CNA students head to national competition
4/13/2005 9:48:45 AM
By Melissa O’Quinn
Igniting the passion of young Canadians to create brighter futures for both themselves and their community is just one of the things ACE can do.
Advancing Canadian Entrepreneurship – ACE – is a national, not-for-profit organization that organizes and motivates teams of university and college students to develop and execute entrepreneurial initiatives.
ACE has 48 dedicated teams across the country, six which come from Newfoundland and Labrador alone. More impressive is the fact that five of those six teams are from College of the North Atlantic – ACE Cabot (Prince Philip Drive campus), ACE Clarenville, ACE Grand Falls-Windsor, ACE Corner Brook, and ACE Stephenville. The remaining team is from Memorial University of Newfoundland (MUN).
In early march, ACE held its regional competitions – the first ever – in Moncton, New Brunswick, featuring categories such as the micro-business competition, the fair enterprise competition, and the Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE) competition.
Three Newfoundland ACE Teams – Cabot, Clarenville and Corner Brook – attended the event, with ACE Cabot securing gold medals in both the Micro-Business and Fair Enterprise categories.
Megan Tucker, president of ACE Cabot, says the event was not only educational, but inspirational.
“ACE is all about teaching the benefits of entrepreneurship. It is beneficial to anyone who takes part in any event, whether as a volunteer or as a participant,” said Tucker.
ACE will hold its National Exposition from May 1–3 at the Delta Chelsea Hotel in Toronto, Ontario, where the newly-formed Grand Falls-Windsor ACE Team will join the other four ACE Teams in competition.
ACE Cabot is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, and ACE Cabot president Tucker feels confident they’ll do well at the nationals, partly because of their experience. She says the morale of the team since its regional win has been very high.
“I am so proud of everyone on the team for all their hard work and dedication,” said Tucker. “As students, we have a very heavy workload, and it’s often hard to find time to do things outside of school.
“Many of us have families and part-time, even full-time jobs on top of 30 hours of class a week, and when I see everyone pulling their weight inside the organization it is amazing.”
The ACE National Exposition is an annual event that challenges aspiring entrepreneurs across the county. The organization teaches leadership and creativity skills, and encourages people to take the initiative. It also teaches the importance of integrity and social responsibility.
ACE’s mandate says it’s important to follow a code of conduct, stating that all participants must treat others with dignity and respect, as well as respecting their own individual diversity.
According to Paula Worthington, program director of ACE, events such as these are exceptionally useful and important to the youth of the country.
“We believe the opportunity to present your team’s accomplishments to a panel of judges is extremely worthwhile,” says Worthington.
“It’s an ideal way to personally build your skills and confidence, and having the privilege of representing your ACE Team and educational institution through events such as the ACE Regional Competitions and National Exposition is extremely exciting.”
Tucker says her team is looking forward to the nationals in May and winning would be an added bonus.
“Competitions and conferences such as the ACE Regionals and Nationals provide an amazing opportunity for members and faculty advisors to learn what ACE is really all about,” says Tucker.
“I am confident that we will do very well at the National Exposition this coming May.”
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For more information contact:
Stephen Lee
Communications Manager
(709) 643-7929
Or
Tanya Alexander
Public Information Officer
(709) 643-7928