Your Words Matter Writing Prize Winners Fall 2014

12/22/2014 Nine students were named winners of the Your Words Matter Fall Writing Contest at the College of Business Administration. The students submitted 750-1,000 word (3-4 pages, double-spaced) essays that were judged on coherence, critical thinking, and the proper use and citation of sources. Prizes were awarded at every class level, including for graduate students. The prize money was $500 for first place and $200 for second place. Congratulations to the following students:

• Freshman First: Matthew Headland Second: Balarama Doane
• Sophomore First: Zach Kisor Second: Ryan Finnell
• Junior First: Sierra Karr
• Senior First: Stacey Horton Second: Michael Guban
• Graduate First: R. Daniel Knapp Second: Ilori Temitayo

Entrants chose one of the following quotes to address in their essays:

• If you see a bandwagon, it’s too late. -- James Goldsmith
• The NBA is never just a business. It’s always business. It’s always personal. All good businesses are personal. The best businesses are very personal. -- Mark Cuban
• In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity. -- Sun Tzu
• Out there in some garage is an entrepreneur who’s forging a bullet with your company’s name on it. -- Gary Hamel
• Steve Jobs gave a small private presentation about the iTunes Music Stores to some independent record label people. My favorite line of the day was when people kept raising their hands saying, “Does it do [x]?”, “Do you plan to add [y]?” Finally, Jobs said, “Wait, wait – put your hands down. Listen: I know you have a thousand ideas for all the cool features iTunes could have. So do we. But we don’t want a thousand features. That would be ugly. Innovation is not about saying yes to everything. It’s about saying NO to all but the most crucial features.” -- Derek Sivers

Entrants were responsible for including a cover letter with the essay and to provide an accurate description of the author of the quote chosen and a reflection of what the quote means--or could mean--for business.

Congratulations to all who entered!