Fall River, Lakeville, North Dartmouth students win scholarships at JA Titan Business Challenge

NEW BEDFORD, MA, April 24, 2024 — Junior Achievement of Southern Massachusetts and its Title Sponsor, Bristol County Savings Bank, announce that more than 150 students from seven high schools throughout southern Massachusetts recently competed in the JA Titan Business Challenge at UMass Dartmouth. The top performing teams were: First Place – Apponequet Regional High School (Team 1) in Lakeville; Second Place – B.M.C. Durfee High School (Team 8) in Fall River; Third Place – B.M.C. Durfee High School (Team 3); and Final Round – Bishop Stang High School, North Dartmouth, (Team 1). The JA Titan Business Challenge is a business strategy competition in which high school students compete against other schools in teams using an online, interactive business simulation game which provides students with essential business knowledge.

The top three teams and the final round winners received scholarships to a post-secondary school they choose to attend. Members of the first place team each received 1,000 in scholarship money, $750 for second place and third place and final round, $500.

The winners are as follows:

First Place – Apponequet Regional High School, Team 1: Judson Cardinali, Logan Frias and Tyler Gray. The team’s business mentor volunteer was Michael Patacao of Bristol County Savings Bank.

Second Place – B.M.C. Durfee High School, Team 8: Savanah Leite, Ladaynian Mendes and Lazaro Triana. The team’s business mentor volunteer was Carrie Tino of Santander Bank.

Third Place – B.M.C. Durfee High School, Team 3: Sal Cipalone, Savannah Raposo and Alicia Warren. The team’s business mentor volunteer was Laura White of Santander Bank.

Final Round – Bishop Stang High School, Team 1: Lillian Cooney, Michaela Cousineau and Elizabeth Russo. The team’s business mentor volunteer was Joseph Motta of Santander Bank.

“We are so excited and grateful that the 11th Titan Business Challenge could give these students an impactful day of real-life business experience,” said Jeffrey Pelletier, President & CEO of JA of Southern Massachusetts. “This year, more than 150 students learned from role models in the business community as they competed in teams for scholarships to help further their education.”

The following schools participated in the 2024 Junior Achievement Titan Challenge: Apponequet Regional High School, Bishop Stang High School, Durfee High School, Fairhaven High School, Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School, Taunton High School and Taunton Alternative High School.

In addition to partnering with UMass Dartmouth and lead sponsor, Bristol County Savings Bank, Junior Achievement of Southern Massachusetts enlisted the support of local partners to ensure an impactful event for the participating students. Additional major sponsors included: Acushnet Company, BankFive, Milestone Mortgage Solutions, Santander Bank, Raw Seafoods and UMass Dartmouth.

To prepare for the competition, students practiced and learned key business concepts that they needed to employ during the business simulation. The day of the event, participants attended a leadership and strategy panel in which members of the business community reinforced concepts and offered professional advice. Teams then engaged in three rounds of competition as each team made decisions under the guidance of more than 50 volunteer business mentor. Students competed for college scholarships while gaining insight into the world of business, at no cost to the students or their high schools. In addition to developing budgets and interpreting financial reports, students increased their knowledge of pricing, production, capital investment, research and development, marketing and charitable giving.

Junior Achievement of Southern Massachusetts is a nonprofit organization dedicated to giving young people the knowledge and skills they need to own their economic success, plan for their futures, and make smart academic and economic choices. JA provides in-school and out-of-school programs to students’ kindergarten through twelfth grade, which focus on three key content areas: Financial literacy, career readiness and entrepreneurship. This year, JA will impact nearly 7,000 students across 21 cities and towns throughout Bristol and Southern Plymouth Counties. For more information, please contact Jeffrey Pelletier, President & CEO, Junior Achievement of Southern Massachusetts, at jeffrey.pelletier@ja.org or call the JA office at 508-997-6536.