The Williams School of Business (WSB) students are going the extra mile. At both the Jeux du Commerce (JDC), which was hosted virtually by the Université Laval from January 7 to 10, 2022 and the Jeux du Commerce Central (JDCC), which took place from January 21 to 23, WSB teams made the podium.
Bishop’s students have also been shining at other case competitions in the past few years, which earned them an invite to the prominent JDC. Building on that success, Sydney Wilson, Mika Rohac-Grenier, and Jabez Jonkman earned first place in the Strategy category.
At JDCC, WSB earned gold in two categories. A strong performance by Brigitte Barbe-Létourneau, Rebecca Willis, and Victoria Black secured their victory in Accounting, while Justin Brant, Max Taguri-Laurin, and Maya Lauzon teamed up for their win in the Finance category.
Recent alumna and now part-time coach Clara Cardaun is really proud of the teams, especially the JDC trio which she coached throughout the year. “They were super persistent, they held on through midterms and finals, and we practiced throughout. And it led us to the winning of JDC. They were prepared, and I was very confident in their abilities,” she beams.
Sam Beanland, also an alumnus and a case competition coach, adds that “Sydney, Mikalea and Jabez brought home Gold because of their out-of-the-box recommendation and confident presentation. The CEO of the case sponsor reached out to the team after the competition, congratulated them on their victory and expressed that their presentation was outstanding.”
Growing enthusiasm
Both coaches have noticed a rising interest in the events. Cardaun says that since the time she took BMG330 – a mandatory class for students who want to participate in any case competitions – enrolment has roughly doubled.
“It’s something that we promote within the business school. People have been successful, and people want to emulate that success. With the support from faculty and staff, we’ve had the resources, so that when students want to step up, everything is in place, ready for them to take it to the next level,” explains Beanland.
A rewarding extracurricular
According to Beanland, “the reason you do this is to have fun, and winning’s really, really fun. But you also learn so much in the process, as well. Many people say that the Case Competition class is one of their favorite classes at Bishop’s.”
As a student, Cardaun remembers the commitment: “it is a lot of time, let’s be real. We’re all busy. We all have our five classes,” but weighs it against the rewards, such as networking, new friendships, and learning from mistakes. “I would encourage people to ask themselves, where do you want to be after Bishop’s?” asks Cardaun. “And if you were a graduate right now, and looking back on your time at Bishop’s, you would probably be like, ‘yeah, I should have done that’ … Try it out. It is not for you, it’s not for you … but I think it allows people to really see what they’re passionate about.”
