Engaged Learning in Action at Wakaya Perfection
"This project was one of the most beneficial things I have done as a student."
The students in Dr. Bernd Kupka’s HR 3430 course had the opportunity to work with Wakaya Perfection, a direct marketer and purveyor of high impact and high status nutritional products. During the seven weeks the students had to perform the project, they met with every employee in the company to create job descriptions, perform a culture audit, and make talent maps. Students worked in pairs to complete the work for the project.
“We got to work directly with Jennie Hertzler, who is over HR for Wakaya,” said Samantha Shurtleff, a student in the class. “She was 100 percent accessible and willing to help us out with anything we needed because she wanted this project to be successful for both Wakaya and UVU students. I think because she took the project so seriously it helped us to realize that we needed to take it seriously. This wasn’t just a paper we would submit to the professor, this was consulting, and all our information would go directly to the company.”
“The employees I had the opportunity to meet were always so willing to coordinate schedules and work with time changes and school schedules,” Samantha continued. “We had to coordinate with a student partner and the employee. It could be difficult at times because some of our interviews were in person at the Wakaya building in Lindon, and others were through phone calls or video chats with employees in New Hampshire. We had two meetings with each employee and they were usually no longer than 30 minutes so we weren’t occupying too much of their time. Many of them said they had been students at some point so they understood what it was like to be in our shoes and they were glad to be part of our project.”
“This project was one of the most beneficial things I have done as a student. The opportunity to do real work with a real company was so valuable. All encompassed in the process of the project were constant benefits and learning experiences such as networking, gaining interviewing and listening skills, planning skills, and more. Instead of just receiving theoretical knowledge, I walked out of the class having gained practical skills.”
“The students conducted themselves in a professional manner that represented them well in the community,” said Dr. Bernd Kupka, professor for the class. “They acquired three critical consulting skills that I teach my students. They learned to observe, ask intelligent questions, and listen. It was an honor to work with Wakaya and help our students add value to their organization.”
“Wakaya Perfection had an excellent experience working with the students from UVU,” said Mike Casperson, VP of Operations. “They collaborated with us on culture audit and talent mapping projects. They helped us Identify areas in which we were deficient and provided opportunities for us find improved solutions that will help facilitate improved outcomes for Wakaya in both the short and long-term future. The students were pleasant to work with and showed a sincere interest in assisting us. If provided the opportunity again, Wakaya would not hesitate to once again work with UVU through their engaged learning initiatives.”
The Woodbury School of Business is proud to work with incredible companies like Wakaya Perfection to help provide our students with a truly engaged learning experience.