Tuloso-Midway Students Set to Compete in Western U.S. Junior Achievement Titan Competition
The stakes were high as teams from high school economics classes competed at Tuloso-Midway High School on Wednesday, Dec. 1 for the chance to compete regionally in the Junior Achievement Titan Competition. Huddled around computer screens in teams of from two to eight students, team members talked in hushed tones about how best to beat out the competition in a fast-paced, Web-based business simulation game.
The latest version of JA Titan - a sleek, sophisticated simulation in which players are CEOs of their own companies in the year 2030 - was unveiled in February 2003 by Junior Achievement Inc. (JA) and Best Buy, Inc. In the game, students must manufacture and sell a fictional high-tech product and compete for market shares against other players. Mastery of key concepts, such as price, production level, marketing expenses, research and development costs, and capital investment is critical. Students never know when the game will abruptly end, but when it does, the team with the highest Performance Index (PI) wins.
We should start leveling off on our capital right now, right? Digital Industries, Inc. team member Ryan Schroeder advised during a critical moment. After another quarter of grueling play, Robert Hadden, Schroeders only partner, exclaimed confidently, Were bringing down Monster, Inc. We have the market shares; were going to win!
Digital Industries, Inc. did indeed claim the top spot in the Corpus Christi Challenge competition. First runner-up was a five-member team named Halo Inc., comprised of T-M students Paul Haney, Wesley Lopez, Matt Marzak, Matt Robinson and Brian Southard.
Junior Achievement volunteers from Flint Hills have been helping economics teacher Larry Sanchezs students prepare for the competition since Sept. 8 through weekly sessions at the school.
This is the fourth year that Anthony Chavez, Judy Mathews, Darren York and Kristi Ruble from Flint Hills have provided their expertise in guiding the students through the program, Sanchez said.
These top two teams will compete via the Web against top teams from Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, California and Washington in the JA Titan Western Regional on Saturday, Dec. 11 at 11 a.m. at T-M HS. In the spring, the top Western Regional winners will compete for the chance to win an all-expense paid trip to the JA National Competition in Orlando, Florida.
Junior Achievement is the worlds largest and fastest-growing organization dedicated to educating and inspiring young people about the value of understanding economics and business concepts within the free enterprise system. For more information, contact Jayne Woodall, director of Junior Achievement of the Coastal Bend, or Nancy Cavitt, an education program manager for JA, at 242-5243.
