Voices

E&Y Names Your World, Your Vision Winners

Big Four Ernst & Young has revealed the three winning teams for its 2010 Your World, Your Vision college campus competition. And each team will be bringing home a chunk of change.

The competition, which attracted entries from more than 60 colleges and universities, asks students to develop and submit proposals designed to make a difference in their communities in one of three areas – education, entrepreneurship, or the environment.

The winning teams came from the University of Calgary (who also was a winner last year), the University of Illinois, and the University of Maryland, College Park. They were judged based on the impact the proposed programs would have on their community, the creativity of the proposal and the way it was communicated.

Each team will receive $10,000 to make the program happen.

So what did they do? Here’s an overview:

University of Calgary
Team Members:  Simran Dhatt, Jason Ho, Michael Ho, Naz Keshavarzian, Michael Lam, Catherine Lawless, Jonathan Lercher, Crystal Li, Danielle Lueers , Annie Ly, Nick Makarov, Chelsea Mitchell, Lisa Mody, Daniela Montgomery, Tim Young                                                                                            
Winning Program: EntrepreLEARN
EntrepreLEARN is a program intended to teach high school students about entrepreneurship and conducting business in an environmentally friendly way. After sessions on the basics of entrepreneurship, students will develop their own business idea, market it to their classmates and community, and compete for a chance to win a “Day in the life of a CA (Chartered Accountant)” opportunity in the Ernst & Young Calgary office. The program seeks to empower tomorrow’s business leaders and also generate interest in the accounting profession.

University of Illinois
Team Members: Cameron Blaydes, Erin Harper, Steven Heiss, Sibel Leblebici, Victoria Ngo-Lam, Diana Rechenmacher, Jonathan Weisman
Winning Program:  Sun, Dirt, Rain, and Champaign
Students at the University of Illinois have developed a plan to create a community garden in a low-income neighborhood where residents can rent plots of land to grow their own food, learn about gardening, and improve the ecology and value of the community. The garden will also be used for hands-on learning for students at nearby elementary schools. This program has already earned the support of civic leaders in the Champaign Park District, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn and First Lady Michelle Obama.

University of Maryland, College Park
Team Members: Efe Gboneme, Young Lee, Rachael Madekagbu, Isimemen Ojeabulu, Morolake Oladapo, Ibironke (Tina) Olayimika
Winning Program:  Project E.N.V.O.G.U.E—Educating, Nurturing, and Valuing Our Girls: Uplift and Empower
Targeting 15-18 year old African-American girls in the Washington D.C. metro area, the University of Maryland-College Park team is building an online vintage clothing store to teach the girls about entrepreneurship first-hand. Participants will be directly involved in developing the start-up and will be learning through financial seminars, excursions and one-on-one mentoring. They will also be assisted with college and scholarship applications. Project E.N.V.O.G.U.E. seeks to connect with underserved girls and empower them to become future business leaders.

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
MORE FROM ACCOUNTING TODAY