UNews - finance

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Welcomed into CFA Institute ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Recognition Program

caroline.zentner — Fri, 16 Jan 2015 21:22:05 +0000

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Welcomed into CFA Institute ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Recognition Program

Students of the Bachelor of Management with a major in finance degree program taking steps to career success through preparation for the CFA Program

Lethbridge, Alberta, January 15, 2015 — The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge has become the latest university to be welcomed into the CFA Institute ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Recognition Program. The Bachelor of Management with a major in finance program has been acknowledged as incorporating at least 70 per cent of the CFA Program Candidate Body of Knowledge (CBOK) and placing emphasis on the CFA Institute Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice within the program. This program positions students well to obtain the Chartered Financial Analyst designation, which has become the most respected and recognized investment credential in the world.

Entry into the CFA Institute ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Recognition Program signals to potential students, employers, and the marketplace that the U of L curriculum is closely tied to professional practice and is well-suited to preparing students to sit for the CFA examinations. Through participation in this program, the U of L is eligible to receive a limited number of student scholarships for the CFA Program each year.

“Students in these programs study the Candidate Body of Knowledge, which includes the core knowledge, skills, and abilities identified by practitioners worldwide as essential for successful practice,” says Charles Appeadu, PhD, CFA, head of ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Relations at CFA Institute. “By mastering the fundamentals of the CFA Program as well as the Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct, these future investment professionals gain a strong foundation that helps prepare them well to join the growing CFA Institute community dedicated to promoting the highest standards of ethics, education, and professional excellence for the ultimate benefit of society.”

U of L management students majoring in finance learn to use mathematical models and sound ethical judgment to integrate forecasts, past trends, the effect of historic and current events and financial analysis. They develop key skills in corporate finance and investments that propel them into careers planning national policy, the financing of major projects or managing personal investments.

“We are delighted to be recognized by the CFA Institute, the global body for investment professionals. This recognition attests to the outstanding quality of the finance program at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge,” says Dr. Bob Ellis, Dean of the Faculty of Management.

Medoruma ready for his international debut

trevor.kenney — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 22:21:02 +0000

Matt Medoruma isn't one to have good fortune handed to him – he understands he's had to work to gain his rewards.

It was a lesson he taught himself early in his university career, and now, after five years with the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Pronghorns men's soccer team, his reward has arrived.

Medoruma, an accounting major in the Faculty of Management, will represent Canada at the 2013 Summer Universiade in Kazan, Russia July 6-17. It will be the first time the 24-year-old midfielder has ever played at a national or international level.

"Honestly, I would never have thought I'd be in this position," says Medoruma. "I'm definitely honoured to be here and excited for the experience."

Senior midfielder Matt Medoruma will be wearing Canadian colours this summer as he represents the country at the 2013 Summer Universiade.

He essentially walked on to the U of L pitch in fall 2007, having talked to head coach Randy Bardock (who will also be on the Canadian squad as an assistant coach) about continuing to play soccer beyond the youth level. A Catholic Central High School graduate, Medoruma earned a spot with the Horns but after a year of Canada West soccer, stepped away from school.

"I don't think I was ready for university," he says bluntly. "I came in and I wasn't focused with my education and my grades weren't as good as I wanted them to be. So, I decided to take some time off and refocus."

Medoruma travelled to Australia, reassessed his major (finance, at the time) and returned in fall 2009 in a better frame of mind.

"I knew that once I took that break, when I came back it was for the right reasons," he says. "I wanted to play soccer and I was excited about school again. I definitely needed that, and once I came back I was refreshed and ready to go to school."

Taking the term student-athlete seriously, Medoruma took the discipline and diligence he uses so well on the field and applied it to his ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ.

"It is a challenge to balance your academic life with the time it takes to be an athlete and that was one of the reasons I struggled in my first year," he says. "I couldn't really find that balance, so it was a struggle. It took me a while to find out I needed to put a lot of work into my education and that had to come first. Once I figured it out that I needed to put the time in, then I was fine."

He is five courses shy of completing his degree, after which he will decide if he wants to pursue an accounting designation. Of course, now that he's representing Canada on the international stage, opportunities to continue playing soccer may also present themselves.

"It might open some doors, we'll see what happens when I get out there," he says. "Before I went out for this tryout (Universiade selection camp), I figured it was the last real soccer I would try and play. I'll always keep playing but not to this kind of competitive level. Now that I've made this team, it's up in the air. If some opportunities come from this, then I'd definitely look into it."

Medoruma's strength as a midfielder is his ability to create offensive opportunities for his teammates. He distributes the ball well and fits seamlessly with other players, likely one of the reasons he impressed at camp. He credits Bardock and the Horns program for helping bring his game to this level.

"The program has been great for me, it's helped me so much in terms of my development. I wouldn't have this opportunity if not for how it has helped my game over the last five years," he says.

The Canadian team will have very little preparation time before the Universiade event. Their only training sessions will come in Russia, along with a pair of exhibition contests right before the tourney's start.

Medoruma has no worries though, he's just anticipating the first time he'll pull the Canadian jersey over his head.

"It'll be amazing, something I'd never imagine would happen," he says. "To be able to represent the country, I'll be so honoured to put that jersey on."

