Congratulations to Cumberland College's Business students for the Youth Business Excellence (YBEX) Awards received May 4, 2019 in the business plan writing competition, sponsored by Community Futures Newsask.
Ethan Thomas placed 1st ($350) in the Post-Secondary School Category for "GT Games, Galore and More", an online computer gaming and tournament business. Ethan was also awarded the Newsask Memorial Award ($100), which recognizes the business plan with the highest score, across all entrance categories.
Alannah Cotterill placed 2nd ($250) in the Post Secondary School Category for "Supreme Clean", a house cleaning business. Alannah was also awarded a Special Achievement Award ($50).
Students who place 1st, 2nd, or 3rd in a category also earn money for their school. Alannah and Ethan's scholarly work earned an additional $300 for Cumberland College, which will be used as a scholarship for next year's business program.
"Our students are required to write a business plan for their major project in the Marketing course. Day 1 of Marketing, when Alannah and Ethan realized that they were the only 2 in our class who qualified to enter YBEX (<30 years of age), they looked at each other with broad smiles and the game was on! Both students have generous amounts of entrepreneurial spirit, and there is nothing like a little competition to develop it", said instructor, Dawn Schumilas.
"Many graduates have told me that the business plan project helped them to develop important skills that they needed to get hired, and now use daily in their jobs. Graduates who have moved into management positions, have told me that when hiring to entry level positions, they favour Cumberland's business graduates who present a comprehensive business plan as a demonstration of their abilities. We are very grateful to Community Futures for sponsoring the competition as it really motivates the students to strive for excellence", said Schumilas.
Cumberland College is excited about the future of its Tisdale-based business programming. This fall, the College will begin offering a 2-year diploma program, with a focus on increased enrolment and student diversity, including international students. The Lakeland General Business Diploma is an academic-focused program, which is fully transferable to a business degree program at the Edwards School of Business, University of Saskatchewan.
"Local residents who want to pursue a business degree can now remain in their home community for full classroom instruction for the first 2 years of the program, and save considerable money in tuition and living expenses", said Jeff Fisher, Manager of Technical Programs. "Opportunities also exist to transfer credits to Athabasca University for students who want to complete a business degree through distance programming. Former graduates of the SK Polytechnic Business Certificate Program will be granted full credit for the entire 1st year of the new diploma program, provided their overall grade point average is above 60%".
For further information on the General Business Diploma Program, please contact a student advisor at any Cumberland College campus.
