BYU CIBER Hosts First High School Business Language Competition

Participants in the nation’s first High School Business
Language Competition, sponsored by the Whitmore
Global Management Center/BYU CIBER. PROVO, Utah – Apr 16, 2010 – Eight Utah high school teams comprised of heritage and non-heritage Spanish speakers gathered at Brigham Young University to compete in the nation's first High School Business Language Competition.

"The competition's purpose is twofold," explains Cynthia Halliday, competition director. "First, we want the students to develop language skills in a business setting, and second, we want to encourage multicultural interactions. This is a unique opportunity for high school students to benefit from one another."

The competition provided high school students an opportunity to develop important business, language and presentation skills in a unique setting outside the classroom. Students also gained insight into the dynamics of a multicultural team as they learned how to overcome common challenges.  

"It was a very enriching opportunity to work on such a creative and challenging project with teammates from different backgrounds," says Thania Godinez, a junior from West High School. "I was able to experience what it feels like to pitch my ideas to a successful company for a creative campaign. This experience helped cement my feelings about what I truly desire in life: to pursue a career in international business."

First-place team members from West High School
with Lee Radebaugh, director of the Whitmore
Global Management Center. Two months prior to the competition, each high school team received an anti-aging cream from Nu Skin Enterprises with the assignment to market it to the Utah Hispanic community. Students counseled with coaches and potential customers in order to develop a rollout strategy unique to this target audience.

Research culminated in a presentation to a panel of Spanish-speaking business professionals, including Nu Skin managers, in an event at the Marriott School of Management on 26 February. West High School was awarded first place, followed by Skyline High School and Wasatch High School. Other participants included East High School, Ogden High School, Timpview High School, Box Elder High School, and Spanish Fork High School.

The competition also received support from the Utah State Office of Education.

"We want to thank BYU for being the first to bring a business language competition to local high schools," says Gregg Roberts, world language specialist for the Utah State Office of Education. "It is the first of its kind, and it is exactly what we need to unite students and local business leaders."

The high school competition grew out of the success of the collegiate-level Business Language Case Competition hosted by Whitmore Global Management Center/ BYU CIBER. Since its inception three years ago, the competition has gained recognition as universities nationwide attend and compete in Spanish and Portuguese.

The Marriott School is located at Brigham Young University, the largest privately owned, church-sponsored university in the United States. The school has nationally recognized programs in accounting, business management, public management, information systems, entrepreneurship, and recreation management and youth leadership. The school's mission is to prepare men and women of faith, character and professional ability for positions of leadership throughout the world. Approximately 3,300 students are enrolled in the Marriott School's graduate and undergraduate programs.