Students Learn ‘Business Acumen’ at JA Titan Challenge

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Chalker High School students Chase Learn, Seth Balzer and William Prowitt huddled around a computer in a Williamson College of Business Administration lab at Youngstown State University.

They discussed price, marketing, inventory, corporate and social responsibility, developing their strategy. Their industry mentor, Joe Danyi, owner of Youngstown Computer, answered questions and provided guidance where needed.

The Chalker students were one of the 24 teams of juniors and seniors from nine Mahoning and Shenango Valley high schools who competed Tuesday in the JA Titan Challenge by Junior Achievement of Eastern Ohio.

This marked the 15th year for the event, and Michele Merkel, JA of Eastern Ohio president, said the competition is a virtual simulation game of a cellphone company. The students considered pricing, profit, marketing and corporate social responsibility in operating their virtual companies. Twenty eight volunteer mentors from area companies advised and supported the student teams throughout the competition.

“What we want our students to walk away with is business acumen,” she said.

That includes how a company runs, corporate social responsibility, marketing, pricing, research and development and other issues.

“They’re making everyday business decisions that a business person inside a business does,” Merkel said.

Students competed for scholarships and prizes.

“What they’re trying to figure out is how many phones are they going to purchase in an economic scenario,” Merkel explained. “They don’t know what the economic scenario is going to be.”

The economy for Round 1 might be great and everybody wants to buy a phone. That prompts a team to bulk up its inventory. Then in Round 2, the company might dip, so people stop buying. The student teams reacted to the various market scenarios to try to find the best strategy.

Danyi has been volunteering as a mentor at the JA Titan Challenge for about 10 years. 

“I had an experience with Junior Achievement when they used to come to my fifth and sixth grade classes,” he said. 

He learned a lot, and it lit the fire of entrepreneurship in him.

“I want to kind of give that back to the kids,” Danyi said.

He said he learns a lot from the students, too. They’re curious, and that reinvigorates him.

Seth, a senior on the Chalker team, was competing in his second JA Titan Challenge. 

“I did it last year because it seemed kind of fun, and it was,” he said. “I’m doing it this year because it was really good last year to learn about managing businesses and finance and things, and it’s just useful. Even if you’re not going to be in a corporate setting, it’s good for personal management as well.”

Seth plans a career in ministry but believes some of the skills he’s learning at the competition will serve him well in that career.

Austintown Fitch High School seniors Andre Ferrell and Franklin Nicola worked with mentor Erick LaGroux of the Amazing Podcast.

“We’re trying to make as many profits as possible with our phone company,” Franklin explained. 

“We put a good chunk of our budget into the marketing so we could get more eyes on our product,” Andre added. 

LaGroux helped them better understand the role that marketing could play in improving company sales.

“He did a good job of pointing out the issues and the things that we should cut back on, the things that didn’t work in the last quarter, how we could fix it in the next,” Andre said. 

Both Franklin and Andre plan to attend YSU next year to major in business administration. They’re both interested in careers in marketing.

Other high schools that competed are Jackson-Milton, Bloomfield, Pymatuning Valley, Lordstown, Western Reserve, East Liverpool and David Anderson (Lisbon.)

Mark Holliday and Tyler Davis, a team from Lordstown High School, won first place. Each will receive a $500 scholarship. Stacia Brown from Premier Bank was the industry volunteer for the team.

Jenna Dory, Gabriel Farmer and Brianna Farmer from Pymatuning Valley earned second place, with each team member winning a $250 scholarship. Youngstown Municipal Court Judge Renee DiSalvo was the volunteer mentor for the team.

Austin Smith, Annabel Fitch and Chloe Galeoti of East Liverpool High School won third place, with each scoring a $125 scholarship. Shanna Chasebi of FactSet was the team’s volunteer.

Consolation winners each received a $50 Mastercard gift card. They are:

• Highest Profit: Samuel Beck and Dominic Dean, Pymatuning Valley High School Team 5; volunteer: ShyAnn Redick, Ellwood Aluminium.

• Highest Marketing and Sales: William Prowitt, Seth Balzer and Chase Learn, Southington Chalker High School Team 1; volunteer: Joe Danyi, Youngstown Computer.

• Highest Corporate Social Responsibility: Mia Nappi, Mariah Sharpe and Caleb DeMoss, Pymatuning Valley Team 4; volunteer: Laura Dewberry, YSU/WCBA.

JA Titan sponsors were the Taco Bell Foundation, 717 Credit Union, the William M. Neckerman Charitable Foundation, FactSet, YSU WCBA and The UPS Store. Panera Bread was the breakfast sponsor.

Pictured at top: From left are Southington Chalker High School students Chase Learn and William Prowitt; Joe Danyi, owner of Youngstown Computer and an event volunteer; Danielle Reines, talent manager at Robert Half and an event volunteer; and Southington Chalker student Seth Balzer.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.