2025 CapSource Live Case Competition Winners
We are excited to share an incredible achievement by our Shepherd University students in the Fall 2025 CapSource Live Case Competition. The CapSource Competition is a platform that provides real-world business projects to university students, allowing them to put their academic training into practice. As part of BADM 407, our Business Capstone course, Dr. Joshua Beck encouraged and guided his students to participate in the competition, serving as their coach and faculty advisor throughout the process.
The Fall 2025 case featured the organization Tallo, which asked contestants to “reimagine the early career user experience” on its platform. Approximately 40 other teams applied to this competition, of whom only the top 12 were invited to advance to the live final round. We are immensely proud to say that Shepherd University made up four of the top 12 teams and had an extraordinary team that won the competition!
Top 12 Finishers
We would like to say congratulations to those who made it to the competition below:
(Top row (l.-r.): Colton White, Chase Herndon, Cayden Sorenson, Patrick Samuda, Abby Van Meter, Susannah Lisk, Dylan Walker, and Lucas Flores; Bottom row (l.-r.): Nazia Brown, Jordan Carr, Damien Valdes, Adrianna Morales, Davis Cummings, Nop Satjavitvisarn
1st Place Winners
(Pictured left to right) Cayden Sorenson, Patrick Samuda, Abby Van Meter, and Dylan Walker
Cayden Sorenson, Patrick Samuda, Abby Van Meter, and Dylan Walker expressed their enthusiastic appreciation for this opportunity:
Patrick recalled that experience boosted his confidence and was an amazing way to finish out his undergraduate career here at Shepherd; “One of the main ideas [Tallo] liked during [our team] presentation was one of [the solutions I came up with]… it was a great experience and definitely raised my confidence.” Patrick is now obtaining his MBA here and sees this as a valuable experience for his professional career.
Abby Van Meter is another team member who developed close connections with the Tallo team. She stated, “One of the most rewarding aspects was representing Shepherd University and the hardworking students within the business department. It was an honor to showcase the knowledge, work ethics, and creativity that Shepherd students bring to the table. Winning first place with my team made the experience even more meaningful because it reflected not only our effort, but also the strength of the education and preparation we received from the program.” After graduating, Tallo offered Abby a job she currently works as a Media Strategist intern at Tallo.
Dylan Walker felt similarly inspired, representing Shepherd University; “I’ve learned so many valuable things here at Shepherd that I’ll carry with me forever. What I’ve learned will greatly help me in my career and throughout the rest of my life, and us having won this competition allowed us to show everyone that ‘This is what you can achieve at Shepherd University.’”
We are incredibly proud of all our students who competed and are now looking forward to the next competition!
Interviews: conducted by Blake Marlowe over email/paper correspondence.