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Business student’s app wins national competition

UALR student, Alec Crow, holds first place award

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Alec Crow of Donaldson is so good at helping students track upcoming events at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock that he won a national competition.

Crow, a business information systems major and Donaghey Scholar, built UALR Event Manager, a Windows-based application, using knowledge he gained from UALR College of Business programming classes.

His app took first place in the Mobile Application Development category during the recent Future Business Leaders of America – Phi Beta Lambda National Leadership Conference.

Currently available in the Windows Store, the program gives the user the ability to sort through school events and instantly add them to personal calendars with a single click.

Crow previously competed at nationals, but this was the first year he won. He hopes his success encourages other students to join Phi Beta Lambda next year.

Crow gives credit to his mentors, associate professor Dr. Janet Bailey and Phi Beta Lambda faculty advisor Sarah Clements, for helping him succeed in this competition.

The four-day National Leadership Conference brings the best of Future Business Leaders of America – Phi Beta Lambda together to compete in leadership events, share their successes, and learn through workshops and exhibits.

Two other UALR students, Robert McCarville, Little Rock, and El-Noor Akther, a Donaghey Scholar, placed at state levels in Future Business Leaders of America competitions. McCarville, a double major in human resource management and professional and technical writing, earned a second-place award in the future business executive category and a third-place prize in the microeconomics category. He also competed in the national event. Akther, an English major, won a third-place award in a state-level competition for public speaking.

UALR students hold their awards at Future Business Leaders of America
Left to right: Alec Crow, El-Noor Akther, and Robert McCarville place at state levels in Future Business Leaders of America.

Phi Beta Lambda is a business-oriented club designed to help students from any degree network and adjust to the business environment. The organization hosts multiple state and national conferences each year that provide students with opportunities to acquire new skills or master old ones. Phi Beta Lamba also hosts various competitions that allow students to use the skills learned in class.