The Sam Tidwell Outstanding Students in Business awards are presented annually to College of Business undergraduates who embody a dedication to academic, leadership, and extracurricular involvement within the Michigan Tech community. Congratulations to our 2023 recipients:
By: Kim Geiger
Jada Hamar, Luke Helsel and Jaharee Weah, all students in Michigan Tech’s Applied Portfolio Management Program, will share their knowledge on Husky Bites, a free, interactive Zoom webinar on Monday, 3/13 at 6 pm ET. Learn something new in just 30 minutes or so, with time after for Q&A! Get the full scoop and register at mtu.edu/huskybites.
What are you doing for supper this Monday 3/13 at 6 p.m. ET? Grab a bite with Janet Callahan, College of Engineering dean, and Jada Hamar, Luke Helsel, and Jaharee—students in Michigan Tech’s Applied Portfolio Management Program (APMP). Joining in will be Dean Johnson, dean of the College of Business at Michigan Tech. Dr. Johnson founded and directs the program.
Just how do Michigan Tech business students consistently win national competitions investing $2 million real money? We’ll find out during Husky Bites—from the students themselves.
Each year, Michigan Tech students are selected to lead APMP for one calendar year, managing real money in US stock and bond markets. Students are chosen based on demonstrated aptitude and leadership skills in the area of finance, accounting, and financial economic theory.
In the 25 years since APMP’s founding, teams of Huskies have grown the portfolio into one of the top 50 undergraduate funds in the nation. Students in the program have opened the Nasdaq Stock Exchange and become regulars on CNBC. And although APMP is a for-credit class, the intensive experience often becomes much more of a commitment—and reward.
Luke Helsel, who is earning his bachelor’s degree in finance at Michigan Tech, would like to enter into the asset management industry upon graduation, eventually working his way into private equity or hedge fund management.
“The best part of APMP is that the program exposes students to a high end of financial and statistical topics,” Helsel says. “In addition to this, there is a large focus on applying the topics and ideas learned in APMP, rather than simply memorizing them.”
The most challenging part, and the most rewarding? “It’s the pressure of managing real money,” he adds. “In other programs, the trades are done ‘on paper’ and not executed in the real markets. The APMP provides a really unique opportunity to be able to manage actual dollars, because you get an emotional reaction from making or losing money. Managing this reaction and staying rational is one of the keys to good portfolio management. I’m very grateful to have learned this in college.”
During Husky Bites, Luke, Jada, and Jaharee promise to share their strategies. Dr. Johnson will join the session largely to serve as a co-host.
As a PhD student in 1996, Dr. Johnson interviewed for his first faculty position at Michigan Tech with a very clear vision. “Right away, I intended to establish a portfolio management program for students.” Back then, giving college students a large sum of real money to manage in financial markets was a particularly novel—and perhaps risky—idea, and Michigan Tech was just the place. And there were alumni, donors, and Michigan Tech Fund board members helping along the way. Dr. Johnson became dean in 2016.
I began as a general business student with a focus on entrepreneurship at Tech in 2020. Soon I changed my major to finance because I really enjoyed the material covered in classes. I’ve chosen to pursue investment finance because the work always changes; one day is always different from the next. In addition, investment finance is sort of like finding treasure, which I really enjoy.
Family and hometown?
I was born and raised on a Christmas tree farm in Bellaire, Michigan.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
I love skiing in the winter and hiking in the summer. Lifting weights and reading are some of my year-round hobbies. I’m also a brother of the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity on campus.
My dad attended Michigan Tech for finance. He’s a local banker. I didn’t initially want to follow in his footsteps until I took my first business class. I quickly realized that finance was the route I wanted to take. I enjoyed the challenge of the classes, and the number of career paths available with a finance degree was really exciting. I graduated from Michigan Tech with a BS in finance this past December. I accepted a position at Ameriprise Financial in Houghton.
Hometown, family? What do you like to do in your spare time?
I feel lucky to have grown up in this area and be able to continue my education here, too. I am the oldest of six kids, with two younger brothers and three younger sisters. I enjoy time outdoors with my husband and our two dogs—skiing in the winter, and fishing in the summer. We have a five-year-old Goldendoodle, Arlo, and Indy, a seven-month-old yellow lab.
I was fascinated by stock prices at a very young age. The flow of capital to fund firms providing the goods and services most in-demand by society is the key to improving the standard of living for all.
Hometown, family, hobbies?
