2018 CASE Internship Report

Angel Chen

CASE Intern, UW Advancement

Christine Lessard, Director of The President’s Circle

July 27, 2018

 

Appreciation

 

Thank you all, CASE committee in UW, David Iyall, Malik Davis, Christine Lessard, Roxanne Christian, and Andres Boyer, for choosing me to be this year’s CASE intern, and dedicating many of your valuable time in career-coaching, mentor meetings, and project guidance. Thank you for offering the most rewarding internship for me in this summer.

 

 

Meetings

• University Leadership: Denzil Suite, VP from Student Life. slvp@uw.edu, I shared about my UW story, as a Husky 100, international student from China, transfer student from Spokane. He mentioned his send-off trip in China and talked about building a new office called CIRCLE in the following fall quarter, for connecting international students and domestics students and cultivating an inclusive campus.

 

• UWAA Board Meeting at GIX Building: It was such a great experience to see all phenomenon people in a room and get to talk to some of them! The meeting is about discussing resolutions regarding Bylaws amendments about Board composition, welcoming new trustees and thanking outgoing trustees. The most interesting part is GIX tour, visiting GIX facility, such as Tsinghua Library, student maker spaces, and innovative classrooms. I was in the strategic discussion session with Nate from Yakima (another fun people from 509 area), Joe Davis from UW Tacoma, and even sitting right next to our UWAA current president Aggie and the head of Regional Advancement, Stephine Doyle for lunch! The discussion question was about what we learn from GIX tour and how shall we promote this new graduate program. And I talked about my experience joining the GIX innovation competition on July 14, in the exact same room, but I was the only undergrad there in the stage. So, hosting more competition for undergraduate students could be an example for GIX promotion, attracting more talents from different areas to apply, not only CSE, but also fine arts, math, econ, business and more.

 

• UWAA Engagement Summer Session, Betsy Brown, betsyb1@uw.edu ; I helped out with the early greeting in the check-in station, and joined the following sessions:

 

• Opening: Leading with Authenticity by Priya Frank
• Engagement with an Equity Lens, a panel with Christine
• Digital Engagement by Ben Erickson and Isaiah Brookshire
• Development Roundtable by Dan Peterson
• Closing: Barbara Earl Thomas

The closing part is the highlight of the event, Barbara’s speech was quite inspiring, “You need to get used to be in chaos.” I will carry her spirit in the future, be bold in the chaos.

 

• The President’s Circle, TPC, July 19
  • Event Preparation: I prepared TPC packaging for all levels of donor, silver, purple, and gold, and especially the one for the Gates. I felt very warm imaging how excited donors will be when receiving the rebranded TPC cards and packages. Among those 1000+ envelopes that I made, I also learned a vital professional lesson, there are plenty of good things in a job, but definitely will be some parts that you do not like as much. How to adjust emotions is also very important.
  • Event day: I worked as a photo bus coordinator, guiding TPC guests how to take event photos and it was very impressed to see lots of alumni couples coming in their 70s, shakenly walked on the bus. Here is the link for all pictures. It is worth mentioning that I even get to take a picture with the President Cauce!

 

• Information meetings:
  • Stewardship & PMRA Research Team
    • All three interns had information meetings with PMRA team in the first three days, but the training was really overwhelming, and I barely remember anything except Andres’s email address. But I do recall there was a really good bake-out session, which all three of us tried the best pastry from their team.
  • Annual Giving
    • Had a meeting with Emily Fondaw, fondawer@uw.edu, Associate Director for Major Donor Stewardship, and knew the differences and similarities between her program in annual giving and Christine’s TPC, one considers the accumulative total giving and the other for one fiscal year only. It is quite a challenging to make figure out how to distinguish the stewardship for donors in the intersection of both programs, or only in one.
  • Annual Philanthropy
    • I sat right next to the AP team for the past few weeks and had 1-1 information meeting with most of their team members, Jen, Cara, Nelmy, Josh, and Rose. The biggest takeaway would be, a learning mind-set! Always be passionate to learn something new. Afterwards, I started to learn more coding during my spare time in weekend, staying in Odegaard library until 10 pm.
  • Donor Relations
    • Sat in a donor meeting with College of Engineering (CoE), cultivated connection with Daher, a supplier for Boeing, and learned about donor-approaching process. (many thanks for Dave for connecting me to Val and Jill from CoE)

