By: Alyson Kelly
The FedEx Ground Junior Achievement Titan Business Challenge Regional Competition: just another competition for three drummers of the JHS Marching Band, Nelson Gosnell, Jordan Ruiz, and Andrew Wilcox. After all, music is their game and being the best in percussion is their name; albeit different than the accustomed band competitions, the Junior Achievement Challenge proved to be no different to these teens that are used to giving their best efforts at all times. The boys brought to this competition the determination that they typically exhibit during the band season and it paid off, as Gosnell, Ruiz, and Wilcox not only entered this JA Business Challenge, but brought home the win for Johnstown High School in the form of brand new laptop computers and a place in the Grand Championship event in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
On March 11, 2010, twenty-eight teams of three students each from the Somerset, Cambria, and Indiana counties traveled to the IUP main campus to compete in the Junior Achievement Titan Business Challenge. The challenge itself entailed engaging in a simulation of the running of a futuristic business; participants had to make decisions such as which stocks to invest in, when to buy and sell those shares, and how high the prices for their product should be in order for consumers to purchase the item so that the industry could make a profit. Students, who were forced to use their math and logic skills to be a success in this world of business, were permitted to practice the simulation online individually in order to prepare for the competition. The JHS team was formed by Ruiz, who had heard about the event and received permission to compete, and Mr. Richard Capraun, the web design teacher at JHS, agreed to be the chaperone. Says Capraun of the competition, "This was a great challenge for our students in a real world simulation. They learned a lot about being a CEO of a business." Adds Wilcox, "It was a pleasant surprise to find out that we had won, but, more importantly, we gained a lot of knowledge about investing and budgeting, a skill that's really going to be useful after we graduate high school."
Sophomore Jordan Ruiz and seniors Andrew Wilcox and Nelson Gosnell are all members of the JHS Marching Band and the indoor percussion team. Ruiz plans to continue his education at a university yet to be selected. Gosnell, who is a member of the tennis team in addition to the band, plans on attending Slippery Rock University in the fall, and Wilcox, also involved in the JHS Key Club and Eagle Scouts, will be continuing his education at the University of Pittsburgh. Although none of the three plans on majoring in business at college, the skills needed to survive in the corporate world which they acquired during this competition will undoubtedly prove necessary in their daily lives.
The Grand Championship Event that the JHS has earned the right to participate in is being held at La Roche College in Pittsburgh on Wednesday, May 12, 2010. When asked about the upcoming challenge, Gosnell said, "We're all extremely excited to go to Pittsburgh and show what we can do. We plan on doing Johnstown proud in this competition." Ruiz confirms this hope, exclaiming, "We're going to dominate!" Spoken like a true Trojan.
The FedEx Ground Junior Achievement Titan Business Challenge Regional Competition: just another competition for three drummers of the JHS Marching Band, Nelson Gosnell, Jordan Ruiz, and Andrew Wilcox. After all, music is their game and being the best in percussion is their name; albeit different than the accustomed band competitions, the Junior Achievement Challenge proved to be no different to these teens that are used to giving their best efforts at all times. The boys brought to this competition the determination that they typically exhibit during the band season and it paid off, as Gosnell, Ruiz, and Wilcox not only entered this JA Business Challenge, but brought home the win for Johnstown High School in the form of brand new laptop computers and a place in the Grand Championship event in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
On March 11, 2010, twenty-eight teams of three students each from the Somerset, Cambria, and Indiana counties traveled to the IUP main campus to compete in the Junior Achievement Titan Business Challenge. The challenge itself entailed engaging in a simulation of the running of a futuristic business; participants had to make decisions such as which stocks to invest in, when to buy and sell those shares, and how high the prices for their product should be in order for consumers to purchase the item so that the industry could make a profit. Students, who were forced to use their math and logic skills to be a success in this world of business, were permitted to practice the simulation online individually in order to prepare for the competition. The JHS team was formed by Ruiz, who had heard about the event and received permission to compete, and Mr. Richard Capraun, the web design teacher at JHS, agreed to be the chaperone. Says Capraun of the competition, "This was a great challenge for our students in a real world simulation. They learned a lot about being a CEO of a business." Adds Wilcox, "It was a pleasant surprise to find out that we had won, but, more importantly, we gained a lot of knowledge about investing and budgeting, a skill that's really going to be useful after we graduate high school."
Sophomore Jordan Ruiz and seniors Andrew Wilcox and Nelson Gosnell are all members of the JHS Marching Band and the indoor percussion team. Ruiz plans to continue his education at a university yet to be selected. Gosnell, who is a member of the tennis team in addition to the band, plans on attending Slippery Rock University in the fall, and Wilcox, also involved in the JHS Key Club and Eagle Scouts, will be continuing his education at the University of Pittsburgh. Although none of the three plans on majoring in business at college, the skills needed to survive in the corporate world which they acquired during this competition will undoubtedly prove necessary in their daily lives.
The Grand Championship Event that the JHS has earned the right to participate in is being held at La Roche College in Pittsburgh on Wednesday, May 12, 2010. When asked about the upcoming challenge, Gosnell said, "We're all extremely excited to go to Pittsburgh and show what we can do. We plan on doing Johnstown proud in this competition." Ruiz confirms this hope, exclaiming, "We're going to dominate!" Spoken like a true Trojan.
