For the seventh consecutive year, local high school students will compete for college funds and bragging rights during the Greater Binghamton Scholastic Challenge Finals taking place on Thursday, June 2 at Binghamton University. Each year, the number of participating schools and students increases as awareness of the competition grows. This year, about 200 students in grades nine through 12 will come from ten high schools within the Broome-Tioga BOCES district.
Modern Marketing Concepts, Inc., created the entrepreneurial scholarship competition in 2010 as a way to give back to the community. Students bring their business plans to life in this daylong culmination of the last several months of work. They will be vying for significant scholarship dollars and an opportunity to spend time with BU President Harvey Stenger during a lunch to be arranged sometime following the competition.
Teams and individual competitors have been working alongside their teachers, MMC Mentors and local Business Advisors to get a realistic business development experience. Mentors who guided students throughout the process assisted with the brainstorming and development of their business plans and helped keep the students on track to ensure that all of the deadlines were met. Local business advisors held workshops for the students focusing on preparing financials, legal advice, marketing techniques, and ultimately all of the components needed to create a comprehensive business plan.
The winning individuals and teams will receive scholarships that can be used to start their business or be put towards their college education. An average of $8,000 in scholarships is awarded each year, with that number growing as the number of participants steadily grows.
Students will present their ideas to a panel of judges from local businesses and professors from Binghamton University and SUNY Broome at the final event on June 2, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Binghamton University’s Mandela Room, located in the University Union. Those who cannot attend will be able to view the competition through its live Internet stream.
For more information about the scholarship competition, visit www.mmcgbsc.com.
