The Missouri State University Association for Business Information Technology students (A-BITS) scored big at the recent U.S. Information Technology Collegiate Conference (USITCC) south central regional competition.  

A-BITS student members brought home 11 of the 22 trophies awarded: 

• Application Development: 1st place, 2nd place. 
• PC Troubleshooting: 1st place, 2nd place, 3rd place (a sweep). 
• Network Design: 2nd place, 3rd place. 
• Office Solutions: 2nd place. 
• System Analysis and Design: 3rd place. 
• Security: 3rd place. 

“I joined A-BITS because I wanted to learn more with like-minded people and the competitions were an area that really sold me,” said Brayden Shell, A-BITS student president. 

“We are learning and getting better. I know that we will continue to develop into something that will make Missouri State stand out in the IT field for years to come.” 

About the competition

USITCC offers competitions for participants to test their skills against the best and brightest IT students in the country. 

This competition builds the team’s confidence and reinforces what the students have been learning in the classroom, explains Dr. Xiang Guo, assistant professor of information tech and cybersecurity (ITC). 

“The USITCC gives students real life challenges that they solve in teams of two with only a three-hour window,” Guo said. 

“Winning the top school award speaks volumes to the quality of education we provide in the ITC department. We are up against top tier schools. To excel in a competition like this highlights our quality curriculum and teaching.” 

Explore ITC at Missouri State 

Congratulations to the team

After their success in the regional competition, the A-BITS students will head to the USITCC nationals next spring. 

“I’m so proud of this team. The students began training with me in their free time in October,” Guo said.  

“Our students showed strong academic performance, excellent work ethic, resilience and determination.” 

The student competitors included: 

• Krista Alexander. 
• Wayland Cha. 
• Calvin Colter. 
• Brenton Cummings. 
• Chloe Eichel. 
• Zach Frey. 
• Ons Kharrat. 
• Linh Huong Nguyen. 
• Irina Palenko. 
• Brayden Shell. 
• Nathan Sloan. 
• Jake Strohm. 
• Andy Vu. 
• Chancellor Woolsey. 

“A-BITS has received a lot of support and consideration from our advisors, as well as the entire ITC department,” said Andy Vu, A-BITS student secretary. 

“We could not have achieved this without great care from the College of Business and our ITC professors.” 

Learn more about the A-BITS team