. We were asked to submit only one nomination. We submitted all 20-plus.
In celebration of the ever stellar NIU College of Business students, here’s our next entry, written by Federico Bassetti, instructor in the Department of Operations Management and Information Systems.
Colice McHenry
I want to nominate Colice McHenry as a student to honor during the commencement. Colice embraces the Huskie spirit and the values of the NIU College of Business. I was fortunate to meet Colice as a student in one of my courses and later the same semester to have her as a team member in 40TUDE Business. She is an exemplary student, resilient, dedicated, and committed to helping others by using her skills. Not only would I hire her on any of my teams, but I would like to be hired to be on her team! I am honored to give Colice my strongest recommendation. Here is my full nomination:
Colice currently serves as product owner for the 40TUDE Business team at NIU. 40TUDE was established in 2020 when local nonprofits and businesses expressed their needs for support in solving new challenges presented by the pandemic.
As product owner of 40TUDE Business, Colice manages a portfolio of over 15 clients, contributing to the team delivering in two-weeks sprints. Her curiosity feeds the continuous learning process, and she has contributed several improvements by putting learning into practice. During her graduating semester, Colice has demonstrated command of expertise by taking from the classroom into the job and vice versa; she has applied what she learned with 40TUDE to better her learning experience.
She also served as a team member, where she applied her marketing background to integrate the HubSpot customer relations management system to streamline communications between clients and the team. As the product owner, Colice handles the client interviews, support, and requirements gathering. She is also the decision-maker in the scope of work and the contract approval leading to a conversion. She supports the team by transforming requirements and journey maps into users-stories during and planning work. She works with each teammate to clarify the acceptance criteria by adopting a specification-by-example approach.
Additionally, she has represented the 40TUDE team and the College of Business at the university’s Undergraduate Research and Engagement Conference. Her poster describing the 40TUDE Business experience has been accepted and presented at the Engagement Scholarship Consortium 2021 conference.
Colice is a generous and compassionate teammate. Her commitment to the team is noticeable at first sight. She makes every teammate a better team member and contributor. She regularly helped onboard new team members.
Before working with 40TUDE, she worked at WIFR in Rockford as a production supervisor. Most days, she directed the 5 pm and 6 pm newscasts. At the station, she was known for handling any role from director, graphic designer to social media manager and most importantly, using excel for business operations, which started her enthusiasm for data science.
The experience at WIFR helped Colice gain confidence and develop as a leader, quickly adapting while increasing her critical thinking ability. While working at the station, she also attended community college for marketing and communications, which paved the road to becoming an NIU student in the college’s Department of Marketing. After graduation, she will begin the journey leading to a career as product manager.
Colice is from Rockford, where she enjoys gardening, restoring furniture, building model cars, reading, and exploring virtual reality. Currently, she is working on a model wooden ship.
by Federico Bassetti, instructor in the Department of Operations Management and Information Systems; posted by Michelle De Jean, director of marketing, NIU College of Business.
