MILWAUKEE – Student-athletes from across nine different Milwaukee sports found themselves competing against one another in a rather unusual arena this week: the boardroom.
Northwestern Mutual and Milwaukee Athletics teamed up on Monday night for the fourth annual Elevator Pitch Competition to give student-athletes a chance to showcase their prowess at making professional introductions in front of a panel of distinguished judges.
Though it was a competition and all had their sights set on being crowned the winner, the biggest takeaway for all student-athletes was the feedback from the judges on the effectiveness of their pitches and how they could improve in the future.
"Although some of the student-athletes were nervous, all of them exuded confidence," said Jaala Sullivan, Director of Training & Early Productivity at the Lueder Financial Group of Northwestern Mutual. "The pitch competition gave the students the opportunity to prepare for the career they want while highlighting their skills, attributes, and successes as a student-athletes."
This year's panel of judges included Sullivan, Kassidy Pollasch, and Miranda Doan from the Lueder Financial Group of Northwestern Mutual, as well as Milwaukee Athletics' own Deputy Athletic Director
Cathy Rossi.
"I am so grateful I had the opportunity to participate in the judging of the elevator pitches," said Rossi. "Every student-athlete that participated blew me away with how well they prepared for the event, and more importantly, how they were able to articulate their vision for their futures and their passion for their chosen career paths. This group showed me that they are doing a tremendous job of preparing themselves for life after UWM."
The winner of this year's Elevator Pitch Competition was
Nicole Clarke, a senior on the tennis team. She emerged from a field of 22 competitors with the most effective and memorable pitch of the night. She narrowly edged out other top five competitors:
Nick Winter, a redshirt junior from the baseball team;
Anika Tylek, a sophomore from the tennis team;
Luke Rapisarda, a sophomore from men's track & field team; and
Paolo Gratton, a sophomore from the men's soccer team.
Milwaukee Athletics has enjoyed partnering with Northwestern Mutual on the spring Elevator Pitch Competition each of the past four years. Led this year by Kassidy Pollasch, the team from Northwestern Mutual invests resources and volunteer hours to conduct workshops with Panther student-athletes, judge the competition, and provide incentives for the winner. The success of the event has grown each year thanks in large part to the continued support of Northwestern Mutual.
