Four ASU students won $1,000 each at a technology competition this weekend that allowed students to contend for scholarship money and other prizes in real-life technology and business scenarios.
The winning ASU team took first place in the VMware Virtualization Challenge at the Avnet Tech Games competition on Saturday.
The virtualization challenge was one of many in-person and virtual “games” open to Arizona college students and students across the globe.
Fifteen ASU students overall participated in the fifth-annual competition, created by Avnet, Inc. and held at the University of Advancing Technology in Tempe.
David Roman, a computer information systems junior, was one of the winning team members, and also won $1,000 for earning first place with another team in the Video Tech Spot spring virtual game.
Roman said he’s using his award money to pay for tuition.
“I have one more year until I graduate, so I’ll definitely put it toward that,” he said.
Past ASU teams have won this challenge as well.
“It’s sort of a running defense,” Roman said.
There were several steps to the virtualization challenge. Virtualization refers to managing multiple virtual machines on one physical machine or computer.
“We actually had to analyze a complex business situation for three different fictitious companies and analyze how VMware’s virtualization solutions can improve not only the financial aspects but also their operational aspects,” Roman said.
Students then presented their analysis to judges, who posed as company executives in a mock meeting.
“Personally, I liked the business aspect of it,” Roman said. “I can do the tech, but the business is what appeals to me.”
Roman is also the newly elected president of the Department of Information Systems Club (DISC), and many of the ASU participants at Avnet are also members of the club.
“We’re a great opportunity for career development and for opportunities to network like these events and to build relationships with industry professionals,” he said.
Bryan Belanger, a computer information systems junior, competed for the first time this year in the AMD Build Troubleshoot and Tune the Fastest Computer game.
“I wanted to compete because it’s an experience I haven’t had yet,” Belanger said. “On top of something to put on the resume, it’s really comforting to have physical experience doing this kind of stuff.”
Belanger’s team didn’t win, but he said he learned some valuable lessons, like the attitude to have during troubleshooting and different routes that can be taken.
“It felt more like a real-world situation, so I felt like it was good preparation for when it might happen to me in the professional world rather than just doing something at home,” Belanger said.
Although he is not an ASU student, one competitor stood out from the crowd: 8-year-old Vincent Moore, a student at Mesa Community College.
Originally, Moore wrote a mouse algorithm program for the Robot Race Obstacle Course, which would allow the robot to go through a maze, Moore and his parents said.
However, the race route was simpler than he planned for, and the program didn’t work correctly for the new route.
“If the maze had been harder, it would’ve been much easier,” Moore said.
Reach the reporter at reweaver@asu.edu