 

• Multiple mentor meetings:
  • Malik – it was our first mentor meeting with committee member. I enjoyed hearing about Malik story and knowing the importance to be yourself, to initiate relationships.
  • Roxanne – Roxanne’s story is mind-blowing!
  • Kyle – we met in Washington Athletics Club, practiced how to set up donor meeting via phone calls, and I love his life lesson: show up, lean in, and have fun.
  • David – we talked more about our trip to DC, our individual internship experience, and shared feedbacks and suggestions. I really appreciate all the communication work Dave have been doing even before the internship started.
  • Christine – today, last day of our internship as a recap.

 

Projects

 

With Regional Team:

I worked closely with Sophie Lee, Assistant Director of International Alumni Relations in Regional Advancement, seungwha@uw.edu

 

• Trip planning for Sophie on itinerary, board member research form, and expense form, for increasing efficiency of Sophie’s Asian trip, better connect with board members in Thailand, Korea, and more.

 

• Write up the International Student Send-off Package for Office of Student Life, for guiding through the send-off project management process, and improve international students’ send-off experiences.

 

• Conduct LinkedIn Region Research, update all possible prospects from LinkedIn, add in their contact information and notes about their potential interest area. It would be a great reference for engaging international alumni and re-connecting with some lost prospects.

 

Work Accomplished:

1, ShareLatex, a tool to write up reports. Here is the link to edit the send-off package document.

2, Google Doc, where you can easily edit it, attached docx is the completed version of final draft.

 

 

With UWAA Technology Team:

• Learn from Ben Erickson, Manager of Digital Engagement Strategies, bperick@uw.edu on modifying modules in Marketo, a digital engagement product focusing on customization for mass email communication, aim to better engage with our targeted audience and amplify our campaign messages.

 

With UW Impact:

• Phone2Action & Nation Builder Data Migration

 

Perform UW Impact 2017 – 2018 Advocates data-cleaning on Phone2Action, to emphasize the priority of higher education for state lawmakers and connect advocates across the Washington state, categorizing all these advocates information will help widen our UW political advocate network.

 

Suggestions

• I didn’t have much time to work on CASE webinars and cohort projects with other UC system’s schools, thus, I would definitely suggest CASE to have a workload survey to each school unit before assigning projects to interns if possible.
• Before DC conference, it would be nice to know which aspects interns are working on and separate them in different groups (i.e., maybe form a focus group on all interns working in stewardship, in marketing or in prospect research) so that we can also learn more specific skills in the work and share them with intern fellows, or even this idea is better than a board cohort project, which now is designing a plan for the Advancement Department in University of Detroit Mercy.

 

Next Steps

• I am applying for the Gates Internship for continuing advancement work with Dan Peterson, and I will meet with Dan on Aug 7 for an interview.
• Then I will continue finishing up my last three math classes (9 credits) in the fall quarter and actively seeking entry-level jobs/internship starting from Mid-December of this year. Currently, I have applied to UMAC team as an event intern for the fall quarter, and I will have an information interview with Regional Team, Isaiah on International Marketing on Aug 14.

UW ECON & MATH Guide

Economics 

Macro and Micro Economics:

ECON 200 201 Introduction

ECON 300 301 Intermediate

ECON 400 401 Advanced

# Count as math major (BS) electives: 424 & 400

 

Financial Economics & Investments:

ECON 424 Portfolio Analysis

http://faculty.washington.edu/ezivot/econ424/econ424.htm

ECON 422 Finance, Capital and Investment

http://faculty.washington.edu/mjyang/teaching/Econ422_Sp18/

 

Regression/ Econometrics:

ECON 482 Linear Regression

Prof. Jing Tao

 

ECON 483 Linear Regression Application

Prof Eun

 

Monetary Policy:

ECON 425 Topics in Monetary Economics (Fabio)

http://faculty.washington.edu/ghiro/teaching.html

 

Data-driven:

