Ten teams from throughout the province and two teams from College of the North Atlantic – Qatar (CNA-Q), competed at the College of the North Atlantic two-day, Business Case competition at Grand Falls-Windsor campus this past weekend.
With four teams from Prince Philip Drive campus, four from Grand Falls-Windsor, two from Clarenville and two from CNA-Q presenting before 10 judges in three divisions, competition was stiff.
“All students are to be commended for their high level of critical thinking, business ideas and team skills demonstrated under stressful situations this weekend,” said Mary Vaughan, CNA’s Dean of Business and Information Technology, at the awards dinner Saturday evening, as she announced the winners to an enthusiastic crowd.
Team Rocky Coast Consultants (Prince Philip Drive) took top billing, Team Katara Consultants (CNA-Q) placed second and Team Panoramic Consulting (Grand Falls-Windsor) came in third, all impressing judges in the high-pressure event.
Team Rocky Coast Consultants consisted of three Office Administration students. Brittany Rideout is currently completing her first year, while Vanessa Huszar and Ashley Dunne are completing their second and final year of the program, specializing in Records and Information Management. This was Rideout's first year experiencing the Business Case competition, while Huszar and Dunne had previously participated in 2014.
“Placing second-last in the competition in 2014 versus bringing home the first place trophy this year is absolutely priceless for us,” said Huszar. “Ashley and I even questioned returning this year, but this really goes to prove that you should never give up, as cliché as it sounds. We are very proud of our progress as a team and as individuals, and a big thank you to our coaches, Tina and Colleen, for having faith in us.”
A new element was introduced to the competition this year, with the Bob Hearn Memorial Award for most improved team. Hearn was an instructor, supervisor and administrator at Grand Falls-Windsor campus during his career with the college and was the competition’s founder a decade ago.
“Bob would have been so proud this evening, to see so many of you competing and enjoying this event,” said Lorraine Hearn. “He was all about helping students succeed.” She and daughter Carrie presented the award to
Katara Consultants.
The event provides a mentoring and coaching environment through the instructors, with great support also coming from the industry judges, who critique and provide feedback to students, encouraging them to grow.
Grand Falls-Windsor campus is the competition venue each year, under the direction of Vaughan and Joan Pynn, campus administrator, who leads a group of dedicated volunteers who help with logistics, prepare food for participants and provide a variety of support that helps the event roll out seamlessly.
For the third competition in a row teams came from CNA-Q. The campus holds its own competition each year in Qatar, but having the opportunity for CNA-Q students to compete internationally with their CNA counterparts gives them an edge in the business industry in Qatar.
Soud Al-Qarah is an Office Administration student at CNA-Q. He says coming to Canada to compete has helped him two-fold.
“First, having this challenge of preparing a business case in 2.5 hours, I know I can’t fix the problem in that short time, but working under pressure to solve it with my team members is a good experience,” he said. “Second, the relationships – I saw my teammates at CNA-Q, but didn’t know them well. Now they are my friends.
“Plus competing against Canadians is more incentive – I see the awards on the walls here at Grand Falls-Windsor campus and I want to take one home for our campus,” he added with a smile.
Keynote speaker, Peggy Bartlett, imparted words of wisdom with the large crowd at the launch, sharing her own experience of starting from the bottom and working her way up in the franchise restaurant industry. Bartlett and her husband previously owned five McDonald’s restaurant franchises in Newfoundland and Labrador.
“When I was young, I was told that boys went to university and girls got married. But I knew I wanted an education,” said the CNA Business Administration alumna, “I had focus, and I had a vision.”
“Set your goals and never lose sight of what you want. And follow your passions – they will drive you and send you in the right direction.”
Powerful words used to inspire the young minds about to give their all – both in competition, and in life.
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Media contact:
Roger Hulan
Communications Specialist
College of the North Atlantic
(709) 643-7938
roger.hulan@cna.nl.ca