As Lyvia Chambers ’25 stands at the front of Dr. Edwin Portugal’s Strategic and Global Management class, she rehearses her pitch for the 61st Strategic Business Plan Competition. With the same framework as an episode of Shark Tank, she discusses the finer points of investing in her team’s Glacier Guard—a unique product that simultaneously melts and purifies snow into drinking water.
“I love pitching business ideas. It’s nerve-wracking, but I kind of like being uncomfortable. As a former athlete, I work well under the stress and anxiety of performing my best in front of people."
Over the past four years, the SUNY Potsdam senior has taken various hands-on classes in the Department of Business Administration as she prepares for graduate school, including a cutting-edge Information Systems class with department Chair Dr. Shalu Wunnava. “We talked a lot about artificial intelligence and how that’s evolving in the world today. She understands what a student needs to succeed, and thinks out of the box. Dr. Wunnava has been a big influence on my success,” she said.
Chambers has also continued to enroll in one class after another with the incomparable Dr. Edwin Portugal. A professor with more than 30 years of experience, Portugal led efforts to secure international accreditation for the business program, while also helping to establish B.S. to MBA 4+1 agreements between SUNY Potsdam and four accredited universities in New York.
“Dr. Portugal is one of my favorite professors. He has shown me that it’s ok to make mistakes and it’s ok to have to work hard to get what you want. He has also helped me by writing letters of recommendation for graduate school,” Chambers said.
During the Spring 2024 semester, she enrolled in Portugal’s Business Team Dynamics class, where she first experienced his high-energy teaching style. With ample opportunities for public speaking, and a business plan competition at the end of the semester, the class was nothing like a traditional lecture class.
“One of the biggest highlights of my academic career was winning the business competition in Dr Portugal’s class. I had never been thrown into a situation like that before until I enrolled in his class. I liked it a lot. It puts you on the spot, but in the best way possible,” she said.
For the competition, Chambers and her team compared two organizations, The New England Patriots and General Motors, arguing that one faced challenges and overcame them with greater success than the other. Presenting in front of a panel of judges, she explained that despite the Patriots facing the drama surrounding Deflategate, they pushed through the noise and became one of the most successful franchises in football history with six Super Bowl titles.
“Everyone knows about the Patriots' allegations of cheating. Our presentation showed how they overcame their problems and were super successful,” she said. “We wrote a paper, wrote scripts for our slides, and provided advice based on what we learned in class, telling the judges our recommendations for the organizations to succeed.”
During the Fall 2024 semester, she was back in the hot seat, making another pitch in Portugal’s Strategic and Global Management class. Very similar to an episode of Shark Tank, she and her team pitched a product idea at the end of the semester during the 61st Strategic Business Plan Competition. Tasked with developing a product that met the needs of a specific group of consumers, and building an entire business plan around the idea, Chambers and her classmates faced a panel of external judges who play the role of venture capitalists.
“The whole class was told we needed to create a product targeted around cold climates where snow if prevalent. Our team constructed a unique device, the Glacier Guard, that takes snow, melts it down, removes the dirt and grim, and filters it into clean drinkable water,” she said.
“We tried to convince them to invest in our product and why we should receive the hypothetical 10 thousand dollars to start our business.”
Her interest in entrepreneurship began years early, spurred by her father’s passion for art and business. A small business owner in Buffalo, N.Y., her father learned the blacksmith and fabrication trade from Chamber’s grandfather.
“He emphasized that the field of business is a great route to go. Growing up, and through high school, he worked with my grandfather at the family business, Arc Iron Creations. My dad now does extremely individualized custom jobs for people, whether that’s an iron gate or an art piece for the kitchen. He’ll even give my mom flowers made of metal on their anniversary,” she said.
In high school, as she searched for colleges that offered business degrees, and opportunities to play collegiate hockey, she made the trip from Buffalo to the North Country for a campus tour. “I toured a bunch of schools besides Potsdam and as soon as I got here it just felt right. I liked the close-knit community here at Potsdam. They had everything that I wanted, business and hockey,” she said.
Now, as she wraps up her final semester, she’s enrolled in two more classes with Dr. Portugal, Entrepreneurship and Ethical Issues in Business, and looking forward to a possible trip to San Francisco with her classmates to attend a business convention. When she receives her degree in May 2025, she is planning on pursuing her MBA (Master of Business Administration) at either Clarkson University, SUNY Oswego, or Niagara University. With her business degree in hand, the future is wide open for Chambers as she looks ahead to becoming an entrepreneur, with an interest in marketing.
“I’ve always been taught that you should take risks, and you need to get comfortable being uncomfortable. I have had many amazing times and many difficult times that I have had to work through. Everyone wants to say that they only experienced good times in college, but for me, the difficult times are what has helped me learn to work to become the person I am today and who I want to be in the future,” she said. “If you don't take risks, whether it's in your professional or personal life, you may never know what you are capable of. Potsdam has been a great experience and has taught me many valuable lessons that I have used and will continue to use to grow in the future.”
Article and photos by Jason Hunter