ECON 487 Data Science for Game Theory and Pricing

http://www.jacoblariviere.com/econ-487-s18/

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Mathematics 

Calculus: 124 -126, Multi-variable 324

Basics DEQ, Linear Algebra, Linear Analysis, Number Theory: 307 308 309 301

Real Analysis: 327 328

Advanced Algebra, Modern Algebra: 340 402

Probability: 394 395 396

Combinatorics: 461 462

Research, WXML: 399 Combinatorics Game Theory, the game of Nim

 

Resources collection:

MATH 300 Judith Arms

https://sites.math.washington.edu/~arms/m300Sp17/

 

MATH 309 Linear Analysis (Notes and Exams)

https://sites.math.washington.edu/~ttajakka/Math309ASummer2017/reviewmaterial.html  

 

MATH 328

HW Solution from Rudin

https://minds.wisconsin.edu/handle/1793/67009

 

MATH 394 Richard Li

https://github.com/richardli/STAT394-2017/tree/master/Annotated_slides

MATH 396 Notes from Michael Perlman  (login with UW NetID)

https://catalyst.uw.edu/workspace/mdperlma/16589/94001

 

MATH 461 462 Graph Theory 

Prof Dumitriu (Notes and Exams)

https://sites.math.washington.edu/~dumitriu/m461_au17.html

https://sites.math.washington.edu/~dumitriu/m462_win18.html

HW solutions from Yizhe Zhu

https://sites.math.washington.edu/~yizhezhu/MATH461_Autumn/

https://sites.math.washington.edu/~yizhezhu/MATH462_Winter/

 

Others:

CSE 160: Introduction to Data Programing (Python)

https://courses.cs.washington.edu/courses/cse160/18sp/

How to earn my Husky 100 (2018)

How to earn a Husky 100?

1. Hyperactive campus involvements 
2. • First Year Program – First-year Interest Group leader
   • Undergraduate Research Program
   • Tutoring, (CLUE, OWRC)
   • Study Aboard
   • UW Pipeline Project
   • Marching Band
   • Art and Performance
3. Decent Academic History 
   • GPA record will be automatically included
4. Two Essays 
   • Two prompts to think about — attached at the next page 
5. Two Recommendation letters 
   • Think about who can prove what you did, preferred one UW staff member and one faulty from associated department
   • Professors, research supervisors

 

Connect the Dots

The Husky 100 celebrates students who make connections between experiences they have while enrolled at the UW. Specifically, we want to understand how both your University of Washington academic and out-of-class engagements have shaped who you are and influenced the choices you make about your academic pursuits, work, service, leadership and other commitments. Think about at least two experiences you have had while enrolled at UW that have been personally transformative. One of these experiences should be related to your coursework. The other(s) may have been in or outside the classroom; you might even share experiences that come from commitments that are not affiliated with the UW (e.g. family, service, activism, your faith community, etc.) but have happened during your time at UW.

In your 250 to 500 word written response, please “connect the dots” between your learning experiences by addressing the following points. Your response will be stronger if you include specific examples and can connect your learning across multiple experiences or back and forth between two experiences.

• Please explain how these experiences shaped your understanding, perspective or behavior in the other(s).
• What learning did you take away from these experiences, and how did it change or impact you?
• Which Husky 100 criteria. did you develop through these experiences and how?

 

UW Story

Every Husky has a story, and yours is unique and important. We recognize that every story includes twists and turns, highs and lows, that all contribute to personal, professional and academic development. We want to understand what you’ve done and what you’ve learned through your Husky Experience; in other words, how you have transformed specifically because of your time at the UW.

Consider the following questions and then choose a medium (essay, video or e-portfolio) to tell your story. We are providing the option of these mediums so that you can choose the one you feel is best suited to your strengths and to convey your unique story. For more information on the various mediums, please visit the Q&A. section of the Husky 100 website.

• What moments, experiences, relationships, successes, or setbacks have had the greatest impact on you during your time at the UW? These experiences may have been in or outside the classroom; you might even share experiences that come from commitments that are not affiliated with the UW but happened while you were a student (e.g. family, service, your faith community, etc.).
• How did these experiences unfold and what was the result on you? What made these experiences meaningful to you?
• Using specific examples, how have the experiences you identified helped you develop in one or more of the Husky 100 criteria.? How will all that you have been through and what you learned impact what you do next?

