Co-captains Dayna Stephenson and James Fioretti will lead a team of 47 students selected to represent the Goodman School of Business at the JDC Central (JDCC) 2016 competition Jan. 8 in Toronto.

Hosted by the Canadian Association of Business Students (CABS), the competition will see teams take part in academic case competitions, debate rounds, social challenges and sports.

The Goodman delegation, led by Stephenson and Fioretti, along with godparents Heather Bernie and Srujal Patel and Faculty advisor Najlaa Rauf, is ready to show their Goodman spirit in January. Until then, there are hours of preparation to put in: everything from working on their case analysis and presentation skills to sharpening their debate techniques and practicing their team co-ordination for the sports and social categories. Goodman will compete against delegates representing business schools across Ontario, Québec and the Maritime provinces.

Stephenson and Fioretti have both competed in JDCC previously and describe the experience as invaluable.

“Competing is about self-development. You might not know what you’re capable of, but you find out through JDCC,” says Stephenson. “It’s an exhausting experience but if you work hard for it, it can pay off in the end.”

The Goodman delegation has had impressive results at JDCC over the past several years, with last year’s team placing first overall in accounting, finance and marketing and third overall in human resources and debate.

“Last year’s results are a lot to live up to, but I’ve been so impressed with our team’s school spirit and the overwhelming number of Goodman alumni who have returned to help us,” Stephenson says.

A big component of the Goodman delegation’s charity involvement is the Groovin’ for Charity dance-off that will take place at Sobeys in Fonthill Nov. 22 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Fioretti is also raising money through JDCC for the Canadian Cancer Society by running from Port Colborne to Port Dalhousie on Saturday, Nov. 14.

“I will start with one foot in Lake Erie and I will not stop until my other foot is in Lake Ontario,” he says.

His goal is to raise $1,000 and he has already been overwhelmed by the support shown by his former colleagues as well as Brock students, faculty and staff. Donations will be accepted until Nov. 30. Click here to donate.

Making up the 2016 Goodman JDCC team are:
Accounting: Ahsan Saleem, Adam Campagnolo, Namarata Mistry
Business Strategy: Ishani Sinha, Rudy Ambrosio, Matt Young
Entrepreneurship: Shahrukh Iqbal, Nick Hollard, Julia Wood
Finance: Jacqueline Kope, Sean Pereira, Joseph Jacob
Human Resources: Rhea Menon, Mikayla Zolis, Amanda Giesen
International Business: Gerda Kruckauskaite, Sabrina Jancsi, Shayyaan Jafri
Management Information Systems: Bryan Dizon, Zurian Malik, Alexandra Pong
Marketing: Nicholas Weller, Dan Giddings, Amy Rudnicki
Debate: Allison McConnell (chair), Sean Bouwers, Chase Anderson, Karlo Visaticki
Social: Ciara O’Connell (chair), William Spence, Joe Ross, Edna So
Sports: Mike Fortaleza (chair), Bennett Magnacca, Nicholas Welch, Tyler Chin, Justin Falco, MJ Kisirye, Kristy-Anne Wytenburg, Alyssa DiCienzo, Danielle Griffin
Academic Chair: Sean Bouwers
Charities Chair: Kristy-Anne Wytenburg

This year’s volunteers are Nisha Nayyar, Karen Lau and Dana Cronin.

Helping prepare the students for the academic portion of the competition are the following faculty coaches:
Accounting: Prof. Sangeeta Hollo
Entrepreneurship: Prof. Glenn Skrubbeltrang
Finance: Prof. Lewis Stevenson
International Business: Prof. Peter Yannopolous
Management Information Systems: Prof. Teju Herath
Marketing: Prof. Eric Dolansky
Strategy: Prof. Wes Helms