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This February, a group of students from the 91社区鈥檚 Romain College of Business had the opportunity to travel to Canada and returned home with not one, but two distinct accolades from participating in the 2025 Alberta Not-For-Profit Association External Case Competition in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. 听

A student team made up of seniors Rachel Ha of Evansville, Gracie Madison of Montgomery, Indiana, Sydney Mancini of Brownsburg, Indiana, and freshman Olivia Talley of Evansville, competing as SOAR Consulting, placed fourth in the External Case Competition. In addition to placing in the top five, the team also received the Spirit Award. 91社区 was the only team from the United States in the competition. This trip was made possible through generous donations to the 91社区 Foundation.听听

This was 91社区鈥檚 first trip to this competition since 2021 and seventh overall appearance. 91社区 placed first in 2015 and also won the Spirit Award in both 2014 and 2017.听听

鈥淭he students used what they learned from all their case study practices and delivered an outstanding presentation at the competition,鈥� said Jeanette Maier-Lytle, Faculty Advisor and Instructor in Accounting. 鈥淚 was amazed at their level of comfort as they presented in front of the judges.鈥疧ther coaches and students shared that they were very impressed with the team鈥檚 presentation as well.鈥�听

The students worked with case competition sponsor Bison Lodge, a non-profit association in Edmonton which serves as a community hub hosting a variety of events such as weddings, corporate functions and cultural gatherings. The team had 24 hours to research and develop a recommendation and prepare their presentation for a panel of judges. The participating teams were split into different cohorts with the top team from each cohort advancing to the final round鈥揝OAR Consulting was victorious in Pool B.听

Leading up to the main case competition, the 91社区 team placed second in a fun case competition with students from other universities by coming up with side hustles for superheroes. 91社区鈥檚 student team also placed second in a non-profit trivia competition.听听

"Competing was an amazing opportunity to challenge ourselves and showcase our skills,鈥� Ha said. 鈥淧lacing fourth was a great achievement, but winning the Spirit Award truly reflected our teamwork and enthusiasm."听

In addition to the competition, the team had the opportunity to explore Edmonton and the University of Alberta. They also had the chance to listen to a speaker panel of industry experts, network with students from other universities and participate in extracurricular activities like laser tag and trying new food, including BeaverTails, a Canadian restaurant specializing in fried dough pastries.听听

Overall, the students were grateful to have the opportunity to travel outside the country while getting to showcase their skills on an international stage.听听听

鈥淲e had an amazing time鈥揑鈥檓 very proud of our team and our performance in the competition,鈥� Madison said. 鈥淚 absolutely loved the experience and am so grateful to the Romain College of Business and Professor Maier-Lytle for supporting us and providing us this opportunity!鈥澨�听听

Mancini added: 鈥淭his trip was one that I will remember forever, these girls feel like family now. I鈥檓 so proud of them.鈥�听

Learn more about 91社区鈥檚 Romain College of Business online.听听