 

Failing Forward and Moving Forward

Diversity is rooted not only in nationality, gender, race, but also in personality. I am unique, and I am someone who brings in diversity to anywhere I go to. I am a boundless person, I dare to fail forward, embrace any obstacles and then work hard, try again, and move forward.

My story began with a devastating accident in the most important exam in my life. I did not do well as expected in Gaokao, the annual college entrance exam in China, the one which students studied twelve years for, and the one that determines students major, occupations, and future. The score in Gaokao directly decided which school you can go to, which department you can be admitted into, thus, it is a big turning point in a person’s life in China. I had never failed this hard, I was planning to go to a decent university in my hometown, Guangzhou, China, but now it all turned into daydreams. Admittedly, there were tears and disappointments, but I have to resign myself to the fact that what was done was done, moving on, where should I go for my four-year college? My mother has always reminded me of one word, recovery rate. It is the recovery rate that matters in any type of challenges. There will be ups and downs in life all the time, but knowing how to deal with the emotion and figure out the solutions are the way to walk out from the difficulty and move on.

Later, I met a representative from Spokane Falls Community College (SFCC) in an information seminar in my high school, and that was my first time to know about what is a community college. Inspired by the freedom of choosing majors, the variety of programs, and the innovative education environment, I made a bold decision, to study in a city that I had no idea where it was. I joined the general Associate degree of Arts program, and successfully transferred into University of Washington (UW) in the autumn of 2016. “Be boundless” is the summary of my two years of college life. I had four on-campus jobs: being a math tutor, a Chinese translator, a transfer associate, and a transfer course instructor. I tried plenty of campus involvement activities, advocating the awareness of transfer students, showing my passion toward mathematics, and practicing my teaching skills in autumn of 2017, taught a 2-credit course for new transfers. At the same time, I managed to maintain a 3.95 GPA through my senior year. Even though I have recovered from the sadness of failing my Gaokao, I realize that life is hard, and it will only get harder. Recently, I took an elusive midterm for real analysis, and I had the same terrible feeling about it: I had been working really hard on it, I knew every theorem and homework by heart, but when it came to the midterm exam, I panicked when I saw the first problem, and I failed forward for the second time. However, I knew I had no regrets now if I have tried everything I can for the exam, I studied hard, and I would try again.

Undergraduate study is not enough, it builds a solid foundation for me and I am eager to learn more in the graduate school. With a diverse educational background in high school in China, community college in Spokane, and the general education in UW, I can bring a distinctive academic perspective to NYU and contribute innovative ideas. Through my two years of study in UW, I identify what I love to do for my career, quantitative finance, a field that is mathematics and economics related, with problem-solving skills. The takeaway from my story is my spirit of boundlessness and persistence. This is the motivation for me to move forward into the graduate school, be fearless and boundless, keep accepting academic challenges, overcome them and achieve my goal of becoming quantitative analyst.

UW – Amazon Mentorship Program

01-26: Introduction 

Our group’s mentor is Josh Slobin, the head of marketing at Amazon. 

He has an inspiring career path. He grew up in a rural area, went to Yale University majoring in political science. He worked as a PR for a start-up for three years in Boston and then went to Wharton school of Business, further studied marketing and Operations. He specialized in marketing, moved to San Franciscos for another start-up for about seven years. Five years ago, He came to Amazon and joined the Prime service division, focused on B2B smart technology. His role is to run a group of seven marketers, working on how to engage customers for Prime shipping programs and more. 

He loves marketing because it uses language to alter people’s perspective, and impacts the way they think of problems. With strengths in writing and storytelling, it convinces people to make decisions. He started with working in start-ups, as their mentalities fitted in with his value. He enjoyed the energy in this type of environment, turning unstructured puzzle into structured solutions, the thrill of risk and opportunity, and the skills of problem solving. Besides his work, Josh has passion towards music and traveling. He is quite creative, he is a musician and singer.

When we asked, when do you know this is the right direction you choose for your career?

He said:

“You know it when you get up in the morning and being excited to go to work, and you want to talk about it with friends at night.”

