The fifth annual HBCU Battle of the Brains proved to be a valuable educational and fun experience for a team of six SANS students and their advisor who traveled to Austin, Texas, March 8-14 to represent UMES at the national academic competition and diversity recruiting event. Ag Communications was privy to updates on the team’s experiences that were shared via social media. The posts proved popular and made for some interesting “chatter” that was picked up by not only the university’s platforms, but also that of the event organizers. Well-wishers followed the team from their flight’s takeoff and landing to the moment (March 10 at 7 a.m.) that they were sequestered for Phase I of the competition.
The first day’s activities included an orientation at Dell Diamond Stadium and visits to corporate sponsors, including Expedia where they got to see a piece of memorabilia from an 80’s cult classic, National Lampoon’s Vacation. The team sent a photo of the iconic wood-paneled pea green 1979 Ford LTD Country Squire station wagon (one of five made for the movie) complete with the light blue hard suitcases (a thing of the past now) and a “deceased” Aunt Edna wrapped in a tarp and propped up on top. Evening provided an opportunity to de-stress at a “Homecoming” party before the next day’s competition.
The team got down to business on March 10 competing against a field of 34 teams from other historically Black colleges and universities and 11 Hispanic-serving schools in a business challenge—the top seven to go on to the finals. After receiving the challenge, deliverables and a series of deadlines, they toted their hotel room pillows for 24 hours of sequestration to analyze the business problem and come up with a solution. Meanwhile, their faculty advisors participated in a recruitment event for area high school students—prospective HBCU students.
Competing teams received meals and three consulting hours with the sponsors. Deadlines had to be met throughout the 24 hours, so the students had to take shifts to nap. When they emerged on March 11, they were confident in their quest and took advantage of some much-needed rest before involvement in professional development activities and prep for their 7-minute pitch.
Although the team received positive feedback from the judges and felt they provided “out-of-the-box” ideas, they alas did not move on to the finals.
“We did our best and came away with a game plan for next year that includes adding team members from cross disciplines from campus including computer science and business,” said Dr. Victoria Volkis, a UMES chemistry professor and advisor for the team. “The team received a $2,500 stipend from event sponsors this year to help defray travel expenses that we hope UMES will be able to lend support next year.”
“My experience at the HBCU Battle of the Brains was one to remember,” said Keith Bratley, a grad student (MS chemistry) and team captain. “The competition put our group of natural sciences majors outside of our comfort zone and challenged us to work as a team. I was proud of our efforts and our ability to compete among the brightest HBCU students in the nation. We are excited to return and win!”
Gail Stephens, agricultural communications, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, School of Agricultural and Natural Sciences, 410-621-3850, gcstephens@umes.edu.
