Edwards School of Business wins Academic School of the Year at JDC West 2020
JDC West is Western Canada’s largest undergraduate business student competition, showcasing academics, debate, athletics, community involvement, and an out-of-the-box social competition.
Team captains Abbie Reich and Benjamin Petruk said the experience at JDC West was rewarding.
"It’s amazing being able to watch our team put all of their hard work over the past year into action," said Abbie Reich. "All team members were outstanding in their performances and showcased the multitude of skills that Edwards students have to offer."
The student-run competition brings together over 600 students from across Western Canada and provides opportunities to gain applicable and real-world experience.
"JDC West is the perfect culmination of the skills business students need when graduating from university," said Benjamin Petruk. "They are trained in problem solving, critical thinking, public speaking, and teamwork. While the experience of the competition itself is a bit of a blur, it is recognition of months of work."
Both captains agree they couldn’t be happier with the outcome or more proud of the team.
"The entire Edwards JDC team demonstrates our mission to develop business professionals to build nations," said Dr. Keith Willoughby, Dean of the Edwards School of Business. "The win marks the second time the team has captured Academic School of the Year in the past three years."
Guided by faculty advisor Nathalie Johnstone, the team’s standings were as follows:
School of the Year – 3rd
*includes academic categories plus athletics, participation, social, debate, etc.
Academic School of the Year – 1st
*presented to the team with the highest overall finish in competition’s ten academic categories
Business Technology – 1st
Team members: Jordan Glasman, Owen Weiss, and Ty Gitzel
Coaches: Mark Klassen, Preston Thompson, and Jordan Sinclair
International Business – 1st
Team members: Aidan Penner, Kate Langhorne, and Naina Nicodemus
Coaches: Nathalie Johnstone, Glen Kobussen, Romeo Nkunzimana, and Alex Rissling
Accounting – 2nd
Team members: Eric Turcotte, Jonathan Forest, and Kirsten Chickowski
Coaches: Brandy Mackintosh, Suresh Kalagnanem, Andrea Landstad, Taylor Reich, and Lee Farrer
Not-for-profit – 2nd
Team members: Aubrey-Anne Laliberte-Pewapisconias and Kaitlyn Robin
Coaches: Lorelei Nickel, Dani Nichols, and Cameron Choquette
Finance – 3rd
Team members: Jordan Turcotte, Luke Walsh, and Nicole Kuemper
Coaches: John Povhe, Brian Lane, and Gary Entwistle
Athletics – 3rd
Team members: Taijal Verma, Emily Sweeney, Bailey Link, Jayden Burns, Adam Paziuk, Eric McNeilly, Amanda Hundseth, Lukas Cowan
Coaches: Rhett Kappel and Tyler Wagner
In addition, team Edwards raised $14,986.35 with proceeds going to Habitat for Humanity. The students also logged more than 1,705 volunteer hours for charities such as Parkinson’s Society, Ronald McDonald House Charities, Saskatoon SPCA, Habitat for Humanity, and Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital Fund.
Special thank you to Hub City Event Rentals, SaskTel, 7Shifts, EY, CPA Saskatchewan, Boston Pizza, Pinehouse Dental office, SGI, Wilde Advisory Group and the Edwards School of Business for their sponsorship.
Next year’s competition will be held at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg.
The University of Saskatchewan and the Edwards School of Business congratulate Edwards JDC West on this achievement!