SJU Students Win National Risk Management Challenge

PHILADELPHIA (April 26, 2017) — This week, during the annual Risk Management Society (RIMS) Conference and Exhibition held in Philadelphia, a team of four students from Saint Joseph’s University delivered the winning presentation in the Spencer-RIMS Risk Management Challenge in front of industry leaders from across the nation.

The Saint Joseph’s team, comprised of Alyssa Cominsky '17, Andrew Grieco '18, Morgan Bui '17 and Nick D’Orazio '17, competed against 23 other universities who spent three weeks developing solutions to a risk management case study. Nine of the teams were selected to attend the RIMS conference.

This year’s Risk Management Challenge case-study was provided by PayPal.  RIMS Board Director and PayPal Director of Global Risk Management and Insurance Laura Langone presented the team and Mike Angelina, executive director of the Academy of Risk Management and Insurance at SJU, with the $4,000 first-place prize at the Spencer Educational Foundation reception on April 24.

“Winning the Spencer-RIMS 2017 Case Competition was an incredible and rewarding experience,” the team wrote in a statement. “It was an honor to present our risk management proposal to the panel of industry judges and the risk manager of PayPal.”

“We attribute our success to the ability of all four of us to collaboratively bring our different perspectives to the table, and it reflects the countless hours and meetings spent working on the proposal,” the team also wrote. “None of this could have been achieved without the support from our mentor, Mike Angelina, and the board members of the Academy of Risk Management and Insurance at SJU. We feel so excited to bring the title back to SJU, and believe it further solidifies our recognition as the number one risk management and insurance program in the nation.”

In U.S. News & World Report’s 2017 “Best Undergraduate Business School” rankings, Saint Joseph’s tied for No. 1 in the undergraduate risk management and insurance category.