GET THE FACTS

• Medoruma has played for the Lethbridge Football Club in recent summers

• He had two goals and four assists for the Horns in 2012

• Lethbridge product and ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta defender Niko Saler, who Medoruma played with in youth soccer, is also on the Canadian squad

• Medoruma will document his trip on Twitter under the handle @taylorgang_89

• Kazan is known as the Sports Capital of Russia and in addition to hosting the 2013 Summer Universiade, will also host the 2015 World Aquatics Championships and the 2018 FIFA World Cup

This story first appeared in the May 2013 edition of the Legend. For a look at the full issue in a flipbook format, follow this link.

New ULSU executive council has big plans

trevor.kenney — Thu, 16 May 2013 20:50:17 +0000

The time of year has come when the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Students' Union (ULSU) has to say goodbye to the executive council members they've worked with all year and welcome a new group of council members.

This year marks a significant change for the ULSU because of a new executive council structure that has been developed that includes a vice-president external position. This new position will play an active role in advocating to all levels of government, one that until now was spread out among all the executives.

Despite the challenges the ULSU will face adjusting to this new structure and lobbying the government regarding the recent post-secondary education budget cuts, the ULSU is lucky to have such qualified and compassionate executive council members for this term.

The new ULSU executive council (L to R) Shuna Talbot, Sean Glydon, Adam Long, Michael Kawchuk and Katie Kalmar.

The new president of the Students' Union, Shuna Talbot, was previously the VP of internal affairs and is very familiar with the importance of her new role. Talbot's platform for presidency revolves around the three pillars of the ULSU, advocacy, representation and service. More specifically, her plans as president include establishing a multi-faith prayer space on campus and strengthening the ULSU's relationship with the Lethbridge College Students' Association.

Taking over Talbot's role as VP internal affairs is Adam Long, whose position has become the VP of student affairs. Over the last four years, Long has been actively involved in planning and organizing a number of events on campus, including Fresh Fest, and has also been president of the Board and Ski Club for the last two years. His goals for his term in office are to organize a club fair to take place during the middle of the first semester and to create more of a community between clubs so that they can collaborate on future endeavours.

The new VP external position is held by Sean Glydon, who has most recently been the founder and president of the Environmental Science Club, as well as an arts and science representative. Glydon's main responsibilities in this new role will be representing the ULSU at both the lobby organizations CASA (Canadian Alliance of Student Associations) and CAUS (Council of Alberta ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Students). During his term, Glydon expects to complete the ULSU external policies, achieve regulation of non-mandatory instructional fees and realize the removal of residence property taxes.

Former arts and science representative, Katie Kalmar, has become the new VP academic, a position she has been training for under the previous VP academic, Julia Adolf, acting as the student commissioner for the last year. The VP academic sits on a number of different ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ committees and is responsible for representing students in all aspects of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ community. Kalmar plans to increase the number of academic events available to students by partnering with ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ departments such as counselling services, the library and the writing centre to develop more diverse academic workshops.

Last but not least is the new VP operations and finance, Michael Kawchuk. Last year, Kawchuk sat on the ULSU's general assembly as the management representative. As a finance major, he wants to address some of the cost issues that are not deemed 'value added' costs for students and reduce these. He also wants to make the ULSU's finances more clear for the other executives and to work on finding areas where the ULSU can save money.

The ULSU is looking forward to working with all the new executive council members and is excited for the events they will organize for students, as well as the advocacy issues they will address during their terms.

This story first appeared in the May 2013 edition of the Legend. For a look at the full issue in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Summer Games work earns group Senate Volunteer Award

trevor.kenney — Thu, 16 May 2013 20:35:37 +0000

Thanks to the dedicated volunteer work of these four individuals, for four days in July 2012, more than 2,600 athletes came to Lethbridge to compete in the 2012 Alberta Summer Games.

The Senate of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge is proud to recognize their service with the 2013 ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Volunteer Award.

Nancy Walker, Deb Marek, Cheryl Meheden and Jochen Bocksnick sat on the Board of Directors for the games as well as managing their own specific portfolios. They began preparation for the games more than two years before the event, and each played an important role in organizing the games. The games were a success due to the contributions of these individuals, as well as hundreds of other volunteers, many of whom included ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ employees and students.

Senate Volunteer Award winners (L to R) Jochen Bocksnick, Deb Marek, Cheryl Meheden and Nancy Walker.

Nancy Walker was the director of administration for the games, responsible for managing the budget and brokering all contracts and legal agreements. Walker is currently the U of L's vice-president (finance and administration), and has extensive community volunteer experience.

As director of facilities, Deb Marek ensured that the sports and activities of the games had a venue. She also supervised all signage, portable facilities and warehousing. At the U of L, Marek is a manager in Sport and Recreation Services, and has been the assistant coach to the women's hockey team.

Cheryl Meheden's responsibilities as director of protocol included managing opening ceremonies, official receptions, hospitality, games attire, medals, participant entertainment and the torch relay. Meheden is currently an instructor at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, in the Faculty of Management, and at Lethbridge College.

Guided by the Alberta Summer Games' mission to provide the best possible experience for all involved, director of sport Jochen Bocksnick ensured that the games offered the best venues and sport chairs. Bocksnick is an instructor in kinesiology and physical education at the U of L.

The 2012 Alberta Summer Games were a huge success, with over 2,600 athletes participating in 15 sports over the four days, watched by over 7,000 spectators. All four of these volunteers committed hundreds of hours to make this success happen, demonstrating exceptional leadership and commitment.

This story first appeared in the May 2013 edition of the Legend. For a look at the full issue in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Medoruma ready for his international debut

trevor.kenney — Thu, 16 May 2013 17:12:15 +0000