UHWO Wins Academic Tourney

University of Hawaii-West Oahu students have been racking up the awards recently in various disciplines.

In January, Shena Bocalbos, Ryoko Lung and Mamina Tahara won the 2013-2014 Association of Government Accountants’ Finance Case Challenge. Students were judged on their analysis of a municipality and presentation of their findings.

The UHWO group analyzed Garland, Texas, examining its population growth and economy, as well as recreational, educational and cultural features, in the context of its capacity for attracting investment companies and individual residents.

“UHWO students winning at the national level highlights the strength of our business and accounting programs,” said Franklin Kudo, the team’s faculty adviser and associate professor of accounting.

“I congratulate Shena Bocalbos, Ryoko Lung and Mamina Tahara on their exceptional performance.”

Following that win, another group of UHWO students – Ke Lu Zhang Timothy Marks, Ross Uehara Tilton, Adrianna DeMello and Daniel Gabriel – took second place in the Chartered Financial Analyst Institute Research Challenge Hawaii regional competition. The competition, which attracts more than 1,400 universities from around the world, requires students to analyze a publicly traded company and share their findings in an oral presentation.

“UH-West Oahu was well-represented, and our team gave a very strong performance on behalf of the university,” said Mark Weisbrod, UH WO student team faculty adviser and instructor.

“Congratulations to the team for their excellent work and dedication.”