Students across campus are racking up impressive accomplishments. These are just a few examples of how Bears embody a commitment to excellence.

Big Wins in Business

There’s a lot to celebrate in the College of Business (COB). Multiple teams and student organizations excelled in regional competitions — with national contests on the horizon.

Chartered Financial Analyst Team

Missouri State’s CFA Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Research Challenge Team placed No. 1 in the Kansas City CFA Society Regional Competition. It’s the fifth time in the past seven years that Missouri State’s team has brought home the regional title. This year’s winning team includes Megan Leahy, Juliette Robinson, Kelly Sego and Cole Sunderland. They’re advised by Bradley Wright, CFA of Wells Fargo and Dr. Seth Hoelscher, head of the department of finance, economics and risk management, who serves as team mentor. With this victory, the team advanced to the Americas Subregional Competition.

Future Business Leaders of America

At the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) State Leadership Conference, Biz Bears scored big. Missouri State COB students won 24 first, second, third and fourth place awards in events that challenged their business acumen across disciplines. With these wins, the students advanced to FBLA’s National Leadership Conference, which is scheduled for May 31–June 2. Courtney Pham, senior instructor of marketing, serves as FBLA’s faculty advisor.

Check out the complete list of winners.

Cyber Defense Competition

In February, Missouri State’s Association for Business Information Technology students (A-BITS) team clocked a win at the Midwest Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (CCDC) wild-card qualifier event. With this win, the team earned a spot at the 2025 Midwest CCDC, which took place March 14–15. Although the team didn’t advance to the following level — the National CCDC — it was the highest-performing team from Missouri, finishing in Midwest CCDC’s top five. A-BITS team members include Mark Ablai, Makaylee Doza, Tyler Olson, Bennett Riegel, Jessica Snare, Aidan Woodyard and Ian Ulrich. Dr. Zongxi Liu, assistant professor in the department of information technology and cybersecurity (ITC), and Dr. Xiang Guo, ITC department head, mentor the team and helped transport students to Hammond, Indiana, for the regional competition.

Collegiate DECA

Eight members of Missouri State’s Collegiate DECA scored top-three placements at the state competition. With these placements, Esperanza Aguilar, Madelynn Jared, Abigayle Klover, Katelyn McGuire, Isaac Moon, Lander Thompson, Thao Tran and Emma Trowbridge qualified to compete at the Collegiate DECA International Career Development Conference. In April, they’ll travel to the conference, along with Emily Debonnaire, who serves as the state-level DECA vice president. Dr. Jason DeBode, head of the management department, is the team’s faculty advisor. He sees the contest as a chance for students to refine their business and communication skills as they’re pushed to analyze and convey complex, detailed information within a compact timeframe.

“The competitions also give our students opportunities to expand their professional networks, which is critical as they begin their careers,” DeBode says. “As they connect with students from around the country, they expand their network of colleagues and also learn about best practices they can bring back and implement here.” He celebrates the dedication and hard work students have brought to this experience. “It’s great for them, personally and professionally, and it signals that the education they receive at Missouri State readies them to compete — and win — in their professional endeavors,” he says.

Rewind

The faculty who serve as advisors and mentors for these organizations describe the support of their college and COB Dean Dr. David Meinert as vital. As DeBode puts it, “Without this support, it wouldn’t be possible for our students to participate in these opportunities and events.”

Last fall, we spoke with Meinert about COB’s emphasis on experiential learning and how it pays off for students. For example, he told us: “We recently put in a Security Operations Center for our students to use in cybersecurity competitions. Before, they used open labs during these competitions, which wasn’t ideal when they were defending themselves from IT professionals who were conducting simulated cyber attacks. Now, they have space that can fully support their success.”

Meinert also mentioned COB’s “Build Our Brand” fund, which assists with funding for student travel to conferences and competitions. “When we support our students, they consistently perform well in competitions, and employers notice,” he said.

Hitting the High Notes

Missouri State’s Opera Theatre qualified for the 2025 Robert Hanson National Collegiate Opera Scenes Competition. The Opera Bears’ entry was one of just four that were selected to appear in the final competition, which was presented at the National Opera Association conference. Jb Love, Ryan McIntosh and Veronika Yerina represented Missouri State. They performed, in German, a trio and duet from Hungarian composer Emmerich Kálmán’s “Die Csárdásfürstin.” Dr. Ann Marie Daehn and Dr. Chris Thompson, professors of music, mentored the students, who are all sophomores.

“We focus on giving opportunities to all performers, even younger students,” Daehn says. “This is about providing every one of our students the chance to grow.”

A Winning Verdict

In January, a Missouri State Mock Trial team won the championship at the 2025 Mid-Missouri Mock Trial Invitational. The championship team included Zack Collison, Hannah Killion, Lanya Mangiapanello, Kenta Otani, Josh Roberts and Kathryn Wagner. In addition to the team win, Zack Collison, Stephanie Diaz, Josh Roberts and Kathryn Wagner took home individual awards.

Dr. Jennifer LaPrade, associate professor in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, serves as Mock Trial coordinator. She describes the win as a big step — one that will propel our students to further success.

“This victory is a testament to the hard work, dedication and collaboration of each team member,” she says. “It’s not just about individual talent, but how well they come together as a unit.”

Research Milestones

By presenting and publishing their research, students have shared their insight and contributed to the advancement of their fields.

New Publication

The American Astronomical Society published the research of Yashasvi Moon, a Missouri State senior majoring in physics, math and astronomy. Last year, Moon applied for a summer program, which awarded her a NASA Space Grant. The program also connected her with a mentor, Dr. Decker French of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. These opportunities led Moon to conduct research into Quiescent Balmer-strong galaxies. Moon’s research found a new way to identify these galaxies using machine learning models.

Presenting on Sustainable Nanotechnology

Three chemistry graduate students represented Missouri State at the 13th Sustainable Nanotechnology Organization (SNO) annual conference. Blessing Akinwande, Mary Fakunle and Riley Pope-Buss presented their research at the conference. The students traveled with their mentor, Dr. Cyren Rico, associate professor in the chemistry and biochemistry department.

They presented the following topics:

• How the amino acids in lettuce changed after being exposed to the nanoparticles molybdenum disulfide and sulfur (Akinwande).
• How the antioxidant makeup of lettuce changed when exposed to molybdenum disulfide and sulfur nanoparticles (Fakunle).
• How the chemical makeup of scallions changed when exposed to cerium oxide nanoparticles and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (Pope-Buss).

Presenting Grapevine Research

Hunter White and Qiuni Yang, graduate students in the Darr College of Agriculture, presented their research at the Show-Me Grape and Wine Conference and Symposium. Dr. Chin-Feng Hwang and Dr. Wenping Qiu, distinguished professors in the School of Agricultural Science and Conservation, mentored the students and presented with them.

Rewind

Last fall, White presented his research at the Graduate College’s 3 Minute Thesis Competition, where he won Second Place. At the time, Qiu told us: “This project was custom designed to give him the chance to explore something that he’s interested in. It’s a complicated topic, and he was able to use plain language to share the mystery with the general public.”