February 21, 2005

Accounting Challenge draws record field

by Bonnie Marx

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- More than 240 students from 23 high schools and one community college competed in the seventh annual Accounting Challenge on Feb. 11 at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

Sponsored by the SIUC School of Accountancy and its alumni group, The Accounting Circle, the contest consists of an individual academic competition and a team competition. In the individual competition, students complete a written exam. In the team competition, students work together to solve a challenging problem.

In this year's team challenge, students built a tower as tall as possible that would stand by itself using only six sheets of legal paper, two large index cards and one yard of masking tape. The twist was that once each team completed its tower, the team had three rubber bands to shoot at the tower to make it collapse. Judges calculated scores by measuring the height of the towers when erected and subtracting the height of the towers when collapsed.

The winning tower was 108 inches tall and collapsed to two inches tall, resulting in a score of 106.

Winners in the individual competition received medallions and scholarships that are available if the student attends SIUC and majors in accounting. Winners of the team competition earned trophies for their schools.

Reaching out to the region's schools and communities is among the goals of Southern at 150: Building Excellence Through Commitment, the blueprint for the development of the University by the time it celebrates its 150th anniversary in 2019.

Winners of the individual competition were:

Accounting I

First place (tie), $500 scholarships

Heather Koertge, Edwards County High School, Albion

Joe Madden, Edwards County High School, Albion

Second place (tie), $250 scholarships

Jeong-Wook Lee, Pinckneyville Community High School

Ryan Masterson, Fairfield Community High School

Dani Lintzenich, Marion High School

Amelia Schmidt, Massac County High School, Metropolis

Advanced Accounting

First Place ($500 scholarship): Heather Busse, South Central High School, Farina

Second Place ($250): Bethany Kramer, South Central High School, Farina

Third Place ($250): Scarlett Jameson, South Central High School, Farina

Community College

First Place ($250): Dirk Jones, Kaskaskia Community College, Centralia

Winners of the team competition were:

Accounting I Team Competition

First Place: Flora High School. Team members were Amber Dingman, Tracy Cable, Stephen Puttrese and Kaleb Greenwood (Alicia Westjohn, teacher).

Second Place: Fairfield Community High School. Team members were Derek Davis, Ryan Masterson, Ashley Zurliene and Heidi Hooper (Vernia Moore, teacher).

Advanced Accounting Team Competition

First Place: Massac County High School, Metropolis. Team members were Denny DiGuido, Ian McComas, Kristy Logeman and Andrew Emmerson (Tom Willoughby and Mary Schneider, teachers).

Second Place: Marion High School. Team members were Curt Clendenin, Rob Aumiller, Cory Lee, Cody Buffington and James Putman (Deanna Hudgens, teacher).