By Sarah Pritchett Dalton
One by one, the yellow school buses rolled onto “The Campus Beautiful.” The grounds of Concord University (CU) radiated the hues of autumn with orange, red, gold and other delightful shades of leaves decorating the trees. The morning was bright with the glory of the season as students stepped off the buses. Big black letters along the sides of the vehicles announced the youngsters’ starting points in their journey to the CU campus, and counties in West Virginia and neighboring Virginia were represented in the parade. While these visiting high schoolers and their teachers were afforded a picturesque setting at their destination, they weren’t on a sightseeing adventure. Their reason for being at Concord was all business.
The 300-plus students from 13 schools descending upon CU’s campus in Athens, WV, on Thursday, October 20, were there for the 23rd annual Concord Business Challenge (CBC). More than 4,000 students have participated in the CBC since the first competition was held in October 1993. This popular event is sponsored each year by Concord’s Division of Business.
“The purpose of the CBC is to encourage students to excel in business subjects while in high school, better preparing them for the real world and for higher education challenges,” says Dr. Susan Robinett, business division chair. According to Robinett, the high school juniors and seniors who participate in the competition are able to demonstrate their knowledge and skills in business and economics.
Students compete as individuals for first, second and third place awards in challenge exams. The school that received the most awards in the challenge exams receives a first-place school trophy, and second and third-place honors are also awarded to school teams.
Greenbrier West High School placed first in the 2016 competition. The second-place trophy went to Princeton Senior High School, and the third-place award was earned by Greenbrier East High School.
“Those who place in our contests leave here with another distinction that can be added to their resumes, and this helps build confidence, says Robinett. “We also enjoy seeing the pride on the faces of our academic achievement contest winners when they see how well they have done on our exams. The schools producing the best results are awarded first, second or third place, and this helps the schools demonstrate their programs’ excellence in the state.”
Subjects for the challenge exams reflect current topics in business, including accounting, business computer literacy, business finance, business mathematics, current business events, economics, marketing principles, management, entrepreneurship principles and Microsoft Office concepts.
The competition also features pre-submitted challenges in creative marketing, CBC logo design and slogan creation. The winning entries for the logo and slogan contests are used to promote the upcoming year’s CBC.
The day of the competition has a busy agenda. Treated to a continental breakfast in the Fine Arts Center lobby during registration, the students then assemble in the facility’s main auditorium for welcoming remarks from Concord administrators. Next, they visit sites around campus for the various competitions. CU business faculty and current students assist with administering the challenge exams.
Trophies and certificates aren’t the only incentive for students to compete. Concord also offers scholarships as part of the event.
The students attending the Concord Business Challenge competed for one of two $4,000 scholarships and 10, $1,000 nonrenewable scholarships. The 12 winners were selected based on their business challenge scholarship examination performance. The two students scoring the highest on the exam qualify for one of the $4,000 scholarships when they enroll full-time at Concord University.
The remaining 10 scholarship winners will each receive a $1,000 nonrenewable scholarship when they enroll full-time at Concord University. Each winner must meet admissions criteria established by the university for entering freshmen. The admissions office is the primary administrator of the awards.
In addition to competing, the student participants also enjoy learning about life on a college campus while at Concord. More than 400 participants in the CBC have gone on to attend and graduate from Concord. Another interesting aspect of the competition is that many of the teachers attending the challenge with their students are Concord alumni.
About the Author
Sarah Pritchett Dalton is a staff writer at Concord University. She holds a degree in journalism with an emphasis in public relations from West Virginia University.