He described Amazon as groups of teams, that working on different projects. The talk away from his story is,

Keep your option open. Do not force yourself to a lane too early. Be more thoughtful, think about what other options can I choose? It would help make better decisions. 

 

 

02-02: How do you define success? 

“What is your future plan?”

Where do you see yourself in one year right after college? In five years? In twenty years? We went through these three questions in group discussions. Josh pointed out, people define success differently. We need consider what it means to ourselves, and what the trade-off would be.

02-09: Networking, Linkedin profile, and Interview Preparation. 

“What did you do for networking?”

• Career fair
• UW Community, staff, faculties, clubs (RSO), and friends
• From your built relationships
• Mentorship program

Linkedin:

• A concise overview, not a whole paragraph, to show your skills and goals, NOTE: NO TYPO!
• Include relevant course projects if you lack of work experience
• Show the best of YOU! People do use keyword search on Linkedin contacting potential employees, list out every skill you have.

 

“How do we prepare for different type of interviews?” 

–Personal

1. Talk about your work style.
2. Tell me three things about you, what is your biggest weakness, where you strive? Where you don’t strive? 

–Company-related

1. Talk about a field that we should be investing, or a mistake we made. 
2. Case Studies: classic consulting interview question.

They test you on how to think about a problem, and how do you structure it. Make sure to do your research and be well prepared. Not only the facts and figures, but pay attention to the issues that they CARE about. This shows that you care about the things that they are also concerned about.

–Behavioral  

To prepare it, think about your past experience, and create a set of stories about yourself. Practice the way of telling them, and be prepared to apply them in various questions. WE need to write down at least 5-10 stories, structure them in a proper way, STAR, which is abbreviated for situation, task, action, result.

1. Set up the scenario, explain why this is important
2. What is the action, what did you do
3. Wrap up, what is the impact? How did you successfully solve the problem?

–Job simulation

It could be a live writing test, writing sample, or a live coding test for tech-related jobs. 

–Trick question/ Pressure Interview

Do not panic if you can not get to the right answer. It is OKAY to talk about thought process, and the potential ways of how to get to the answer if you extra time left.

 

You are being interviewed, but you are also interviewing them, so prepare questions for them too. 

What is like to work in there? How they do business? (Those information is not available online.)

Some impressive questions that he mentioned:

Is there anything that I haven’t told you about, that would help you make a decision?

 

 

 

 

Transfer Awareness

 

Transferring from Spokane Falls Community College in the Fall of 2016, I experienced tough “transfer shocks” academically and socially. The peer pressure and the level of learning are incommensurable with those in a community college. I struggled my way through 2017, a year of bittersweet growth, and became a Transfer First-year Interest Group leader to advocate the awareness for transfer students.

I would never forget those gloomy days when I encountered transition hardships: I did not have a sense of community here. I was having my lunch alone in a corner of Husky Union Building. I went to a 200-student lecture but did not talk to anyone in my class. Even sadly, I failed to secure any on-campus jobs because of lack of experience and connection. I was disappointed with the “Seattle Freeze”, and reckoned that people had their friends already, they were too busy to talk to me. Gradually, I realized that I need to change this by making an impact for the group of transfer students, be brave to stand up and create a welcoming home not only for incoming freshmen, but also for new transfers.

Therefore, to achieve the goal of raising “Transfer Awareness”, I started with taking initiative to volunteer, such as being the Transfer Ambassador for winter Dawg Daze events. I was one of the panelists for hundreds of incoming transfer students, talking about my own transfer story, to encourage them to start from scratch, rebuilding social connections and adopting new academic strategies. It took time and effort to be involved in this big family, and it was utterly worth it as now I can relish my community. They are my people, the people who actually care about me and we have each other back through highs and lows.

With my hard work and persistence, I aced rounds of interview and became a Transfer-FIG leader for the Fall of 2017. I worked diligently for my training course with First Year Program (FYP) and I drafted 13 courses plans in the Spring quarter, revised them multiple times with FYP staff during my summer break, and tailored them more specifically for enriching transfer experience at UW. One year after I suffered my own “transfer shock”, I taught the best transfer FIG class for my 20 students.

