On Sunday, April 6, the Microsoft Excel Collegiate Challenge (MECC) Regional Competition was hosted at the Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Organized by MECC fellow, Senior Lecturer at Isenberg and ‘Excel Ninja,’ Nora Junaid, this competition is the first ever regional competition and UMass was chosen as the first host. […]
On Sunday, April 6, the Microsoft Excel Collegiate Challenge (MECC) Regional Competition was hosted at the Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Organized by MECC fellow, Senior Lecturer at Isenberg and ‘Excel Ninja,’ Nora Junaid, this competition is the first ever regional competition and UMass was chosen as the first host.
Around 150 students participated in this year’s competition, with several UMass students in attendance. Critical thinking skills were put to the test as students were given visual, speed, formatting and data challenges, all to be completed in a short amount of time.
Ted de Peyster, Christian Claiborne and Darius Lupo, co-founders and executive board members of the UMass Excel Club, ran support for this event. The club was tasked with running training sessions, marketing and promotion for the competition. Founded in mid-February, the club aims to broaden and better Excel skills across campus.
“54 percent of businesses globally use Excel,” de Peyster said. “We want to increase proficiency across UMass and creative thinking ability in preparation for future jobs.”
According to Claiborne, UMass is ranked 13th in the global power rankings when it comes to Collegiate Excel competitions, ranking higher than other universities such as Brown University, Brigham Young University and the University of South Africa.
Featured panelists included Diarmuid Early, whose described as “The LeBron James of Excel Spreadsheets” by Investor’s Business Daily and Cristiano Galvão, a Microsoft MVP (Most Valuable Professional) and organizer of Excel Weekend, the largest Excel conference in Latin America, hosted in São Paulo.
Early currently serves as a partner at The Golden Company, a Boston-based data-driven insights company. He’s been participating in Excel competitions since 2013, winning the Financial Modeling World Cup in 2021. No matter where he goes in life, Early says he’ll always be “The Excel guy in one shape or another.”
According to Early, some Excel competition formats include calculating financial analysis on certain companies, using provided data such as profits thresholds and historical forecasts. Other formats are similar to Esports, with Early saying that the Esports model “…is more problem solving – like solving poker hands.”
For this competition, speed is the name of the game, and so long as the problem is correctly solved, just about all methods are allowed. This includes pre-written code from previous training sessions and the use of artificial intelligence such as ChatGPT. However, Early warned that ChatGPT often backfires in complex systems like Excel.
Between rounds, Grant the Finance Bro, self-proclaimed “Chief Shareholder Value Officer” and “Freak in the (spread)sheets” known as notyouraveragefinancebro online, gave a comedic presentation to the competitors. Discussion topics included the “What not to do’s” of business, such as texting your boss at 11:11 for good luck or talking about Excel during a first date.
Grant also discussed the importance of nepotism in the world of finances. “If your parents can’t get you a job, tell them to work harder,” joked Grant. “If that doesn’t work, get new parents.”
According to Grant, his career in content creation started out as a simple passion project. In his free time, he made jokes about accounting online, but over time, his account went viral. Now, he is a go-to man for financial humor on TikTok, Instagram and LinkedIn, also speaking at Excel competitions. Grant’s brand loyalty was on full display throughout the event, telling the Massachusetts Daily Collegian that “If UMass is Excel, take UConn and make it worse – that’s Google Sheets.”
Galvão, as a Microsoft MVP, is given the chance to travel across the world to events just like these and promote Excel. He expressed gratitude and a sincere dedication to encourage Excel proficiency through his teaching program or attendance at programs like these.
“I love coming to these events because they promote interest in Excel and give people the chance to really develop their skills in this useful program,” Galvão said.
Dwayne Safer, Finance Professor at Messiah University in Central Pennsylvania, traveled over five hours to participate in today’s competition with his team. This is their first time at UMass and first time participating in a regional competition.
“We’re thankful to be here,” Safer said. “UMass has been very welcoming!”
Safer prepares in class, taking a few weeks to introduce and coach his students. His squad, which began two years ago, has already seen success at Excel competitions, with one student attending last year’s championship in Las Vegas and four more attending this year.
Dan Hannon, a senior operations and information management major at UMass and Teaching Assistant in Prof. Junaid’s Intro to Business Systems class, participated in his first Excel competition. He has been using Excel throughout his college career and has earned an ‘Excel Ambassador’ designation from Microsoft.
Hannon’s preparation included completing the practice challenges designed by Prof. Junaid, learning the various shortcuts in Excel and even creating some of his own challenges for UMass’ Excel Club. “As an e-sport, there is always a need to prepare strategy and think on your feet, ” Hannon explained. “In an event like this, you have to be ready to always be at the go.”
Nathan Legare can be reached at [email protected] and followed on X (formerly Twitter @Legare_Nathan.
Samuel Cavalheiro can be reached at [email protected] and followed on X (formerly Twitter) @samcavalheiro1.
