UH West O’ahu CFA Institute Research Challenge team smile with UH West O’ahu Chancellor Rockne Freitas. From left: UHWO Instructor Mark Weisbrod, Daniel Gabriel, Ke Lu Zhang, UHWO Chancellor Rockne Freitas, Adrianna DeMello, Timothy Marks, Ross Uehara-Tilton.
By Staff Reports
(KAPOLEI) — University of Hawai‘i – West O‘ahu Business Administration students were recently honored in national student competitions.
Association of Government Accountants’ Finance Case Challenge
UH West O‘ahu students Shena Bocalbos, Ryoko Lung, and Mamina Tahara took home the national championship in the 2013-2014 Association of Government Accountants’ Finance Case Challenge competition in January. The UH West O‘ahu team competed against undergraduate students from across the United States, completing a written facilitative analysis of a municipality, and producing an oral presentation video of their findings.
Bocalbos, Lung and Tahara analyzed the City of Garland, Texas’ capabilities for attracting companies, individual residents, and the investment community. The report includes demographic data, population growth, economic base industry, recreational, educational, and cultural attraction information for the municipality as determined by the UH West O‘ahu student team.
“UHWO students winning at the national level highlights the strength of our business and accounting programs,” said UH West O‘ahu student team Faculty Advisor and Associate Professor of Accounting Dr. Franklin Kudo. “I congratulate Shena Bocalbos, Ryoko Lung, and Mamina Tahara on their exceptional performance.”
Chartered Financial Analyst Institute Research Challenge
UH West O‘ahu’s Ke Lu Zhang, Timothy Marks, Ross Uehara Tilton, Adrianna DeMello, and Daniel Gabriel took home the second place prize in the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Institute Research Challenge Hawai‘i regional competition. This rigorous, annual global competition involves more than 1,400 universities from around the world and provides university students with hands-on mentoring and intensive training in financial analysis. UH West O‘ahu’s team finished a close second in the Hawai‘i regional competition with their project on Hawaiian Airlines. The team placed first in the oral competition held at the Bank of Hawai‘i Building in Downtown Honolulu on February 7.
As part of the CFA Institute Research Challenge, the student teams are comprised of five full-time undergraduate and graduate students who each put in an estimated 150 hours of work to complete a written analysis and valuation of a publicly traded company with projects presented in an oral competition. Winners from the regional competition go on to compete in the national competition in Denver, Colorado.
“UH West O‘ahu was well represented and our team gave a very strong performance on behalf of the University,” said UH West O‘ahu student team Faculty Advisor and Instructor Mark Weisbrod. “Congratulations to the team for their excellent work and dedication.”
UH West O‘ahu became a four-year, regional comprehensive university when it served its first class of freshmen in fall 2007. The University offers quality education, small classes and personalized attention at convenient locations. UH West O‘ahu serves approximately 2,400 students at its brand new, state-of-the-art campus that opened in the City of Kapolei in 2012. For more information, visit uhwo.hawaii.edu, twitter.com/uhwestoahu, facebook.com/uhwestoahu or call (808) 689-2800 or toll-free (866) 299-8656.
The Association of Government Accountants’ (AGA) is the member organization for financial professionals in government. The organization leads and encourages change that benefits government accounting and all citizens. AGA networking events, professional certification, publications and ongoing education help members build their skills and advance their careers. For more information, visit http://www.agacgfm.org.
The Chartered Financial Analyst Institute serves all finance professionals seeking education, knowledge, professional development, connection, or inspiration and leads the investment profession’s thinking in the areas of ethics, capital market integrity, and excellence of practice. For more information, visit http://www.cfainstitute.org.