This fruitful experience shaped me into a qualified student leader, with growth mindset and strong commitment to building inclusive community. Besides the regular curriculum that I need to cover in my Transfer FIG class, I implemented some creative themes that were more suitable for transfer students. I sincerely cared about my students and their career development, such that I set up workshops for applying financial aids and scholarships, advancing public speaking, and building up resume/Linkedin profile, which were not required in the curriculum of an ordinary FIG course. Based on the needs of my student, I provided what I knew to the best of my ability, and at the same time I earned enormous skillsets, more than I can ever expected: organization skills, caring and compassion, policy-decision making, problem-solving, and most importantly, a different perspective as a peer instructor.

It was such an adventure as I struggled to learn how use Canvas for posting grades, designing my own course page, updating assignments due dates and grading essays. I became more grateful to all the instructors who have taught me before, because I understood now: there must be at least twice as much as hard work outside of a 50-minutes lecture, for typing up notes and replying emails, adjusting homework and grading papers, meeting with students and solving their concerns.

What I gain from this experience can be summarized into another “FIG”: Friends, Initiative, and Gratitude. One of my FIG students brought me snacks one day as they cared about my health, they asked me: “Did you eat today?” as a Chinese-styled type of greeting. During a one-to-one conversation, one of my students even asked me, if I would be teaching FIG for a second time. Inspired by that, I initiate to renovate the Transfer FIG  for next year by actively collecting suggestions from my own students, and hopefully new transfers could enjoy a more comprehensive and informative FIG class.

Furthermore, I enlarge my capacity of being a leader. I understand what is to lead from within, to put the needs of my students ahead of my own. I still forward emails that are related to career opportunity or campus involvement to my students, even the FIG course has ended in the Fall. I appreciate all my students, they helped me grow into a better peer instructor.

Some of my students joked about me being a “boundless” person, frankly “boundless” is my favorite word to describe my husky experience, as I am not only stepping out from my comfort zone, I am expanding it. I relish the UW big family with my community, my people in my FIG class, my coworkers in the Math Study Center and Commuter and Transfer Commons. I am committed to create an inclusive community for transfer students, with discovery and caring mindset. UW has prepared me for a bright future, as a confident and competent student leader, I am ready to embrace any challenges in my future, fearless and boundless.

Interview 101

Shoot for the moon.

Be boundless means, not only the meme for teens, but extending your limit as a human being intellectually.

Here is what I believe: If you care enough for a result, you will most certainly attain it. And it is never good enough to be average correct.

You need to be the best in the field.

Fall Prep for future job hunting

THREE steps of how to make a pitch

All we need is the 1% of market?

The last YLP program meeting today, May. 13, at Capital Hill Branch Library.

 

How should we make a pitch? 

1. Be prepared for the chance meeting: what if you meet your CEO/potential investors in an elevator?
2. End with memorable: how to make yourself memorable and start building up a relationship?
3. Practice in front of different audience : You shall make your pitch easily understood by engineers from Microsoft, as well as your grandma

• Start with why? State your value proposition to make it appealing
• Know your bit: your most compelling feature, why you, why it is unique?
• Ask for advices and ask meaningful questions

 

Top lies, DO NOT SAY the following: 

“We have no competitors” – There is no market then

“All we need is the 1% of market.”

DO NOT end with deal terms

Further reading if interested:

“Long story short” , Margot Leitiman

“The book on storytelling”

“How to write a business plan?” , Elliot J.Smith

“Pitch everything“, Oren Klaff

How to prepare for a Case Competition?

TBA: To Be Amazing I, Technology and Business Association at University of Washington. 

Reflection on Case Competition Info Session on May. 12

What is a case competition? What do we do?

We will be given a charge, a problem, and we will find out a solution, and convince the judges that it is feasible. So the steps are as following:

1, Read the charge carefully, it might be over 20 pages, with lots of little details. Make sure everyone in the group do read the case.

2, Go to a study room with a white board, let ALL group members brainstorm separately and strategically, set 10 mins aside and write on your own ideas, then put ALL of thoughts on the board. DO NOT shoot down ideas! It is better to spend 4-6 hours choosing the best-fit idea before committing to a certain solution.

