Warrington student team wins three national awards at digital marketing championship

Undergraduate students Cecelia Duncan (BSBA ‘26), Sofia Godoy (BSBA ‘27), Dana Masri (BSBA ‘27), Marvin Bertram (BSBA ‘26) and Kriti Shah (BSBA ‘27) won “Team National Runner-Up” at the 2026 National Collegiate Digital Marketing Championship (NCDMC). 

In addition to the overall team win, Bertram won “Individual National Runner-Up” and first place in the Quantum Quiz category. The team’s faculty adviser, Valeria Marcia, was also awarded the “Top Teaching Award” for the time, preparation and guidance she invested in the student team. 

The NCDMC is a national competition in which students compete in digital marketing challenges in a strategic, fast-paced environment. The challenges include trivia tournaments, mock timed presentations, memorization rounds, essay portions and digital marketing simulations. Fifty-two student teams from universities across the United States competed.

The team began preparing in the fall of 2025, becoming experts in digital marketing and perfecting their strategy. They hosted weekly meetings and divided the challenges among the team members based on their strengths and availability. Leading these meetings was a past contestant, Sofia Galvan (BSBA ‘26). Godoy said she was a key figure in guiding the team, and it would not have been the same without her help. 

“We decided to split our team up in two groups,” Masri said. “My teammates, Sofia, Marvin and I noticed our strengths lie more in quick recall and speed challenges, so we focused on the ‘Quantum Quiz’ category. Our other teammates, Kriti and Cece, focused on the presentation aspect of the competition, where they applied their marketing knowledge and roleplayed a real-life situation in which they would be marketing agents.”

After two days of competition, the team ranked second among the 52 student teams for their teamwork and excellence of performance under pressure. Bertram was also awarded “Individual National Runner-Up” and 1st place in the Quantum Quiz category, demonstrating how his individual performance stood out among the best in the country.

“The competition was a combination of all things digital marketing, and I believe that our team was able to divide and conquer based on our strengths, and that is why we were able to win Runner-Up,” team captain Duncan said. “We worked hard to prepare for the competition, and it is very rewarding to see our hard work pay off.”

“Events such as the NCDMC offer students a learning experience that is priceless,” Marcia said. “Such events offer a link between theory and practice that cannot be achieved in a classroom setting. I am very proud of our students for conducting themselves with such integrity and excellence on behalf of our university, and I look forward to seeing what the future holds for them.”