Business students from Vanier Collegiate put their critical thinking skills to the test during a provincial competition that saw them go up against some of the brightest students in the province.
The eight Grade 12 students attended the Saskatchewan Business Teachers’ Association’s annual case competition on May 4 and 5 at the University of Regina. Ninety-five youths from Saskatchewan and Alberta competed and honed their business case analysis skills in the categories of entrepreneurship and personal finance.
Teams of three had three hours to analyze a situation and make recommendations in a strategic and organized manner. Meanwhile, more than 30 judges — university professors, entrepreneurs, businesspeople, and college students — adjudicated the competition.
This was the first post-pandemic event the association held since 2019.
Vanier’s teams — both competed in the entrepreneurship category — included Rising Stars Consulting, composed of Ashton Glova, Eric Meili and Kate Waldenberger, and Summit Consulting Firm, composed of Feona Tolentino, Alexa Gungob and Chealsea Cruz.
Waverely Demassi and Olga Tolentino also attended as volunteers.
“It was a very fun experience. It was a great opportunity to be there. It really taught us some good skills, such as networking,” said Cruz.
It was great to meet other students also interested in business or entrepreneurship since they will likely be in the same university classes next year, said Meili.
It was a positive experience since students attended several presentations and heard from businesspeople about how they became successful, said Glova.
Neither team placed in the top 5, but that was OK since their goal was to learn, help their younger classmates and build future skills, he added.
This type of inquiry- and experiential-based learning using case studies is the norm in college, so the event gave students a preview of post-secondary life, said teacher Christa Lapointe. While only four students plan to pursue business in university, the others are entering industries where this experience — public speaking, problem-solving and collaboration — will help them.
Cruz, Glova and Meili agreed that they faced major pressure having to speak with little preparation when answering judges’ questions.
Competing in the entrepreneurship category gave them the freedom to develop any solution to the problem, said Meili. That was fun because they could be creative with their answer.
“And we were also at an advantage because most of us did entrepreneurship as a class, so we got to apply what we learned from that class into the case competition,” said Cruz
The case study asked students to help a new ethnic food business find a market in Canada.
One team decided the business would sell its products at farmers’ markets in the Toronto/Hamilton region before expanding across Canada, with the long-term goal of opening a brick-and-mortar store. The judges liked most of this solution.
“There were just some things we missed that they were looking to see,” said Glova. “Our implementation plan … was a little too broad and wasn’t right down to the point and super specific.”
The second team decided to sell at trade shows and build out from there. Cruz noted that the judges liked her team’s suggestion but urged them to consider franchises and online sales.
Student Olga Tolentino thought volunteering was a good experience. Some of her duties included bringing reports to judges, counting the scores from each adjudicator, bringing food to rooms, arranging rooms, collecting other documents and being a role model for younger Vanier students who also attended.
“It was stressful but fun. I loved it … ,” she added.
The students said they were awed by how good the top teams — Regina’s Campbell Collegiate and Weyburn Comprehensive — were and learned plenty from them. Lapointe noted that some schools compete at several events yearly, which is why they are so strong.
The students also thanked Lapointe for the direction and help she provided.
