Prize Day: discover the award-winning students

Yesterday was Prize Day at TBS in Barcelona, the awards ceremony to recognize the effort and commitment of our students. This year, like so many other events, it had to be held online due to health restrictions. The ceremony had a very special guest, Cali Sanmartí, a sailor who participated in the Barcelona World Race and achieved his dream of sailing around the world.

Prize Day began with an introduction by Ryan Donno, International Students Coordinator, and Gabriel Zúñiga, Director of Studies, who acknowledged the work of the students and gave way to the guest speaker.

Cali Sanmartí: a trip around the world in 132 days

In 2010, Cali Sanmartí set sail with his partner Jaume Mumbrú on We Are Water to complete the 25,200 mile Barcelona World Race. They spent 132 days sailing without setting foot on dry land. Sanmartí shared his experience yesterday with those attending the TBS Prize Day. He explained that it was one of the most important challenges of his life, and invited the public to sail with him around the world.

“Two men, one boat, without any pause; this challenge taught us that we can achieve anything we set our minds to,” Cali Sanmartí began. He emphasized that the boat was just another traveling companion, which always looked after and protected them, but that at the same time it also needed care, “the boat led the race for us on many occasions”.

“It was hard physically, but above all mentally. He reviewed the tensest moments of the voyage, the difficulties each ocean presented, and how they celebrated each achievement. He recounted how they lived on the boat, how they had to prepare for more than 100 days at sea, and anticipate the food and drink to take with them. “Anticipation is key,” was one piece of advice he repeated to the students, as well as the importance of being self-sufficient and resilient.

Another lesson he draws from his experience was the importance of teamwork. “For more than 100 days we were together and we only had each other, we had to trust 100% in our partner to get it right, and we had to talk everything through and make decisions together”. Every mistake they made, and he explains that they made quite a few, served as a way to learn and study where they had failed. “Choosing a good partner is essential, it was the first time we were together and the first time with the boat, we had to put all our energy into achieving our goal,” Sanmartí remarked.

The awards ceremony

After the talk and answering questions from the students, Ryan Donno, International Students Coordinator, linked some key ideas from the Sanmartí experience with lessons that students learn in the classroom – and which the Prize Day winners have certainly put into practice – and introduced the awards ceremony.

The students are the ones who choose the prizewinners by voting. The prize-givers were also students who wanted to pay tribute to their classmates. Thus, each winner was introduced by a speech from a friend explaining why he or she deserved the recognition.

The winners by category were

• Best Student Initiative Award – Alexander Makhoul, Master Student (Awarded by Ines Ines Agossou)
• Inspiring Student Award – Audrey Marie Madeleine Laffont, Bachelor in Management (Awarded by Hubert Szulc) 
• Student Engagement Award – Daria Arkhangelskaya, Bachelor in Management ( Awarded by Daniela Rozo Garcia)
• Social Responsibility Award – Oliver Rudolphus Petrus Rutte, Bachelor in Management (Awarded by Ryan Donno)
• Honorable Mentions – Rim Nour, Anton Haramburu, Vicente Durà Ripoll (All Bachelor in Management)
• Academic Excellence Scholarship – Nathalia Andrea Enríquez Díaz, Bachelor in Management

Ryan Donno also mentioned the 10 scholarships awarded by the TBS Foundation to help students in need thanks to the support of many companies.

If you would also like to join TBS, find out more about our Bachelor in Management, our Master in Management, or one of our 5 MSc programs.