By Arson M., Student Journalist, Canterbury High School
The Ontario Business Educators’ Association (OBEA) had the honour of holding its first conference and awards ceremony since 2019. Thirty-five awards were given out at the October ceremony held in Toronto. Canterbury High School took home 13 of those awards.
The awards were given for completing challenges that spanned from Marketing to Entrepreneurship to Website Development. Many of these challenges were the result of students’ hard work on projects assigned in Business classes taught by teacher Trevor Allen. Mr. Allen teaches his students how to complete these initiatives and offers to submit their projects to the contests. Other students chose to take time out of their day to create and submit their projects on their own.
A number of these winners and runners-up were interviewed and asked to explain how these contests work and why they did it. Let's explore their ride to the podium.
Hinata D. said, “I've medaled two times in the OBEA Awards. The first category that I medaled in was for the Gr. 10 Savings and Investment Challenge while the second was for the Gr. 11 Marketing Challenge.” “I chose to compete in these specific categories because of their ties to the curriculum in my courses.”
Fatima S., who won third place in the Savings and Investment Challenge, was asked why they thought they won. “I believe the components that made me stand out from the others is my thorough financial analysis of the stocks; analyzing the rise, decline and trends, and making decisions showing an understanding in a reliable and effective investing.” “What helped me the most in creating my submission is looking over my work more than once and following a rubric; research and using the tools provided by my teacher helped me to do so.”
Hinata D., when asked the same question, said, “I like to throw myself into assignments and, as a result, I was very thorough with every portion of both contests. I tried my best to look at all the different angles and factors of the financial growth of the stocks versus the savings accounts and I did very extensive research to support all of my plans in the marketing plan.”
Many of the students were fortunate enough to attend the ceremony for the OBEA Awards. This experience is rare in a high school environment, so the students had much to say about the experience.
Aleena J., who won first place in Junior Website Development and third place in Junior Desktop Publishing, said, “[It was] incredible! It was a weekend getaway for my family and I, and the hosts as well as the audience were fabulous! The keynote speakers were also very encouraging and motivating and I think this really changed my outlook on the competition.”
Astrid W. said, “Everyone makes you feel as if you've accomplished something great and it is certainly an experience to be surrounded by other academically motivated peers.”
Fatima S. saw it as an opportunity to build connections with others, and explained, “attending the ceremony allowed me to communicate with new people, learn about different programs, and celebrate everyone's achievements.”
To quote Hinata D., “There's no harm in celebrating.”
Canterbury High School is very proud of its students and their display of knowledge at the OBEA Awards Ceremony. The school’s business classes and Business Specialized High Skills Major program pride themselves on their community and support. If you are interested in participating in these contests, here are some tips from the winners.
Hinata D. said, “I think it's very easy to look at the guidelines of a contest and get overwhelmed by the instructions. But if you just look at it from the perspective of what you would do if you were to hand it into a teacher, a lot of the stress and strangeness of it will fade away.”
Astrid W. put it perfectly when they said, “Don't be afraid to start over. I believe I created three alternate posters before making the one I finally submitted.”
It has been proven over many of the OBEA Awards Ceremonies that Canterbury High School is a tough competitor in these contests, and last year was no different. These academically driven students give it their all and continuously come out on top. A big congratulations to these students and all the competitors at last year's OBEA awards.