3, “Divide and Conquer” process, to delegate each person to different jobs, which are:

• Research: why my method works?

http://guides.lib.uw.edu/research/business/industries Foster Database OPEN to ALL

• PowerPoint: to be visually appealing!
• Finance: how much a whole project will cost?
• Impact: Why this method?

4, Practice your part and time it, be ready, get a good night of sleep, and wear business professional to presentation. GO TIME!

How can I join my first case competition?

Case Competition Timeline at UW Seattle (OPEN TO ALL MAJORS) :

• Fall Quarter

KPMG KICC, Boeing Case Comp, Russell Investment

• Winter Quarter

CBDC Consulting Challenge, Global Health Business Case, GCCC Sustainability, Accenture

• Spring Quarter

GCCC, EY, ABSA, Deloitte

How can I prepare for my first case competition?

Must-have skills:

• Public Speaking
• Financial Analysis
• Presentation Creation (PowerPoint)
• Critical Decision
• Marketing Design

Addition skills:

• knowledge of specific industry
• coding and technical knowledge  
• advanced financial knowledge (How to read a balance sheet?)

 

How can I form a great team for my first case competition?

Team Dynamics is crucial for  how to make the whole team work efficiently. Everyone in the group, usually a group of 4 should be clear with each others’ expectation and commitment. Be specific on how much time that each group member can contribute on each part of the case. A rule to remember, the EAT:

E-Establish expectations ; A-Discuss abilities ; T-Time

Meanwhile, when doing a case, we suggest setting aside time for breaks, and we can each bring snacks and make it fun! Skye suggests doing the “Power Pose” to boost your confidence before going to present.

 

What is the timeline of a case competition of 48 hours?

• 1-12 hr: Read the charge and decide the idea
• 13 – 24hr: Research at Foster school database, reading through various reports and articles
• 23-36 hr: Complete the analysis and begin to work on powerpoint, with Appendix slide
• 37-48 hr: Run through the presentation for a few times, and get a good rest before presentation

 

What does a PowerPoint slide look like in a case competition?

1. Introduction of the charge: what is the problem? Identify it!
2. Agenda: what am I going to present?
3. Recommendations: What is my solution?
4. Support analysis: Why do I choose this solution?
5. Implementation: How to practically use it to solve the problem?
6. Financial Analysis: How much it costs? Is it doable?
7. Rick and Mitigation: How to reduce the risks?
8. Conclusion
9. Q&A Appendix: Judges will ask questions, be prepared!

 

How to read a charge in a case competition?

“There isn’t a standard solution, but there are some standard methods that we use.” — Skye 

1. Think of “3C” aspects: Competitor, Customer, Company; do a summary on the information provided in the charge for these three roles, to decide which one I should do more research on.
2. Do a SWOT analysis, which is internally Strengths, Weakness, and externally, Opportunities, and Threats.
3. Do a Decision Matrix, to indicate what other options you have considered? Why you decide to pick your solution but not others?

 

How to make an appealing PowerPoint?

1. Icons: Iconator, http://www.iconator.com/
2. Pictures:

• Unspash: https://unsplash.com/
• Visual hunt: https://visualhunt.com/
• Pixabay: https://pixabay.com/
• Stocksnap: https://stocksnap.io/ 

3. Designs: designspiration: http://designspiration.net/

Why should I want to do a case competition?

1. Facebook/Google/Tech company are all practicing “case competition” everyday, it is a skill and a type of thinking that we shall have when we are in college.
2. As an ECON major, it is helpful to apply international insights, economic theories, and models in international cases.
3. You will gain knowledge, experience, networking opportunities, friends and possibly prizes with case competitions, while it takes you enormous time, hard work, and precious sleep. But it totally worth it!

How can I know more about case competition?

1. Read a book, “Case in Point” (Link: ftp://203.157.240.9/pub/docs/Case.in.Point.pdf )
2. Watch others presentations and learn from them  
3. Practice public speaking

Help Out with Folklife Festival.

Folklife Festival 

In the past two years, I volunteered in these event, driving six hours back and forth from Spokane to Seattle, to did the fund-raising for this great event.

Please, keep it alive.

Lots of unique hand-made shops, music from Iran, from Romania, and more. I enjoyed them a lot as I spent two of my memorial weekends there, in 2015 and 2016.