DePauw Stories

A team of DePauw University students recently secured an impressive runner-up finish in the 2025 Spencer Educational Foundation & Risk and Insurance Management Society Global Student Risk Management Challenge. Competing against 61 other teams from 16 different countries, DePauw’s team of Darcy Tran ’26, Kai Nguyen Dam ’25, Nga Nguyen ’26 and Nghi Le ’26 was the only one from a liberal arts university to advance to the top eight.

“This experience has allowed our students to sharpen their business acumen, deepen their understanding of risk management and insurance, enhance their communication skills and experience the true value of collaboration,” said the team’s faculty advisor Zhixin Wu, professor of business analytics and Ian M. Rolland Professor of Mathematical Sciences. “We hope the entire DePauw community can join us in celebrating this success and recognizing our ongoing efforts to elevate the reputation of DePauw University — especially the newly launched School of Business and Leadership.”

The Risk Management Challenge is a seven-month competition that requires teams to act as risk management consultants, developing comprehensive reports and presentations based on a realistic case study. This year’s students were asked to identify the top risks facing a real-world city due to climate change. They were also tasked with recommending actionable, budget-conscious mitigation strategies.

DePauw’s team began preparing for the competition last August, devoting themselves to rigorous weekly training sessions and developing an innovative solution that identified the intricate relationships among the four risks of flooding, health, ecology and tourism.

“Their presentation was dynamic and fluent,” said Wu. “As an all-international student team, they demonstrated outstanding growth, professionalism and teamwork.”

The team’s hard work was rewarded with a $7,500 cash prize, which will be equally distributed among the four student members.