I live here in Houghton, Michigan. I’m married with three children. I enjoy the outdoors and sports in my spare time.
The Michigan Tech College of Business offers undergraduate majors in accounting, business analytics, construction management, economics, engineering management, finance, management, management information systems, and marketing, as well as a general business option. Graduate degrees include the TechMBA®, a Master of Engineering Management, a Master of Science in Accounting, and a Master of Science in Applied Natural Resource Economics.
By: Kim Geiger
Dean Johnson will share his knowledge on Husky Bites, a free, interactive Zoom webinar Monday, February 27 at 6 p.m. ET. Learn something new in just 30 minutes or so, with time after for Q&A! Get the full scoop and register at mtu.edu/huskybites.
What are you doing for supper this Monday, February 27 at 6 p.m. ET? Grab a bite with Dean Johnson, dean of the College of Business at Michigan Tech. Joining in will be recent graduates Jada Hamar and Kasey Kangas, plus current student Jaharee Weah—all three took part in the Applied Portfolio Management Program (APMP), directed by Dr. Johnson.
In the 20-plus years since APMP’s founding, teams of Huskies have grown the portfolio into one of the top 50 undergraduate funds in the nation. Students in the program have opened the Nasdaq Stock Exchange and become regulars on CNBC. And although APMP is a for-credit class, the intensive experience often becomes much more of a commitment—and reward.
During Husky Bites, Dr. Johnson also promises to share their secret recipe of 25 years—the one that’s been guiding these Michigan Tech students as they manage real money.
“In addition, we’ll consider paradigms, paradoxes, performance, and persistence, while exploring the history of investment theory and practice from the 1920s to the 2020s,” he says.
As a PhD student, Johnson interviewed for his first faculty position at Michigan Tech with a very clear vision. “Right away, I intended to establish a portfolio management program for students,” says Johnson, who was hired on as faculty in 1996 in Michigan Tech’s School of Business. He became dean in 2016.
Back in 1996, giving college students a large sum of real money to manage in financial markets was a particularly novel—and perhaps risky—idea, and Michigan Tech was just the place. And there were alumni, donors and Michigan Tech Fund board members helping along the way.
In 2019, Michigan Tech’s School of Business became its College of Business. “We offer a broad range of degrees, including four graduate degrees,” notes Johnson. “Our program has been accredited for nearly two decades,” he said. “College imparts the prestige indicative of our history, value and offerings—from our top faculty and technology-infused business core, to our esteemed alumni network.”
“Michigan Tech is an exceptional STEM university that provides us with a unique ability to bridge business and technology.”
Each year, a new group of Michigan Tech students is selected to lead APMP for one calendar year, managing more than $2 million in real money in US stock and bond markets. Students are chosen for the program based on their demonstrated aptitude and leadership skills in the area of finance, accounting, and financial economic theory.
Jada, Kasey, and Jaharee not only took part in the APMP together, but were also in many of the same finance classes together at Tech.
I was fascinated by stock prices at a very young age. The flow of capital to fund firms providing the goods and services most in-demand by society is the key to improving the standard of living for all.
Hometown, family, hobbies?
I live here in Houghton, Michigan. I’m married with three children. I enjoy the outdoors and sports in my spare time.
My dad attended Michigan Tech for finance. He’s a local banker. I didn’t initially want to follow in his footsteps until I took my first business class. I quickly realized that finance was the route I wanted to take. I enjoyed the challenge of the classes, and the number of career paths available with a finance degree was really exciting. I graduated from Michigan Tech with a BS in finance this past December. I accepted a position at Ameriprise Financial in Houghton.
Hometown, family? What do you like to do in your spare time?
I feel lucky to have grown up in this area and be able to continue my education here, too. I am the oldest of six kids, with two younger brothers and three younger sisters. I enjoy time outdoors with my husband and our two dogs—skiing in the winter, and fishing in the summer. We have a five-year-old Goldendoodle, Arlo, and Indy, a seven-month-old yellow lab.
I took a business introduction class in high school and thought it was fun. My teacher recommended I take her accounting class, so I did—and I loved it! Now I’m an accountant at Aspirus Keweenaw Hospital.
Hometown, family?
I grew up in Calumet, Michigan. I have five brothers and five sisters.
Any hobbies?
I love hiking, camping, fishing, cooking, baking, reading, and playing guitar.
The Michigan Tech College of Business offers undergraduate majors in accounting, business analytics, construction management, economics, engineering management, finance, management, management information systems, and marketing, as well as a general business option. Graduate degrees include the TechMBA®, a Master of Engineering Management, a Master of Science in Accounting, and a Master of Science in Applied Natural Resource Economics.
