Taking up the challenge

A team of students from Wilfrid Laurier University’s Lazaridis School of Business and Economics are once again champions of the Bank of Canada's Governor’s Challenge.

Fourth-year students Cindy McCormick, Michael Davenport, Colleen Spencer, Andrew Foran and Tanzin Kabir won the fourth annual challenge during an event in Ottawa on Feb 16. It was the second consecutive year a team from Laurier won the national competition, which sees students present an economic outlook and monetary policy advice to the Bank of Canada.

"It was an honour to represent Laurier throughout the challenge," McCormick said. "Placing first at the national level says something about the Laurier Economics program, our university and all of the hard work we put in."

The Laurier team won an initial round of the Governor’s Challenge in November to advance to the final round. To prepare for each round, the team assessed current and prospective economic climates in Canada, made projections about macroeconomic variables and discussed possible foreign and domestic economic risks.

"The challenge gave us the ability to take what we learn in the classroom and practically apply it," Davenport said. "It’s the most relevant experience we have as we go into the job market."

The excitement and celebration didn’t end in Ottawa for Spencer. She leveraged the hands-on experience gained from the Governor’s Challenge to secure a job after graduation. Spencer was offered a full-time opportunity with the Bank of Canada.

"I referred to my experience and skills learned throughout the Governor’s Challenge during my job interview," says Spencer. "The Governor’s Challenge experience definitely helped me prepare for what’s next after Laurier."

Faculty members Christos Shiamptanis and Ke Pang served as coaches for the Lazaridis School's 2018 Bank of Canada Governor’s Challenge team.