OC students secure first and second place finishes in Canada’s most prestigious business competition

Students from Okanagan College’s School of Business shone at the Inter-Collegiate Business Competition (I.C.B.C.) last week notching three podium finishes.

Business Administration (BBA) students Madison Blancher and her teammate Adrianna Knuth finished first place in the Human Resources category, beating finalists from Simon Fraser University, Concordia University, McGill University, Saint Mary’s University and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

According to Blancher, the road to victory was nerve-racking and wouldn’t have been possible without the support from their coaches Dr. Robert Groves and Roger Wheeler.

“We were definitely nervous going up against the best business students in the country and internationally,” said Blancher. “But the level of support we received from our coaches was incredible. We couldn’t have done it without their knowledge and expertise.”

“We were ecstatic when the results came in,” added Knuth. “The best part about studying business at OC is that you have real-world opportunities like this to push yourself beyond your comfort zone – it’s the best way to learn.”

BBA accounting and management students also scored podium spots at the case competition. The Accounting team comprised of Kyla Bernardo and Kirsten Pitzoff placed second (coached by Adrian Fontenla and Randy Newton), and so did the Management of Information Systems (MIS) duo of Jared Hubner and Anthony Peterson (coached by Dr. Glen Coulthard).

According to the dean of Okanagan College’s School of Business Dr. Heather Banham, the professors and coaches couldn’t be more proud.

“All of us at the School of Business are extremely proud of our students who competed and the professors who volunteered as coaches,” said Dr. Banham. “These amazing results speak to the effort, dedication and commitment of both the students and professors. They all represented Okanagan College and themselves with professionalism and poise on a competitive, international stage.”

The Inter-Collegiate Business Competition is the oldest and most prestigious case competition in Canada. It features eight different categories in which students can compete. These categories include Accounting, Business Policy, Ethics, Debating, Finance, Human Resources, Marketing, and Management of Information Systems.