Montgomery County Community College: MCCC Students Shine At National Business Competition

Press release from the Montgomery County Community College:

Diane VanDyke

September 14, 2021

Montgomery County Community College business students competed online against more
than 12,000 participants from across the country at the Future Business Leaders of
America-Phi Beta Lambda 2021 National Leadership Conference and took home an array
of awards in the collegiate division.

MCCC Phi Beta Lambda members Amelia Wildermuth, Kiratika Ariyamitr, Andres Maldonado,
Andrew Bozzelli and Zachary Raugh earned top awards in their categories at the annual
competition.

“This was a special year indeed,” said advisor Damon Gray, Finance, Marketing and
Management instructor at MCCC. “For the second year in a row, MCCC students placed
in at least one of their national events, including a first-place award. I’m very
proud of them and their hard work to reach these achievements.”

MCCC Chapter President Amelia Wildermuth says she feels extremely proud of everyone
and their performance at the national level.

“It was incredible to see all of our hard work pay off. It is always a good feeling
to go up against respected four-year colleges across the country and outperform them,”
Wildermuth said. “For the past year, my teammates have been a constant source of inspiration
and encouragement to me. They are all so unique and talented. It has been wonderful
to see them use their gifts and develop as individuals.”

Kiratika Ariyamitr won first place in Website Design and seventh place for the Help Desk category. For website design, Ariyamitr developed
a website to educate her peers about environmental responsibility and sustainability.
As part of the project, she created and advertised a related public event . For the
Help Desk category, Ariyamitr demonstrated her knowledge in help desk operations and
responsibilities in providing customer support through an interactive role-play scenario.

Ariyamitr, who graduated from MCCC in May, is thrilled about the awards and the overall
experience.

“It feels great to know that even though we were a small team, we were able to go
up against top colleges and still place,” said Ariyamitr, who is pursuing international
business at Temple University’s Japan Campus. “This experience has led me to believe
that I can continue being artistic and creative in any field – creativity is limitlessly
adaptable.”

Andres Maldonado won third place in the Job Interview category. In this category,
participants could apply for a position at a company of their choice, but it had to
be one they would be qualified to hold after their current school year. In addition
to the interview, the judges also reviewed his cover letter and resume. Maldonado
graduated from MCCC in May and is attending Temple University’s Fox School of Business.

Andrew Bozzelli competed in the Impromptu Speaking category and scored a fourth-place
win. He was judged on his ability to speak on a business-related topic. Bozzelli also
graduated from MCCC and currently is in New York pursuing an acting career.

Zachary Raugh won eighth place in the Retail Management category. For this category,
Raugh was judged on his competency with retail management functions, including customer
value services and retailing technologies; retail planning and management process;
retail environment; and merchandise buying, among other related skills.

Wildermuth competed in Computer Concepts and brought home a ninth-place award. She
demonstrated her abilities with basic computer principles, hardware, networking systems
and procedures, programming concepts, software concepts applications and operating
systems, terminology and troubleshooting.

In addition to the competitions, the national conference featured multiple workshops,
panels and question-and-answer sessions. Students had the opportunity to learn more
about networking, different careers and developing strong leadership skills.

At the state competition earlier this year, the team collectively won eight first-place
awards and two second-place awards, which qualified them to compete at the national
level against students from two- and four-year institutions.

Wildermuth is looking forward to another exciting year as she continues serving as
MCCC’s PBL Chapter President while she completes her associate’s degree in Life Sciences.
Although she is not a business major, Wildermuth says PBL has helped her grow and
develop skills in many ways.

“I’ve discovered that no matter what profession you go into, the business industry
will always be present in some capacity. You have to market yourself during job interviews,
develop strong customer service skills, and learn how to be financially literate to
be successful in any industry,” she said. “PBL has helped me connect with various
people through expanding my network, and I have gained a lot of insight on how to
develop my leadership skills throughout the last year.”

She also is grateful for the help and guidance she received from MCCC’s previous PBL
Chapter President, Nicoletta Pelchat.

“When I took over the role of Chapter President, Nicoletta and I met on Zoom several
times. She was always available to share words of wisdom, give advice, and help in
any way possible. She was also a mock judge in preparation for the national conference
and has been instrumental in the club’s success,” Wildermuth said.

For more information about Phi Beta Lambda, contact Damon Gray at dgray@mc3.edu.

This press release was produced by the Montgomery County Community College. The views expressed here are the author’s own.