The Society for Advancement of Management (SAM) team from the University of Illinois Springfield demonstrated outstanding performance at the recent SAM International Business Conference held in Orlando, Florida. Led by advisor Sevilay Onal, assistant professor of management, marketing and operations, the team secured awards in every category of their division.

“Our students were the stars of the program throughout the conference,” Onal said. “I can’t express how proud and grateful I am to be their advisor. Days like this remind me why I decided to be a teacher.”

SAM students met almost daily for over a month to strategize for the competition. Their efforts culminated in an impressive list of accolades:

• Written Case Study, Open Division, 1st place: Mahendra Patidar, Thelma Nwobi, James Aldus, Surabhi Misra and Kayode Emmanuel Ojedele
• Extemporaneous Speech, Open Division, 1st place: James Aldus
• Business Pitch, Open Division, 3rd Place: Kayode Emmanuel Ojedele
• Three-minute Thesis, 3rd flight, 3rd place: James Aldus
• Business Knowledge Bowl, Open Division, 4th place: James Aldus
• Outstanding Student, Regional: Surabhi Misra and Mahendra Patidar
• Outstanding Student, National: Kayode Emmanuel Ojedele
• Outstanding Student, International, Individual Effort: James Aldus
• Outstanding Advisor of the Year: Sevilay Onal

Particularly noteworthy was Aldus' representation of the SAM team across various categories of the open division, competing against graduate students as an undergraduate.