This story was published in the Fall 2024 edition of H, UHart's magazine.
In today’s competitive job market, practical experience often stands as a crucial differentiator for graduates entering the workforce. Classroom learning provides the foundation, but applying that knowledge in real-world situations bridges the gap between theory and practice.
Lillian Wonderly ’23, a UHart alumna who had a dual major in communication and English, works as a planning analyst for the Community Renewal Team (CRT), which offers programs and services to help individuals, families, and communities work toward stable and successful futures.
In fall 2023, she helped her organization join forces with students in the Operations Management course in the Barney School of Business, under the direction of Aydin Oksoy, assistant professor of entrepreneurship.
“I reached out to Professor Oksoy on behalf of Nancy Isa, CRT’s director of nutrition, seeking help from his students in improving the productivity of our Elderly Nutrition Meals on Wheels program,” Wonderly explains. “CRT’s commercial kitchen produces and delivers meals to home-bound seniors (age 60 and over) throughout Central Connecticut. As a UHart alum, I know the value students can bring to real-world projects.”
Students engaged in an analysis of Wonderly’s strategic position and ways to improve CRT’s kitchen productivity. One entrepreneurial idea was to leverage the second-largest commercial kitchen in the Hartford area to engage in classes and generate income. This could also help folks learn how to start a restaurant to help in social mobility via the kitchen. A second idea pertained to renting out the idle space in CRT’s 3,000-square-foot freezer/refrigeration system.
Oksoy says that students were placed randomly in teams and introduced to the client; he facilitated the conversations—but students led them. The students, initially tasked with deriving an economic if-then statement, submitted the individual components of the main task throughout the semester for feedback, compiled all segments, and constructed their own presentation.
“CRT is moving forward with all of the recommendations provided by the students,” Isa reports. “With their strategies, we’ve strengthened resource management, especially in streamlining our meal preparation and delivery processes. By improving the overall speed and quality of service to our seniors, we can ensure that meals are delivered consistently to those who rely on us. Dr. Oksoy’s students have made a meaningful impact on our community. Their support has been extremely beneficial to our Meals on Wheels program.”
As a grant writer for CRT, which has more than 40 programs, Wonderly has found the student support with the Meals on Wheels program extremely helpful. “Our programs are primarily funded by state and federal grants, and the Meals on Wheels program has faced significant budget cuts, which have impacted our ability to provide for malnourished and at-risk seniors,” Wonderly says. “The UHart students have conducted thorough analyses of our meal preparation, delivery service processes, and food assembly lines. Their insights have helped us make more efficient use of our resources and time, optimizing our services at a critical moment when we have no extra time or money to spare.”
Lillian Wonderly ’23, UHart AlumnaAs a UHart alum, I know the value students can bring to real-world projects... By applying their strategies, we've been able to reduce inefficiencies, better manage our resources, and improve the overall speed and quality of service to our seniors. This has been crucial in ensuring we continue to provide nutritious meals to our seniors.
The partnership with the Barney School of Business expanded further as Professor David Stec, director and clinical instructor of supply chain and logistics management—the Barney School’s newest program—took things to the next level and had his students conduct an in-depth logistics project during the spring 2024 semester.
Student teams immersed themselves within the food service operations of the CRT to provide process analysis and operations improvement support to increase productivity related to the Meals on Wheels program. The students analyzed and improved hot and cold meal preparation, inventory ordering, site supply ordering, and replenishment. They also assisted in establishing workplace organization systems for dry storage and freezer storage.
“Students learn that communication skills are paramount, as is their intrinsic motivation to complete the task out of a sense of professionalism and respect to the client,” Stec explains. During the project, students effectively learn how to diagnose a firm and its environment to then suggest strategic trajectories available for the client to consider; the suggestions reflect the creativity portion of the curriculum.
“Students must blend aesthetical appeal with the quality of content to show that they have taken the task seriously,” Stec continues. “The final presentation to the client mimics a typical business meeting and is meant to improve their confidence when under such circumstances.”
Both Oksoy and Stec feel that students gain invaluable experience—and that there is no substitute for the reality of a live client with respect to experiential learning. They also think that it is much more valuable when it occurs by organic channels through UHart alumni and faculty. Because of the initial success of the collaboration, Oksoy is reengaging with CRT with a class of seniors this fall.
“In my opinion, a healthy student-alumni-faculty network is a significant competitive advantage for the University of Hartford,” Stec emphasizes. “To me, the organic nature of how things came about is a strong testament to the strong bonds already created across UHart, and hopefully, sharing this story will encourage even more collaborations.”
This story was published in the Fall 2024 edition of H, UHart's magazine.