UW Tacoma Lands in the Top 3 for MICCSR 2026

After nearly a Decade, UW Tacoma Takes Third at the Milgard Invitational Case Competition on Social Responsibility

Noah Soepardi, Vardaan Parbhakar, Colin Sica, and Eon Hu brought home the third-place trophy on February 28th, competing against universities from across the world in one of the most rigorous international undergraduate case competitions.
As a team, students assumed the role of Chief Investment Officer for the Evergreen Investment Fund and selected one company in the athletic footwear and apparel industry, such as Nike, Adidas, Puma, Lululemon, or Under Armour, to invest in. 
 

This wasn't just about picking a winner based on stock performance. Teams had to balance profitability, growth potential, ethical risk, and long-term value creation in an industry projected to grow from $144 billion in 2025 to $210 billion by 2032, all while navigating recent financial volatility and a history of serious corporate social responsibility controversies. Teams received the case on Friday, February 14th, and had one week to build their analysis and presentation. One week later, they found themselves in Tacoma, presenting to a panel of industry judges, defending their investment thesis under scrutiny that tested not just their financial models but also their ability to integrate ESG considerations into real-world capital allocation decisions.
 

Trust in Teamwork

The UW Tacoma team came into the invitational with momentum from winning the internal competition, but they knew the bar would be higher. Colin Sica, voted team captain due to his experience in prior case competitions, set clear roles and outlined a schedule before the case even dropped. Vardaan Parbhakar brought his financial modeling expertise to the table while Eon Hu engineered the slide deck to best support their findings. Noah Soepardi dove into research and presentation delivery. Having tested their skills in the Internal Case Competition, they knew their strengths and leaned into them.

Their greatest challenge came just 24 hours before the submission deadline when the team made a decision that would define their entire competition experience: they pivoted from Deckers Outdoor Corporation to Lululemon Athletica. The moment was a 2-2 tie broken by Colin’s decision as team lead. “The pivot sparked some intense debate within the team, but we all shared the same mission: to be the best team pitching the best company,” Eon recalls, “From there, we committed fully to the change and built our case around that conviction.”
What followed was a 17-hour sprint. Colin and Noah secured access to the Bloomberg Lab and rebuilt the financial models from the ground up. Eon worked from home, reconstructing the slide deck while collaborating over Zoom. They worked so late that Colin and Noah were eventually asked to leave the Center for Financial Wellness and had to finish from the Court 17 lobby. By 3 a.m. on February 20th, they submitted their refreshed deck.
 

Earning a Top Spot

The invitational brought a level of complexity the team hadn't faced before. "The internal case comp was fictional and a lot more conceptual," Noah notes. “[MICCSR] had real companies, with 10x more financial data, environmental data, and real-world scenarios that we had to address.”
After slides were submitted, the team shifted into full presentation mode, meeting daily to rehearse and prepare over 300 possible Q&A questions. Some team members reportedly spent 60 to 90 hours over the two-week period. Coaches, both previous participants and mentors, offered critical feedback on the team’s presentation skills. The preparation paid off. They advanced to the final round and took home third place, a historic achievement for UW Tacoma.

Critical Skill Building

For the team, MICCSR was more than a competition; it was a proving ground. Vardaan reflects on the biggest takeaway: “Understanding WACC, valuation sensitivity, or ESG scoring is one thing, but explaining those ideas clearly to a room of judges under time pressure is a completely different skill.”
Colin found the experience transformative for his leadership development. 

“MICCSR pushed me to grow as both a leader and an analyst. I had to manage a team, make tough decisions under pressure, and own the financial side of an investment recommendation from start to finish.” 

The competition ignited his interest in consulting and reinforced skills that directly align with his career goals. And for Eon, just 19 years old and a year removed from high school through the Running Start program, competing at this level was proof of what's possible when a team operates in lockstep. "Everyone aligned around the same goal and trusted each other to execute their part of the work."

Competition on the Horizon

The team isn't done. Colin is pursuing consulting internships and more case competitions. Vardaan is graduating in June 2026 and job hunting for finance roles where he can keep building financial analysis models. Noah is continuing his studies, graduating in December 2026 with plans to pursue an MBA. Eon is pursuing internships and also building towards graduate school. After a decade, UW Tacoma is back on the MICCSR podium, and the talent within this team has no intention of slowing down.