Central Illinois High School Students Become Titans of Business

Author: Heather Sexton & Destinee Wilson
Entrepreneurship
Published: Wednesday, 10 May 2023

Sharing

Image caption: JA Titan Logo & Simulation Image

Because of our generous donors – Illinois Central College (ICC), Komatsu, Morton Industries, ONEFIRE, and PMP Fermentation, we had the pleasure of hosting students from Limestone Community, Washington Community, Dunlap, and East Peoria High School at Illinois Central College for our 17^th Annual JA Titan Competition.

JA Titan is a simulation-based program in which high school students compete as business CEOs in the phone industry, experiencing firsthand how an organization evaluates alternatives, makes decisions, analyzes the outcomes of those decisions, and then strategizes what to do next. Students worked in teams to make financial decisions about production, marketing, research and development, and corporate social responsibility for their company. After learning the program through the semester in the classroom with their local business professional volunteer, they brought their learned skills and experience to compete to bring home coveted prizes and the first-place trophy for their school!

Midway through the competition, the students took a much-needed break to enjoy a delicious lunch generously donated by Illinois Central College’s Business, Legal, and Information Systems Department. The lunch doubled as a networking experience for the high school students to visit with business leaders from a multitude of industries in central Illinois. These business leaders were paired up with students at each table to share their educational and career journey, as well as, take questions from the students on various topics.

Before heading to the final round of the competition Pierre Paul, founder and CEO of We Hear You® provided keynote remarks. 24-year-old Pierre shared the entrepreneurial challenges and successes he has experienced while developing We Hear You®, a multi-faceted startup company that is centered on finding new, innovative, technological solutions to problems that impact many individuals, especially those with disabilities.

In the end, the top performing three teams were Onyx, Xylia, and Celluverse from Washington Community High School, who qualified to participate on behalf of JA of Central Illinois in the JA Titan National Competition on May 17^th & 18^th!