Students in Michigan Technological University’s College of Business have won first place in the Quinnipiac University Global Asset Management Education (GAME) Forum XI portfolio competition—Undergraduate Value Portfolio division.
The students—Carissa Beyer, Kyle Clow, Ben Diercks, Brette Eychner, Brandon Malburg, Tyler Sepanik, and Irene Trierwieler—are members of the Applied Portfolio Management Program (APMP) and competed virtually representing Team Gold.
“It is a great recognition for this year’s team to carry on the rich tradition of APMP here at Michigan Tech by again winning the GAME Forum competition.”
This is the eighth time APMP has won GAME Forum, which is the largest student-run financial conference in the world. The competition, held annually each spring, offers participants the rare opportunity to discuss and debate financial best practices with world-renowned industry leaders. More than 1,700 students attend from 140 colleges and universities across the globe. Michigan Tech has been attending the GAME Forum since its inception and its predecessor conference since 2001.
During the year-long competition, Huskies were challenged to analyze factors including the economy, cash flow, earnings, and subscriber-based valuations, and to identify intrinsic value and mispriced assets. Joel Tuoriniemi, a professor of practice in accounting who co-instructs APMP, says the winning team was consistent in applying their philosophy in a dynamic investing environment.
“The gold team considered the impacts on portfolio holdings due to macro-level events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, supply chain disruptions, inflation, and the war in Ukraine,” Tuoriniemi says.
The team’s goal from the outset was to stick to its investment philosophy in a manner that would allow it to generate alpha, or “beat the market,” and they were able to do so both with the fixed-income and equity components of the portfolio.
Each year, Michigan Tech students are selected to lead APMP for one calendar year, managing more than $2 million in real money in US stock and bond markets. Students are chosen based on demonstrated aptitude and leadership skills in the area of finance, accounting, and financial economic theory.
“APMP gave me a one-of-a-kind immersive experience where team building, portfolio management, and financial responsibility were paramount.”
The Michigan Tech College of Business offers undergraduate majors in accounting, business analytics, construction management, economics, engineering management, finance, management, management information systems, and marketing, as well as a general business option. Graduate degrees include the TechMBA®, a Master of Engineering Management, a Master of Science in Accounting, and a Master of Science in Applied Natural Resource Economics.
During spring semester, the Michigan Tech Finance Club hosted a 10-week stock competition open to all College of Business (COB) majors and minors. Each of the 29 participants received $100,000 in virtual dollars to use on the Investopedia simulator. At the conclusion of trading on April 12, the top three winning portfolios received cash prizes from the COB Dean’s Office.
“I really enjoyed the competition! It was fun to compete against classmates. It also was valuable to spend time watching the market and using the simulator. I’ve been working on a strategy for a while, which I’ve yet to perfect, so I don’t want to spread too much about it right now.”
“This was an amazing experience. It motivated me to try new things. My strategy was to capitalize on medium- to high-risk stocks that were trending due to current and near-future geopolitical factors. Due to the short time frame I went with a high-risk, low-diversity, individual stock portfolio.”
“I consider myself an experienced trader, having done a fair amount of trading on my own. My strategy for this game was to invest in energy sectors, including oil. I also placed a couple option trades.”
The Finance Club at Michigan Tech, advised by Xin Li and supported by the Undergraduate Student Government and the COB, promotes the interest in and knowledge of the field of finance. Members have access to career development opportunities, guidance from Applied Portfolio Management Program (APMP) members, and resources within the APMP Lab. In addition, club members take annual trips to visit mutual funds, the Federal Reserve, investment firms, and the futures and options exchange market in the Midwest.
Club President Elisabeth Mattson said plans are in place to hold the competition next year and interested participants can connect with incoming President Kevin Hoefer (kdhoefer@mtu.edu) for more information.
“The Finance Club Stock Competition allowed students across the College of Business to try out new investing strategies in a low-risk environment, while competing with their peers.
The winners had different strategies and were able to share knowledge and skills with participants, many of whom are excited to try again next year.”
The Michigan Tech College of Business offers undergraduate majors in accounting, construction management, economics, engineering management, finance, management, management information systems, and marketing, as well as a general business option. Graduate degrees include the TechMBA®, a Master of Engineering Management, a Master of Science in Accounting, and a Master of Science in Applied Natural Resource Economics.