College of

Engineering, Architecture and Technology

 

In addition to the engineering degrees students receive in the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology at Oklahoma State University, there are opportunities for students to earn additional degrees outside of their chosen discipline. 

 

Opportunities to work alongside students in the Spears School of Business provide CEAT graduates with opportunities to add a Master of Business Administration to their resume.

  

Caden Cantwell is an example of this. As a holder of an undergraduate degree from the School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, he has a strong analytical foundation and problem-solving skills, and he is currently pursuing his MBA.

  

Cantwell, along with a team of Lexi Anderson, Dustin Plott and Dyland Hammond, all business majors, finished first in the OSU MBA Case Competition. Cantwell was also selected as the best male presenter as the team worked through the challenge presented.

  

Cantwell said the interactive competition involved delivering their solution to a panel of judges that included faculty, past MBA students , and to business owners.  

“It not only challenged our technical and business acumen but also our capacity to communicate effectively under tight deadlines,” Cantwell said.

  

Cantwell said it was an honor being named Best Male Presenter, especially with him still gaining experience in the business world.

  

“It was rewarding to see that my presentation and communication skills, something I’ve been continuously working on, were able to stand out despite having very minimal business acumen before this course/competition,” Cantwell said.

 

Mitch Myers, a CEAT and Spears Business alum and 2024 CEAT Hall of Fame inductee, had a hand in the challenge selected for the competition this year. He and Matt Bowler, associate professor in the Spears School of Business Department of Management, discussed real-world challenges for the students.

  

They selected one involving Thermal Specialties, Myers’ company, where students focused on evaluating companies that Thermal Specialties owns and operates. Students assessed which businesses Myers should invest in or divest from. They also developed a possible strategy to lead to Myers’ adult children one day operating the business.

  

This was the first time Myers had been involved with the competition, and he brought his sons, Sutton and Blaine, to participate in the evaluation of the final presentations. He said he always enjoys working with students as they develop their ability to think critically and strategically as they connect what they learn in the classroom to real-world scenarios.

  

“My favorite aspect of the process is hearing how students think through problems and seeing the creativity and strategic reasoning they bring to real-world business challenges,” Myers said. “In this particular competition, I especially enjoyed gaining fresh outside perspectives on my businesses.”

 

Cantwell said the overall experience challenged him and taught him a lot. It showed him the value of interdisciplinary teamwork. The team merged technical depth with business acumen to create an innovative and well-rounded solution to the challenge.

  

“This competition definitely aligns with my professional goal in aerospace and business strategy,” Cantwell said. “It sharpened my ability to distill complex technical observations and turn them into strategic recommendations — something very valuable in engineering management and leadership roles.”