by Mark Raziel B. Pagaduan
Two teams from the College of Commerce and Business Administration represent the Thomasian Community for another year of the CFA Institute Research Challenge.
The University deployed two teams to compete for the CFA Institute Research Challenge along with other institutions in the Philippines.
Team Captain Trizia Garcia (4FM4) leads the first group with Erica Capada (4FM4), Joseph Dela Cruz (4FM4), Alinje Poblete (4FM4), and Alexander Sayat (4FM4).
Completing the second group are Team Captain Adeline Bermudez (4FM4), Joseph Praise Gahol (4FM4), Nicolle Anne Jerez (4FM4), Joshua Fernando Pedrosa (4FM1), and Christian Marc Simon (4FM4).
When asked about their training routine, Garcia revealed, that good communication is the heart of great teamwork: “[The team] meets regularly to share ideas, brainstorm together, ask for feedbacks tapos we contradict each other’s feedback like kung sino ’yong mas better ’yong analysis on this part; from there, we need to agree on the best idea presented by each other so that kapag sinulat na ’yong write-up, nandoon na lahat ng [information] na kailangan ng writers namin,” Garcia explained.
Bermudez recalls how the process of her application turned out before forming the two competing teams: “We had to present through [a] Powerpoint [presentation] and on that day mismo lang namin nalaman [na magpi-present kami]. Ang tine-test kasi sa application process is ’yong [how we work] under pressure. That’s what we had to go through [as a team].”
Both of the team captains went through interviews administered by the professors of Financial Management: “After, may interview para lang magkaroon sila ng idea with our [strengths] and [weaknesses]; how we see ourselves as a speaker, as a writer, and as an analyst.” Bermudez said.
Team Captain Bermudez further expresses that she uses time blocking for other things – to manage the different aspects of life and make sure that she’s on track – despite competing with an enormous amount of training and preparation.
Garcia concludes with a competitive mindset for the team, “The first step of actually doing something is making an attempt. It is better to try than not try at all. For me, you should first know your weaknesses to find out how you can work on them. Don’t be afraid to take that leap because you will never know what will happen after taking that leap, and maybe that would leave more opportunities for you.”
CFA Institute Research Challenge had its official kick-off last September 3, 2021. The program will have several stages leading to the final panel presentation, virtually, this coming February 17, 2022.