By Megan Reardon
Sophomore, Finance Major
The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business

With many risk industry professionals retiring in the next 10 years, the Enterprise Risk Management field is experiencing a bottleneck. That being said, it is a great time for students to get involved in the industry. The number of risk management jobs increase every year, with great opportunities for quick movement up company management. However, hiring companies want to see that students are interested in the challenges and diverse job titles of risk managers. I have found that through The Risk Institute at Fisher, as well as the Risk Management Association, I have had opportunities to build my business acumen and meet with industry professionals. Recently, I was the given the opportunity to compete in a business simulation with other students, both graduate and undergraduate.

On April 14, 2016, The Risk Institute and the Risk Management Association co-hosted a “pre-dinner” for the business simulation, where the students had the opportunity to meet with other risk students, as well as Phil Renaud, Executive Director of The Risk Institute, and Denita Strietelmeier, Program Manager at The Risk Institute and RMA’s advisor. Phil and Denita had the opportunity to speak about what the goals of the Risk Institute are and why risk is important to companies. This event gave students the opportunity to meet the students they would be working with in a more casual setting, laying the foundation for a successful business simulation.

Megan Reardon’s team for the 2016 Fisher Risk Management Business Simulation Competition

The following day, April 15, 2016, The Risk Institute and Risk Management Association co-sponsored Fisher’s first risk-centered business simulation. The all-day event provided an opportunity for the students to experience risk management from a practical perspective. Specifically, the simulation was a business continuity exercise focused on operational and supply chain risk. Students worked as a team to create a comprehensive reaction plan based on incident response, business resumption, recovery and restoration. There were four teams comprised of 3-4 members each, as well as coaches and judges from the Fisher College of Business and DHL. Participating in this event was both an educational experience as well as a great opportunity to network with other students also interested in risk. Though my team didn’t place first, I learned about the importance of corporate crisis management after a disaster. More broadly, the business simulation reiterated that Risk Management is heavily involved in both small business decisions as well as larger corporate strategies.

Megan Reardon will be spending the upcoming summer as a Supply Chain/ Logistics Intern at Rockwell Automation.  She will return to Fisher College of Business for her junior year and will serve as Vice President of the Risk Management Association.