Smith Undergrads Participate in Biz Quiz

A team of three students from the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland competed against teams from the nation’s other top 23 business programs at the third annual Nationwide-Fisher Biz Quiz hosted on the campus of the Fisher College of Business at The Ohio State University on Nov. 15, 2008. The final rounds were held at WOSU public television’s production studios at Columbus' Center of Science and Industry (COSI) on Nov. 16. 
 
The competition included individual rounds, team preliminary rounds, team semi-finals and the grand finale which was moderated by the quiz master, Krishnan Anantharaman, from The Wall Street Journal. The teams were tested on their current knowledge of all topics appearing in The Wall Street Journal, including the Weekend Journal, six weeks prior to the competition (articles published between Oct. 1 - Nov. 12, 2008).
 
The Smith School team did not place in the top three, but gave a stellar performance. Team Smith was comprised of Jeremy Erdman, a junior finance and accounting major, Alison Willman, a junior finance major, and Akshay Goyal, a junior pursuing a double degree in finance and accounting. On being asked about how the team prepared for the event, Erdman said, “The team split up and took up sections from the Journal to effectively prepare for the competition. I read the "Business" and "Personal Finance" sections, Alison read the "Markets" section, and Akshay read the main page and the "Opinion" section, everyday.” The team met a few times during the week to discuss the articles, the economy, market trends etc., amongst themselves and also with their friends and family.
 
Each of the team members found the experience of participating in the event very invigorating. Willman said that she found the opportunity and experience of networking, developing a greater understanding of current issues, particularly financial and political issues, at the event, very stimulating. “I learned about current events. I also learned that Mackerel is the currency of American prisons,” she said. Erdman shared similar sentiments and said, “Meeting the people, the competitors from top business schools, was a fantastic experience.”
 
The event indeed was a memorable learning experience for all the participants and the team from Smith admitted to becoming so addicted to The Wall Street Journal that they have decided to stick to the habit of reading it every day and discussing the articles and issues with friends and classmates. The importance of keeping up to date of the current economic events and market trends through The Wall street Journal has been reinforced by one and all, time and again, and the team understands that long term benefits can be leveraged from reading the publication regularly, especially by the business students getting ready to take on the challenges of the corporate world.
 
Siddhartha Jain, MBA Candidate 2010, Smith Media Group