The immense sense of camaraderie and togetherness I have experienced casing with my GBUS peers is something I truly, truly treasure.
 
In retrospect, my Case Analysis Team (CAT) journey would not have been this fun-filled and rewarding if it were not for my seniors and peers. Being a fresher, I was wide-eyed and bewildered, often overwhelmed by the complexity of the problems I had to solve for companies. Yet, my advisors and seniors would never shy away from offering us guidance; case by case, slide by slide, word by word, they spare no pains in helping us develop into competent casers and problem solvers.
 
Thanks to all the training workshops and case training, I gradually built up my business understanding and confidence. I had the pleasure to partake in my debut case competition – the Hong Kong Joint University Case Competition ("JUCC") – with three other first-year casers. In the 48-hour competition, we were asked to advise one of the leading Chinese consumer electronics companies on further expansion. To be honest, the process was grueling – we got very stuck in numerous instances, had disagreements, and found it hard to persevere with nearly no sleep. But one thing for sure is that we were always there to help one another. This common pursuit of excellence as a team powered us through the challenge. Eventually, we innovatively suggested the case company develop a tighter ecosystem rather than focusing on one product line. We were named one of the Top 4 Teams, and I was fortunately awarded the honor of the Best Presenter in the competition.

A few months later, I represented the HKUST Business School to participate in my first ever global case competition – the HKUST International Case Competition ("HKICC"). The case company was one of the top property developers in Hong Kong. We worked on 2 cases, a 3-hour case on ways to improve the company's existing start-up accelerator program and a 22-hour case on solutions to Hong Kong's long-standing housing problem. Given the case's complexity, we were racing against the clock! But even with the time constraint, my seniors always welcomed and respected my perspectives and recommendations. They also gave me constructive feedback on my performance. This truly exemplified the spirit of the GBUS community – that we succeed as a community and deeply cherish the give-and-take culture. Eventually, we were named the First Runner-up.
 
Is sacrificing this many weekends casing with my GBUS peers worth it? I'd say definitely yes. I relish every step of the journey – from the sense of achievement when you can finally come up with that winning recommendation, to the heady thrill of actually winning something; from burning the midnight oil and overcoming challenges as a team, to coauthoring memories that we would look back to fondly and proudly.

Every step I take, I take with my peers. GBUS is all about the people.