Experiential Learning Class Uses Thought Leader Support and Real-world Clients to Prepare Students

Strategy, leadership and teamwork are just some of the skills learned in Roy Thomason’s class.

Student teams in the Master’s in Management Studies (MIM) and Online Master’s in Management Studies (OMiM) programs have the opportunity to partner with nine companies to develop solutions for new plans or challenges. Companies like Teledoc Health, Major League Baseball (MLB), CFG Bank Arena, myma.ai and ServiceNow, to name just a few.

Students are tasked with a variety of objectives, ranging from event proposals for increased audience engagement, rebranding initiatives, developing solutions for AI tools and products and growing technology efficiencies. Throughout the spring semester, teams meet with clients to better understand the objectives and challenges. Students use what they have learned thus far in the program to provide clients with new perspectives, which gives students the opportunity for real-world experience.

“We have two absolutes with our client partners,” Thomason said. “The first expectation is for the students and their learning outcomes to be the top priority for everyone. The second focus involves the client partners using the recommendations our student teams provide as we provide realistic, immediately implementable solutions for their organizations.” Thomason has been teaching project-based experiential learning since he began as an adjunct in 2018 and when he became full-time at the Smith School in 2022 and joined MiM and OMiM Academic Director Rellie Derfler-Rozin in the program. Thomason said the MiM program has integrated the project-based experiential learning since the fall of 2022.

Thought leaders are also invited to class to support students in the process. These volunteers are sourced from alumni and industry professionals, many of whom sit on the MiM Advisory Council, to help guide students as they work on their projects and as students prepare to present their findings to their clients at the end of the spring 2025 semester.

Anya Yankova, MBA ’22, is one such thought leader who participates in the experiential learning classes. Yankova is a project manager at the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange but has previous experience working for local and state governments. This proved to be beneficial to one of the student teams working on a project for CFG Bank Arena.

“They needed help connecting with different agencies so, because I worked for City Hall for almost six years, I was able to connect them to the development corporation, police department, Maryland transportation agency and Visit Baltimore,” she said. “I try to provide my practical advice and also help them connect with the right people who can help to move the project forward.”

“We are so used to our projects not actually being placed in real life, a lot of times we can do hypothetical situations but this one we have to be realistic, so we step back into that realism and figure out what is actually possible within the capabilities of our client,” said Madison James ’24, MiM ’25. James, whose team is working with CFG Bank Arena, said the program also has helped students build their people skills through the group projects.

“The students gain greater understanding of team dynamics, leadership, followership, and resilience. We like to state that the students become comfortable being uncomfortable while developing their confidence,” Thomason said. “They gain perspectives conducting quantitative and qualitative research and often, data analysis to formulate their recommendations.”

“It’s been a really good real-world experience. It’s a good bridge from education to the professional world,” said Hannah Bernard BSOS ’24, MiM ’25, whose team is working with ServiceNow.

Project partners such as Tyrone Brooks ’96, senior director, Front Office and Field Staff Diversity Pipeline Program with MLB, see the benefits as well. Brooks has been partnering on experiential learning opportunities with the MiM and EMBA programs at Smith for the last four years. “It’s been a great experience working with Roy and Rellie, and to work with different students,” he said. “Providing any kind of experiential learning opportunities is a great way for them to learn and see what’s being done in our industry and how that all can be applied to them.”

Student teams working on the MLB project were charged with offering new ideas for rebranding signature events and initiatives for the 2026 MLB Season. Brooks said there were a lot of great ideas that he thinks his colleagues at MLB will like once he shares the student work with them. All students presented their final projects May 13 through 15, 2025.