ADA, Okla. – Oklahoma Business Week (OBW) returned to the Stonecipher School of Business on the East Central University (ECU) campus this June.

OBW is an annual event that gives high school students the opportunity to spend five days on ECU’s campus, including overnight stays in the dorms, while participating in a series of activities and competitions in the Chickasaw Business and Conference Center and across campus.

Beginning in 2012 and returning in 2023 after a three-year hiatus, OBW continues to prepare future business leaders by teaching valuable skills in leadership, communication, team building, responsibility, money management, entrepreneurship, marketing and much more.

The Chickasaw Nation served as the title sponsor for the event, which welcomed 30 first-time students and 5 returning students. Organizers divided the students into five teams and the students competed in different challenges that taught business skills, critical thinking and teamwork.

Each competition contributed to their total score. Four events accounted for 10% each, while two major events accounted for 30% each.

The competitions which accounted for 10% of the score included:

  • Hunk of Junk: Teams created a product using only junk materials and one roll of duct tape, followed by a live commercial pitch.
  • Stock Challenge: A stock market challenge.
  • Amazing Race: A teamwork activity where students roamed the ECU campus completing challenges and locating buildings and landmarks.
  • OBW Regatta: Teams built a boat out of cardboard and packing tape that one student had to ride in while another pushed or pulled the length of the pool.

The competitions which accounted for 30% of the score included:

  • BizSim: A business simulation where teams ran a company and were responsible for production, marketing and financial decisions.
  • Trade Show: Teams pitched original product ideas at an event with approximately 60 community members who volunteered to act as investors with “Trade Show Bucks” for funding.

For the 2025 OBW, the team designated Code Red placed runner-up with Green Money Monsters placing first in competition.

Code Red included:
Isabella Aragon Espinoza - Elgin, Okla.
Eli Mooney - Oklahoma City, Okla.
Jaxon Curtsinger - Byng, Okla.
Viviana Lopez - Dallas, Texas
Loren Blazquez - Oklahoma City, Okla.
Jaxon McCullough - Tecumseh, Okla.

Green Money Monsters included:
Isabella Aragon Espinoza - Elgin, Okla.
Eli Mooney - Oklahoma City, Okla.
Jaxon Curtsinger - Byng, Okla.
Viviana Lopez - Dallas, Texas
Loren Blazquez - Oklahoma City, Okla.
Jaxon McCullough - Tecumseh, Okla.

Each member of the winning team received a $1,000 ECU scholarship, as well as a laptop, while the members of the runner-up team received a $500 scholarship and an Owala water bottle.

In addition to competition, students toured the Artesian Hotel and business located in Sulphur Okla. and learned from business leaders within the Artesian Hotel, Chickasaw Country Tourism and Lazer Zone Family Fun Center about operating each respective business.

First-year students also had the opportunity to tour and visit with leadership during their board room dinner assignment at one of five local businesses: The Chickasaw Nation Treasury, Vision Bank, Mercy Hospital, Frontier Trading and People’s Electric Cooperative.

For information about next year’s OBW, contact Bolin at sbolin@ecok.edu.

For more information about ECU’s Harland C. Stonecipher School of Business, contact Maddison Brasher at 580-559-5274 or email madkbra3@ecok.edu.

Cutline: 2025 Oklahoma Business Week Champion Team, from left to right, Kaitlyn Dobbs (College Leader), Gabe Wilmot (Company Advisor), Bradley Abney, Melody Anderson, Carson Brown, Ortanik Mikel, Jes Smith, Stacey Bolin (Camp Director), Yasmin Vieira Darzi, Angela Wrublewski (Director of Student Development for the Chickasaw Nation).

-ECU-