Six actuarial science students participated in the Traveler’s Case Competition with four other universities. The students were given a property and casualty insurance problem to research and model. At the end of the day, each university’s team presented their recommendations to a panel of actuaries from Traveler’s. Drake’s team won first place this year; each student won a $250 cash award and the Department of Actuarial Science received a trophy. The competition benefits the students by giving them a hands-on experience solving actuarial problems and helps faculty by allowing them to learn about contemporary topics in the field.
The winning team included Praneeth Singh, John Richards, Ty Albrecht, Colin Piscitello, Hannah Hamilton, and YiFan Zhou.
Drake actuarial science and finance majors competed in the annual Brooks Case Competition for an opportunity to practice their academic skills in a real-world scenario. This year’s case study focused on the pending merger of Verizon and Yahoo. Drake students competed in teams of three or four over the course of one weekend. The Brooks Competition experience gave students insight into the real-life pressures and skills associated with their future actuarial science and finance careers. Drake faculty judges included Richard Long, Jimmy Senteza, Inchul Suh, and Toby White.
- 1st place: Trevor Carlson, Daniel Finn, Parker Foote, Samuel Klann
- 2nd place: Shayla Carey, Parker Henley, Priyanka Rao, Jessica Rebischke
- 3rd place: Nur Hanisah Abdul Rahman, Alwin Zhe Shuen Tan, Khai Wei Tan, Shao Ze Tan
- Special awards
—Best Teamwork and Most Professional: Mohd Mathoridie Sobri, Amelia Quek, Yu Xiao
—Most Creative and Best Q&A Responses: Nor Adlin Izurin Dzulkifli, Wei Ling Iriss Tan, Kumudhini Ujhoodha, Jade Vuong
Drake finance students finished 2nd in the 2017 Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Institute Research Challenge. Local CFA societies select a publicly listed company in their geographical region to be analyzed by teams from competing universities and colleges. This year’s company was Rockwell Collins. The teams prepared a written report and a presentation recommending either a buy, sell, or hold on the selected company. The reports and presentations were judged by local investment professionals with their CFA designation. Drake’s team consisted of students Daniel Finn, Sam Klann, Jamie Zaine, Tyler Kern, and Neil Usry.
A group of Marketing Club students worked on a project for Coca-Cola this semester for their Dasani Sparkling product. Called Project Bulldog, the students developed a comprehensive integrated marketing communication plan based on research conducted by the team. Their recommendations were presented to executives in Atlanta via phone interview and elicited very positive comments from channel managers and national product managers alike. The new ideas for point-of-purchase and sales promotion were praised and are expected to be put into play by the company in the near future. Professors Mary Edrington and Chip Miller co-advised the team, which was led by Marketing Student of the Year, Kaylynn Noethlich. Project Bulldog Team included the following Drake CBPA students: Kaylynn Noethlich, Margot Stevens, Rebecca Crepeau, Madelyn Vogt, Courtney Smith, Megan Richards, Tierney Sereika, Karter Smith, Matthew Lavery, Kyla Inderski, Lauren Riley, Jack Kennedy, Caroline West, Matthew Helmericks, David Pioske, and Max Zaug.
—Dianna Gray, College of Business and Public Administration
