The Howard Team wins 1 million US dollars in Goldman Sachs in Goldman Sachs

“We knew we wanted to win.”

For the members of the Howard Team, which won the fifth annual market for Marktmadness competition from Goldman Sachs – – Keyla Arrequea, Jordan Atkins, Aaron Harrison, Kadijah Mansaray and Jada Rabun – – Competitiveness is innate. When they started the process, more than half of the team hadn’t even ended their first college semester. They didn’t really know each other. A few months quickly forwarded, and the first three and two in the second year of study were selected to compete with other schools by proving their business sense and returning 1 million US dollars for Howard as the winner.

“To be honest, I don’t think it was a question for us,” said Rabun. “We knew we wanted to win.”

Arrechrea, Atkins, Harrison, Mansaray and Rabun were among the Howard participants of the HBCU options program by Goldman Sachs for the academic year 2024-2025, “A semester-long, haunting introduction to the most important financial concepts and their real applications. Students of 12 HBCus took part in courses in connection with corporate financing Experiencing professional development and networking opportunities in the realm of investment banking and learning the company business of Goldman Sachs.

The program’s capstone was a case competition in which the teams were asked to propose and defend a business solution for the sales of Amer Sports, a global company that works in 42 countries and achieved sales of 5.2 billion US dollars based on a merger, acquisition or product launch. The Howard team was not intimidated in the slightest. They proposed to sell adaptive clothing for people with disabilities for ARCOSTYTYX Line and let them launch 2026 for the 2026 games for the 2026 games in good time. Howard’s team was the only team that suggested a product launch.

“We were all very flexible and adaptable when it came to working with each other and only taking feedback,” said Rabun. “In a team everyone thinks of different things, but we can only choose an idea. We were open to each other.”

“It was about selling an experience.”

In order to win, the team managed to do two rounds of virtual competition and adapted after every round to record feedback from judges, and then traveled to New York to present their recommendations in front of Goldman representatives. They calculated the projected sales growth and a forecast capital return and analyzed risks, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats and potential market size.

“We wanted to sell more than one product,” said Harrison. “It was about selling an experience.”

They represent geographically different hometown. Arrecha was born in the area of ​​Oakland, California, but grew up in Landkolombia. Rabun comes from Los Angeles, California. Atkins and Harrison grew up in New Jersey on the other coast – – South Orange or Englewood. Mansaray comes from Alexandria, Virginia. Three of the students were finance major, one was a major for computer information systems and one was a major of computer technology. Their working morality, determination and motivation helped them create the synergy that led them to victory.

“The feature we all brought with us was our ambition,” said Harrison. “I think it was our journey that really wore us because there was no answer that we didn’t have. We went out and found them instead of just giving up or swiveling.”

“Our group was really committed,” added Atkins. “It was mainly about us to find out how we would keep appointments. I think we did a really good job as a young adult to manage ourselves and do the work to do the work.”

Four of the five students are at the School of Business and give Howard’s unique curriculum to prepare them without any problems in a competition like the Goldman Sachs competition. Rabun found that the intensity of her curriculum made the pressure of the competition in two. They used their training as a fuel to put them past the other teams.

“We are used to having the feedback,” said Rabun. “We are used to projecting and having energy. We are used to memorizing films. So when it came to the questions on stage, it was like muscle memory. Howard definitely prepared us.”

“The positive competitiveness is really what the students urge to do their best,” added Harrison. “It is like getting the imposter syndrome out of it. You want to do it well because the person is doing well next to you.”

Mansaray is not in the School of Business, but she feels just as well prepared. Her self -confidence has grown and she has learned how important it is to work with others.

“Howard prepared me in two ways,” she said. “It pushes you out of your shell and urges you to the network. If you want to do anything, you have to know people, you have to talk to people and you have to be able to be for yourself. I have the feeling that this ability is that it is essential when study competitions are essential if you are able. We are all very intelligent in our own way.

Arrecha is the team leader of the 21st century advantage program of the School of Business, by which company sponsors challenge the students, build up teams, learn and strategically think of fundamental legal capacity. Older students also look after younger students. Case analyzes are of central importance for the program, and her team of over 20 students led it through four case analyzes this year. She also provided support for CVs and interviews for her colleagues. Although she is only in the second year, she takes her leadership role very seriously.

“It’s really about building up a team and learning how to solve Case Prep and problem,” said Arrequea. “In the School of Business we are their first mentors. We are their first family. The fact that I could see their growth means a lot.”

The other team members are equally active in the Howard Community. Atkins serves as a student ambassador and member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. Rabun is a member of the Collegiate 100 sponsored by 100 black men and has been exposed to stock market investments since the High School. During his time at Howard, Mansaray founded a non -profit program based on “mentoring, inspiration, resilience and representation” that works with students from middle school.

“I founded it about seven months ago to eliminate the psychological obstacles that the youth marginalized throughout the entire academic background because I was once a marginalized youth,” said Mansaray. “I came from an income with low income, and I know that many of us have to deal with imposter syndrome, self-doubt and other obstacles to mental health.”

Although the completion of college is still far away, every student has firmly focused on their future. For example, Harrison wants to jump into the rapidly growing field, which is connected to the names, pictures and similarities of the student athletes. Mansaray wants to own her own private equity company while taking her non -profit organization nationwide. Rabun wants to pursue investment banking and asset management. Immediately use the possibilities you have received from Howard. Atkins will work with Blackstone Wealth Management this summer in the area of ​​WEALTH Solutions, and Arrequea will use the advisory experience that she gained as an intern for Deloitte last summer when she works for the artificial intelligence director Nvidia in her headquarters in Santa Clara. The common thread among the future plans of the team members was the desire to give something back to their communities.

“You can really make a difference in your community through business,” said Atkins. “Throughout my life, I was passionate about investing in black.”