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Haskayne made it rain: student team places 3rd overall in western Canadian business competition

Submitted by jjphilli on Fri, 01/27/2012 - 14:56.

Main Haskayne Newsroom and Homepage

2012 JDC West Team Haskayne team back at Scurfield Hall.

January 27, 2012

by Julie Phillips

Haskayne undergraduate students represented the University of Calgary at the 2012 JDC West competition in Edmonton, AB earlier this month, bringing home a total of 10 awards including their first gold in the competition, runner-up for Innovator of the Year, and 3^rd place School of the Year for their overall performance. Not bad for a team sending their first full delegation to this annual competition of charity, athletics, social activities, and academics.

“The team really blew away the expectations the co-captains and I had set out”, says Cam Welsh, MIS Instructor and JDC West Team Haskayne faculty advisor and coach who won Faculty of the Year at this year’s competition. “All of our students performed exceptional well and many had the best presentations I have seen so far. Team Haskayne 2012 did the School and the University proud.”

In 2011, the team sent a half delegation to the competition in Saskatoon while this year, Team Haskayne sent a full delegation of close to 50 students to compete.

“The reward of seeing each student on the team grow is what drew me back to coach the team again this year,” says Welsh, who sees huge growth in confidence, public speaking, and critical thinking skills in each of the students on the team in the four months leading up to the competition and after they compete.

JDC West is the largest student-run business competition in Western Canada. Nearly 600 students from 11 of Western Canada’s top universities unite annually to compete in this competition, which is organized by and for business students. Teams compete in academic and athletic challenges, a social competition, a parliamentary-style debate, and a charity initiative during this three-day event.

“In my four and a half years at the University of Calgary, I have never been so proud and felt more school spirit than at this competition,” says Vanessa Thain, a Haskayne undergraduate student and JDC West co-captain. “The experience of representing Haskayne in swag and in cheers makes you feel so proud to represent Haskayne.”

The lead up started last March with a number of information sessions. In September, Vanessa and co-captain David Botham along with coach Cam Welsh started interviewing students for the team and deciding where to place them in the roster. From mid-October to December, the team held practice for each of the ten academic teams every weekend. In December, all the teams kicked into full gear - connecting for a minimum of three practices attended. Team members also participated in two mock competitions, one in November and one in January, with many alumni and industry professionals playing the role of judges.

“What you learn going through JDC West will help with your career aspirations, regardless of what they are,” says Thain. “I highly recommend the competition to any business student who wants to make an impact on their school, community, and develop friendships and networks that will last for years.”

Find out more about JDC West 2012.

Find out how to join the 2012/13 Haskayne JDC West team.

Haskayne’s JDC West 2012 Results

Competition	Award	Team Members
Overall School of the Year	3^rd
Academic School of the Year	3^rd
Faculty Advisor of the Year		Cam Welsh
Innovator of the Year	Runner-up
Business Strategy	1^st	Andrea Heckbert, Mahrukh Tahir, Sean Keown
Finance	2^nd	Maddie Quinlan, Iris Wong, Max Moore
Entrepreneurship	3^rd	Stephanie Towns, Jaspreet Pandher, Lucas McCarth y
International Business	3^rd	Jill Thorlacius, Carmen Chiu, Jedd Matechuk
MIS	3^rd	Carol Yan, Duncan To, Alex Ste-Marie
Marketing	3^rd	Sanja Avaramovic, Jason Mack, James Kurczaba
Not for Profit	3^rd	Brittany Humphry, Inge Makins, Daniell Hart
Debate	4^th	Jackie McKinley, Preethi Ganesan, Naveenaa Saravana Kumaa, Zack Little