The whole experience “taught us to work toward something greater than our individual selves” and was exemplified by their coaches, Professors Wall and Gattuso. “We could not have done any of this without their help,” adds Zimmer. The team’s efforts paid big dividends for the students and Canisius. The five teammates split a $10,000 cash prize from the CFA Research Challenge. Most plan to use those winnings to settle themselves in new cities, where they were recruited to work. In the aftermath of the big win, the Golden Griffin Fund received a five-year, $125,000 commitment from Uncle Bob’s Self Storage, which owns and manages more than 500 self-storage properties in the U.S. The gift will go toward the purchase and support of new Bloomberg terminals in the Financial Markets Lab to “put standard industry tools in the hands of students before they hit the real world,” explains Kenneth F. Myszka ’70, the company’s president. Stock in the college’s finance program is sure to rise, as well. Like any successful tournament run, this one put the GGF on the map. Gattuso expects that will translate into “a further boost in interest and enrollment from high-quality students,” in Western New York and beyond. The financial world is also taking notice. “This is a head-turner in the industry,” says Civello. “The banner of Canisius College is now on Wall Street and in the financial capitals of Chicago, Los Angeles, London and Hong Kong. CFAs are paying attention and asking ‘Who is this college in Buffalo, New York that’s producing such quality finance students?’” For Canisius, it’s a fairy-tale ending – and beginning – to its very own Cinderella story. “The perception of us going into the competition was that we were a small school, and so we had a bit of a chip on our shoulder,” says Miller. “Well, we’re not so little any more. We proved our Canisius finance program is not only the best in Western New York – it’s the best in the world!”
Pictured (above): Ryan Zimmer ’15 Pictured (below): The Golden Griffin Fund team celebrates after winning the CFA world championship
"WE PROVED OUR CANISIUS FINANCE PROGRAM IS NOT ONLY THE BEST IN WESTERN NEW YORK – IT’S THE BEST IN THE WORLD" STEPHEN MILLER ’15
C ANI S IU S COLLEG E M AGA ZINE • S PR ING/SUMMER 2015 |
13