National Finish for YC Business Students

​How do the financial systems of the European Union and United States differ? Is there a way to merge the two into a better system?

These are a few of the questions tackled by members of the York College chapter of Phi Beta Lambda business club at the PBL National Leadership Conference, held in Baltimore June 23-26. Two teams from York College competed in the Emerging Business Issues event exploring the questions of financial systems.

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YC PBL students sightseeing in Baltimore

Out of the 30 teams competing in this event from across the U.S., both teams from York College made it to the final round of judging. The team of Cole Satterfield and Hannah Parker placed seventh in the nation, while the team of Garrett Ewing and Clayton Eldred did not place.  Melissa Strong competed in the job interview event and made it to the final round, but did not place.

“It was nice to see that even coming from a small school we are capable of great things,” said Hannah Parker. “We competed with Division 1 NCAA schools. The fact that we can make it into finals and place is such a huge accomplishment and just goes to show that we have outstanding teachers and programs at YC.”

The York College PBL members also competed in testing events including Sports Management and Marketing (Parker and Ewing), Contemporary Sports Issues (Satterfield and Eldred), and Management Concepts (Strong).  

Parker and Strong both graduated from York College in May, so the trip to Baltimore was the capstone event of their PBL experience. In 2017, Strong placed fourth at the national conference in the Small Business Plan event. Parker was the York chapter’s president in 2017-18, and was vice president the year before. Strong has also served as a PBL officer. Satterfield and Ewing, both juniors, will take the helm of the chapter in the fall as officers.

In addition to the competition, the students did a little sightseeing including attending an Orioles game and visiting Washington D.C. to tour national monuments.

PBL is a national organization dedicated to growing the future generation of leaders looking at business or business-related fields. They provide opportunities to help future business leaders to grow in professional and personal skills through opportunities such as business tours, workshops, and competitive events. Assistant Professor of Business Tim Lewis sponsors the York College chapter.

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PBL team at Nationals: (l-r) Sponsor Tim Lewis, Cole Satterfield, Melissa Strong, Garrett Ewing, Clayton Eldred, and Hannah Parker