Students Practice Business Skills in JA’s Titan Challenge
Junior Achievement of Upstate South Carolina (JA) hosted over 125 Upstate high school students in the JA Titan Challenge, an event designed to test the application of business concepts and to practice skills that prepare students for employment.
“Twenty-first century skills are not really new. What is new is that our success as a community and as individuals depends on acquiring and being able to demonstrate those skills,” says Connie Lanzl, President of Junior Achievement of Upstate SC. “The time to learn them is before you have to use them, before you leave high school. And it’s not enough to teach the skills or even learn them. Young people have to have the opportunity to practice them and test them before their success really depends on demonstrating them. That’s what this event was all about.”
In the JA Titan Challenge, 80 students in small teams applied learned business concepts during a competitive online business simulation, making decisions that make or break their “company.” This competition is uniquely designed to unleash student creativity, test leadership skills, necessitate collaboration, critical thinking and individual and group decision-making, as well as to demonstrate the competitive nature of the free enterprise system. Nearly $7,000 in scholarships for post-secondary education or training was awarded to the top three teams. The top two teams will go on to compete at the national level.
First place with a scholarship prize of $3,000 went to Lee Jackson, Ross Rothell and Jonathan Summers from Landrum High School. Second place with a prize of $2,250 went to Zackary Allison, Sara Amor, Semaj Johnson and Luz Ruiz from Wade Hampton High School. Third place and a scholarship prize of $1,500 went to the Jailen Taylor, Sandra Alfonzo and Michael Garcia from Greenville High School.
About JA of Upstate South Carolina
Junior Achievement’s mission is to inspire and prepare young people to succeed in a global economy. JA enhances the relevancy of education, bridging the gap between what students are learning in school and how it can be applied in the real world. JA of Upstate SC provides programs in Anderson, Greenville, Oconee, Pickens and Spartanburg counties and relies on the two resources of volunteers and gifts to accomplish its mission. This year JA of Upstate SC will reach over 7,500 students in Greenville, Spartanburg, Anderson, Oconee, and Pickens counties.