The Missouri State Risk Management Society (RIMS) Challenge Team was selected as one of only eight teams to advance to the final round in May.
Due to safety precautions taken for COVID-19, students will now be faced with an additional challenge of presenting online.
About the team
Each school may submit one team consisting of three or four student members. MSU’s team includes:
- Tyler Boehm, senior risk management and insurance major
- Alex Coffin, senior finance/financial planning major
- Jasmine Pennington, senior risk management and insurance major
- Emily Tate, senior mathematics/actuarial mathematics major
None of the students had ever participated in the challenge, but they worked diligently through the fall semester and over winter break to complete research and craft a report.
“When we started working on the project, we were all new,” said Coffin. “We did a lot of brainstorming and research to figure out what direction we wanted to go in.”
About the competition
The RIMS Risk Management Challenge is an 8-month long competition where university teams compete to develop and present the most comprehensive risk management program based on a company’s case study.
Teams completed research and developed programs to address the issues from their case study. Then, their findings were compiled in a written paper that was reviewed by a panel of risk management professionals.
MSU’s hard work paid off, and they were chosen to advance to the final round.
“It has been several years since our team has advanced to the next round of the competition, and I commend this year’s team for their excellent effort,” said Dr. Jeff Jones, department head of finance and general business.
A new challenge
The final round of the competition typically takes place at the RIMS Annual Conference & Exhibition. This year’s conference was set to take place in early May in Denver, Colorado.
However, for the first time in 70 years, the conference has been cancelled for health and safety reasons due to COVID-19.
“It is a huge disappointment that the conference is cancelled. We still have intentions to win, but we will be missing out on a once in a lifetime opportunity due to COVID-19,” said Coffin.
Now, the MSU team faces a new challenge.
Students will present via Zoom to a panel of risk management professionals and potential employers.
“Presenting via Zoom will definitely be a challenge,” said Coffin. “But we are looking forward to facing these new obstacles and seeing what we can accomplish.”
About RIMS
The Risk Management Society (RIMS) is a global not-for-profit organization representing more than 3,500 industrial, service, nonprofit, charitable and government entities.
Due to current circumstances, RIMS is offering virtual tools and opportunities such as webinars, online courses, a weekly podcast and more.