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nd there it was. The big day has arrived and it was time for the teams to prove themselves one last time after a sleepless night, solving the case for the Government of Serbia. Sounds challenging? I bet it was. As an ambassador you are trying to be there for your team, helping them relax as much as they can, keeping in mind every rule of the competition, making sure nothing goes wrong.
You could feel the tension and nervousness, yet excitement of every team member from my team.
Spending time with them in those final moments before the big presentation made me realize how professional those people are.
It may sound like a stereotype, but this was how I have imagined typical Singaporean in a stressful situation: calm and confident about the work that has been done.
After the presentations in divisions were finished, we left our teams in rooms to catch some rest and prepare for the finals. Every segment of the competition was so well constructed and followed, allowing no room for mistakes. When things were set up for the final round of competition, we have gathered our teams and entered the big presentation room. You could see that not only the teams that participated, but also the Organizing Committee members, as well as professors, advisors and every other person in that room were dying inside to see the results. Happy and excited, I looked at my team as they were announced as finalists. Nanyang Technological University will fight one last battle with other three teams in order to win the amazing Belgrade Business International Case Competition 2017.
There was no greater feeling than watching my team get up on stage, present a solution they invested hours into and answer on all the potential questions from the jury members.
Those 15 minutes of presentation felt so long, I almost didn’t feel like breathing. When they opened the floor for questions, I smiled and waited for the jury members to recognize their hard work.
After the debate on the performance of each team in the finals, jury members gave a short speech and announced Nanyang Technological University as the winning team of BBICC 2017. For me, it felt like it was me who won. I congratulated them and backed off to let them enjoy and celebrate their victory.
I have never doubted their potential and seeing them win the trophy, I felt like a proud mom.
No matter how many sleepless nights I have invested in this event, BBICC will remain being the highlight of the year 2017, since I had the opportunity to form everlasting friendships, but most importantly embrace the Singaporean mentality.