CCRI students earn honors at national conference

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Warwick, R.I. – May 15, 2007: Several CCRI students were honored today at a ceremony at the Knight Campus in Warwick for their achievements at the recent 46th Annual International Career Development Conference sponsored by Delta Epsilon Chi in Orlando, Fla. President Ray Di Pasquale presented the students with certificates marking their achievements.

Approximately 1,200 students from around the world compete for recognition and scholarships in areas such as marketing, management, hospitality and entrepreneurship. Some competitive events require students to take a multiple choice test and conduct a role play with an industry expert judge; other events require teams to solve a problem and present solutions to a panel of judges.

CCRI students have been preparing for this competition since January in what is called “Competition Camp,” in which Business Administration Department faculty members Joanne Orabone of Cranston and JoAnn Warren of North Kingstown work with students through an independent study program meeting for two hours each week until the conference, which was held from Saturday to Tuesday, April 21 to 24. Medalists were:

• Manolo Crisp of West Kingston placed third in the nation in the Financial Services event. Manolo competed with more than 70 others in the event, which required him to complete a test on Sunday, a role play on Monday and compete in the finals on Tuesday. He also was recognized at the preliminary placing in the top 10 in the Financial Services test and role play, receiving four medals and a third-place plaque. He also earned a certificate of excellence for achieving all standards of performance in his events.
• Kristen Smith of Warwick and her team placed third in the nation in Management Institute. This event included more than 20 four-member teams, which are formed at the conference and are composed of students from throughout the country. Event sponsor ESPN posed a problem and the teams were required to present a solution.
• Laura Crevier of Riverside and Sarah Nichols of Warwick placed in the top 10 out of 30-plus teams the nation in Business Ethics. Based on their performance in an initial case study analysis on Monday, they were invited to participate in finals on Tuesday, where they earned their top-10 placing.

In addition to the above medalists, both the Providence and Warwick chapters received recognition for their achievement of the Presidential Award for the Passport program, which encourages local chapters and individual members to plan activities and participate in events that enhance the experiences of members and requires that they complete certain tasks associated with the Delta Epsilon Chi diamond – leadership development, civic consciousness, vocational understanding and social intelligence.

Orabone also was named Rhode Island’s adviser of the year.

Christopher Johnson of Attleboro, Mass., earned a certificate of excellence for achieving all standards of performance in his event, Retail Food Service Management.

Other attendees included:

Jason Poethke of Cranston and Meredith McCauley of East Greenwich – Business Ethics

Tim Seveney of Riverside and Frank Sullo of Coventry – Sports & Entertainment Marketing

Joseph Moore of Providence – Hospitality

Charmaine Chatman of West Warwick – National Management Institute

Richie Cameron of Attleboro, Mass. – Marketing Management

Gerardo Salazar of Providence – National Management Institute

Lloyd Alston of Providence – National Management Institute

Mark Silvestri of Cranston – National Management Institute

Delta Epsilon Chi is an international organization for college students preparing for a variety of careers. Its programs engage students from a variety of educational disciplines, while maintaining a strong focus on business-related areas.