2018 YEOC Annual Case Competition and End of Year Celebration

Mentors and Foster students Brendon and Eva kick off the session

Dozens of volunteers came together on Saturday, May 5th, to support our annual YEOC case competition sponsored by EY. This session—designed and orchestrated by senior mentors Brendon Krall and Eva Velasquez—marked the culmination of a dynamic year for YEOC filled with growth and new beginnings.

The theme of this year’s annual celebration was “Rooted in Foundation, Strengthen by Perseverance.” During the program mentee Aiyanna Guadiz, mentor Khatsini Simani, and guest key note speaker Francesca E. Jones (West Region Campus Recruiting Leader at Ernst & Young) shared their personal experiences with YEOC, words of encouragement, and practical advice for students preparing to transition to college.

Mentor Abiel’s gathers his group in a celebratory huddle

Above all, the primary focus of the celebration was to highlight our YEOC students and the effort they put forth throughout the school year to excel not only in YEOC, but in their schools and communities. YEOC staff members and staff from program sponsor Ernst & Young celebrated and acknowledged student achievements inside and outside of the classroom. EY also awarded a prestigious Senior Scholarship and presented a grand prize to the winning team of the YEOC annual case competition.

Special congratulations to winners and mentees of Foster junior Fethi “Fresh2 Go”! who took home the EY grand prize and a ticket to the EY Gala!

This year’s competition, which focused on issues related to public health in the United States, challenged students to create business solutions with measurable impacts. Case topics included homelessness, childhood and adult obesity, and food deserts. The case, designed by Finance and Public Health double major, Brendon Krall, evoked an innovative array of ideas from students. As mentor, a highlight for me was hearing students speak about issues that were important to them and watching them develop feasible solutions together.

Students compete in the final round of the YEOC Annual Case Competition

This session would not be possible without the contributions of several people; thank you to our dedicated volunteers, judges, speakers, friends and families of YEOC community for helping make this session memorable.