Eastern PBL Students Participate In Millionaire Square
(Press Release 8-03-04)
Hank Mooney, Office of Public Information

Submitted Story

Millionaire Square

What will it take to become a millionaire? Based upon your knowledge of saving and investing, will you become one? These were some of the questions that Eastern Oklahoma State College students answered as they participated in Phi Beta Lambda’s American Enterprise Project “Millionaire Square.” The purpose of the project was to use an interactive approach to help students better understand the importance of saving and investing with emphasis on starting these activities now and the impact on the economy.

The team of Amber Hubler and Belinda Keith, Quinton; and Kyle Rust, Hartshorne placed second in the nation at this year’s Future Business Leaders of American/Phi Beta Lambda National Leadership Conference in Denver by preparing a written report and making an oral presentation about the activities of the project.

The project began in the fall semester when PBL chapter members set up one of the campus computer labs for students to test themselves on their knowledge of saving and investing by completing activities at three different websites over a three-week period. During the spring semester members of Eastern’s PBL chapter continued the project by sponsoring a Monopoly tournament and designing and implementing a variety of interactive games and presentations called “Millionaire Square.” More than 100 students took part.

The Monopoly tournament was used to get students interested in the American free enterprise system in conjunction with the activities of “Millionaire Square.” Several elimination rounds were played to get to the final four players. Brad Boles, sophomore from Duncan, won the $50 grand prize.

Participants entered “Millionaire Square” in the E. T. Dunlap Student Union ballroom to find booths displaying information about the prominent presidential candidates and their economic policies. Another booth displayed information about prominent Oklahoma millionaires such as the founder of Sonic Drive-Ins and Eskimo Joes and the history of how they began their businesses. Students received handouts at each of these booths.

At a third booth students watched a PowerPoint presentation contrasting the differences between Capitalism and Socialism with corresponding handouts. In order to gain a better understanding of the stock market and investing, participants played a game, called Wheedle, The Stock Taking-Deal Making Game. The object of the game is to earn points by acquiring, through trades, the majority of the stock cards in one or more companies. The player with the most points wins. “This was great fun and I learned a lot” was a comment on one of the evaluation forms.

Becoming a Gazillionaire by running a trading company in outer space had players making decisions about supply, demand, profit margins, overhead, account balances etc. among the seven planets of Kubukia. The goal was to build a trade empire by investing in larger ships, buying larger warehouses, and skillfully out maneuvering the competition. The interactive computer game proved to be one of the most popular booths.

Another computer interactive activity required students to visit various websites and test their knowledge concerning their moneyskills. “It was an entertaining way to present the information,” said Rust and “This is information everyone needs,” stated Hubler. Keith added, “We are very proud of the project and excited that we placed second in the nation, the competition was tough.” Chapter co-advisor Estella Bennett-Mask stated, “Chapter members spent many hours researching, planning, and implementing the project. We then spent many hours preparing for competition and I am very proud of the chapter and our team.”

Caption Info: Amber Hubler, Quintion; Kyle Rust, McAlester and Belinda Keith, Quinton