BYU students tour Cotopaxi headquarters to learn about sustainable business

Cotopaxi invited a group of BYU students to tour Cotopaxi headquarters on Feb. 15 as a prize for winning a recent case competition.

Cotopaxi invited a group of BYU students to tour Cotopaxi headquarters on Feb. 15 as a prize for winning a recent case competition.

The prompt for the case competition was to pitch an experience and marketing plan for Cotopaxi’s upcoming Questival on the BYU campus.

McKenna Evans, a junior in the marketing program from Connecticut, was part of one of the top three teams in the case competition and toured the Cotopaxi headquarters in Salt Lake City.

“I really respect Cotopaxi and companies that do things like this because it gives students opportunities to utilize their skills and knowledge that they’ve gained in classrooms while also giving them a product,” Evans said.

Evans said the tour of Cotopaxi headquarters was helpful because it showed her what Cotopaxi’s company culture is like. She boiled it down to one word: passion.

Jay Dalton, a sophomore studying interdisciplinary design from Arizona, said the tour focused on the social outreach aspect of Cotopaxi’s business model.

“I think a big part of their idea was to inspire us to go work places where you actually do good because that’s the mission of BYU as well,” Dalton said.

During the tour, students learned Cotopaxi’s story, saw upcoming gear designs and met employees. Emily Hooke, director of the Cotopaxi Campus Team at BYU and a senior studying PR, also participated in the tour.

According to Hooke, the purpose of the case competition and tour was to prepare for Questival, an adventure challenge hosted independently on college campuses. Teams of 2-6 students have 24 hours to complete challenges worth different point values for a chance to win Cotopaxi gear and other prizes.

“The challenges are designed so that whether you’re interested in knitting or hiking or doing community service or visiting new local businesses, there really is something in it for everyone,” Hooke said.

For Evans, Questival is unique because it encourages consumers to contribute to their communities.

“I think the point of Questival is not only to gain excitement for the brand but really to gain excitement for serving and helping others,” Evans said.

Questival started on BYU campus but will be taking place on 10 different campuses this year, including campuses in Utah, Washington, Colorado and California, Hooke said.

“I feel like this event that sends people to try new things and do different service projects and get outside really embodies everything that this brand has continued to become,” Hooke said.

Questival for BYU students will be held March 22-23. Students can learn more about Questival and register here.