Serenity. Calmness. Anxiety. Disbelief were all the emotions running through the minds of The College of Business and Economics Health Management College Bowl team as they dauntless await, for the 2nd round announcement of where they’ve placed? Will it be third, second or first place? With each teammate finding various ways to calm their nerves, but as the 4th and 3rd placed are announced, teammates Aishwarya Sonawane, Anshul Gudur, Akshata Kadam and Giselle Chavez look at one another with beaded breath, stunned as they just might win this.
And the winner is…
The College of Business and Economics, Healthcare Management team is no stranger to winning, having won, or placed in the top 3 spots consecutively since 2010. With the College of Business and Economics taking home the victory in 2019 and 2021, under the faculty advisor of Professor Barry Hunt and Serj Eyvazian and the leadership of Dr. Andre S. Avramchuk. This time around the 2023 CBE Health-Management faculty advisor is Professor Mengying He, who’s eagerly looking to advise her team to a victory. The rules and regulations of the ACHE of Southern California College Bowl consist of work being done by team members only, only use reference available to the public and lastly, both undergraduate and graduate students in the healthcare programs can participate.
Left to right: Professor Min Shi, Dean Tye Jackson, College Bowl winner & MBA graduates: Aishwarya Sonawane, Akshata Kadam, Giselle Chavez,
Professor Roger Lee Mendoza, Professor Barrington Hunt, Professor Mengying He
Team captain, Aishwarya Sonawane, a 2023 MBA graduate of the 2023, who during the 2022 College Bowl shadowed the team, but was nervous to compete. No more, this year Sonawane was inspired to be apart of the college bowl, her experience and excitement of shadowing the previous year inspired her to join forces becoming team captain. Seeking out first year students Anshul Gudur, Akshata Kadam and Giselle Chavez joining to cement their group.
Now that the Health Management team has been established, they are given 3 weeks to present their case. During that time, they must research the topics, pinpoint each task, identify solutions, and collaborate to find each other strengths and weakness. Some of the challenges faced by the CBE Healthcare Management were the importance of public speaking and finances. These two areas intimidated some of the team members, but not Giselle Chavez, who turned out to be the saving grace by picking up areas where the rest of the team had limited knowledge.
Giselle Chavez, a recent MBA graduate in the Spring of 2023, was a late addition to the team, but immediately became a huge asset to the team. Giselle helped in anyway possible, strategies and being a team player. Akshata, a first-year graduate student, stating “Giselle was a huge savior. Giselle coming in helped and added such value to the team”.
Akshata, a recent MBA graduate student of the Spring of 2023, joined the team for networking and to learn interpersonally the ins and outs of the Healthcare Management criteria. As, an international student, the college bowl would grant her the opportunity to step out of her comfort zone, learning more in depth knowledge of the material that will further advance her skillset and prepare for upcoming assignments.
During the 3 weeks, the team went to work seeking out information and knowledge that would further advance and prepare the Health Management team to victory. As the time began to narrow down, nerves and anxiety surrounding presenting began to kick in, with first year grad student Anshul highlighting the public speaking component as his number one challenge. “It’s intimidating” Anshul professed. A first-year student, who is new to the CBE became a huge asset to the team, helping and archiving information that propel the team to success.
The Day of the ACHE College Bowl, timorous ran through the CBE team as they begun the first of two rounds.
Left to Right: Aishwarya Sonawane, Akshata Kadam, Giselle Chavez, Professor Mengying He
The first round consists of 10-minute presentation in front of a small group of judges of hospital administrators and executive who subsequentially hire our MS-HCM students into promising Healthcare Management careers annually since 2011. Now finished, the graduate students sat quietly, with all of them perturbed.
Akshata, Anshul and Giselle felt unsettled. The feeling of putting your all into a 10 min presentation and now the fate left in someone else hands was nerve wrenching. Team captain, Aishwarya reassured her team and allowed her performance and confidence to reassure herself and the team did their best and that it will speak in their performance.
And it did.
The Health Management Team were one of the four teams selected to the 2nd and final round of the ACHE of Southern California Bowl. The pressure was on, it was now time to deliver their final presentation, in an audience of 100 people and a 15-minute limit. If they go over one second, their team is immediately cut off. Taking a collective deep breathe in, inhale, now exhale, the ACHE bowl 2nd round has begun.
Leaving it all on the table for the presentation, CBE Health Management team anxiously wait to hear the results. Thankfully, they were the last presentation, out of the four, leaving a lasting impression, but the jitters still hovered on the surface. With each minute passing by a sense of calmness and serenity appeared among the group, that wasn’t throughout the first round, Akshata stating, “I felt more relaxed and grounded”.
As the judge’s deliberation came to an end, the calling of placement of teams begun with the first team announced, the Health Management team became silent. With each team being announced, the excitement begun to take over, the students realizing they could possible win this. It is now between, CBE and another school, a calmness and excitement brushed on the team anticipating the good news.
And the College bowl winners are….
The College of Business and Economics.
A wave of joy and excitement rushed upon the team. “It felt like are Oscar moment” Akshata professed as team captain, Aishwarya, illustrated “it was so gratifying”. A team who was previously nervous, regarding public speaking, to come out victorious is an outstanding achievement, especially for a team where English isn’t their native language. It’s overwhelming but this boost of confidence will follow them to new heights.
And it has, for each team member. This win is more than just another career achievement on their resume, it’s a confidence booster. For Giselle and Akshata, they feel more prepared for class and comfortable speaking in front of a room. The following day, Giselle had a work presentation in an audience of 20 colleagues, no longer having the nerves just assurance within herself. The confidence gained from the ACHE College Bowl has afforded them the luxury and opportunity to connect with promising healthcare professionals, who can assist in advancing their careers, granting them chances they couldn’t even imagine.
Robert Collier states “Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.” The College of Business and Economics graduate students of Healthcare Management are no stranger to success putting in the work to victory but most of all proving to themselves that a great team, ambitious and a strong worth ethic, you can accomplish anything you put your mind too.
Left to Right: Anshul Gudur, Giselle Chavez, Akshata Kadam and Aishwarya Sonawane