When she arrived at �鶹��Ƶ, she planned to pursue international financial law. But as she considered her future, she began looking for a way to bring those two interests together. She reached out to department chairs across campus, asking questions about different majors and where they might lead.

A conversation with Professor of Public Health and Human Service Studies Cindy Fair helped her find that connection in public health. Studying its sociocultural dimensions alongside finance offered a path toward healthcare administration, a career she hadn’t previously considered.

For Gomez, the ability to explore that path began with the support that brought her to �鶹��Ƶ.

An Odyssey Program Scholar and Business Fellow from Sanford, North Carolina, Gomez receives the John L. Georgeo Scholarship. She credits the scholarship and the Odyssey Program with easing the financial pressure on her family and giving her room to make the most of college.

“I think without that, I don’t even know if �鶹��Ƶ could have been an option for me,” she said.

That support shaped more than her decision to attend. It allowed her to consider opportunities based on what she could learn, including an experience abroad supported by an additional Odyssey grant.

“It’s really nice to be able to go to college and just focus on being at college, not to focus about the financials of it,” she said.

Gomez came to �鶹��Ƶ after earning an associate degree from Central Carolina Community College while attending Lee Early College. The experience helped her develop study habits, explore possible careers and learn how to seek out resources. At �鶹��Ƶ, she continued asking questions and building relationships with people who could help her find her direction.

Her interests came together during an internship with Cura Systems in Singapore. There, she worked with nursing homes transitioning from handwritten records to a digital system.

Gomez helped set up tablets, developed instructions and guided staff through unfamiliar technology. Working with employees from different countries also challenged her to communicate across language barriers and build trust as they learned together.

As the company’s first intern, she had a chance to help shape her role. What began as an unfamiliar assignment became an opportunity to see how business processes and technology could support healthcare work.

“I didn’t ever think I’d be in a technology consulting role, but I really enjoyed it,” she said.

Her time abroad also gave her a clearer sense of herself. While studying in Australia, she began waking early to watch the sunrise and noticed how often people made time to be outside before and after work. She brought that routine back to Charlotte for her next internship, taking morning walks and walking to the office.

The experience helped her become more comfortable on her own and more deliberate about the life she wanted to build.

Back in North Carolina, Gomez applied what she was learning through a practicum with the Alamance County Health Department. Its baby closet provides donated clothing, diapers and wipes to local families. Gomez helped move its handwritten tracking process into a digital format, making information about visits and needed supplies easier to organize.

She has also explored food insecurity closer to campus. Through her PACE job as food justice coordinator in the Office of Environmental and Place-Based Education, Gomez works with Professor of Education Scott Morrison to research how universities help students access meals.

Being part of the Odyssey Program made her aware of the difference financial support can make. It also prompted her to think about students outside the program who might face similar needs. She has researched campus food pantries and meal swipe donation programs, hoping that work can contribute to additional resources at �鶹��Ƶ.

Gomez credits mentorship with helping her turn those interests into action. Business Fellows Director Tina Doss has been a consistent source of guidance, while Morrison encouraged her to become more involved in public health.

Those relationships have shaped how she approaches her own roles in admissions and student government. When younger students have questions, she wants to help them find someone who can answer.

“It’s just advocating for yourself and others is the biggest thing that you have to do,” she said.

After two summer internships with EY in Charlotte, Gomez plans to return to the firm full time after graduation. During her most recent internship, she worked with healthcare and life sciences clients, continuing to connect her finance education with her interest in health.

She also found a network of �鶹��Ƶ alumni at EY who made time to meet with interns and share advice. As she begins her career, she hopes to help develop more formal mentorship opportunities for interns in tax and audit.

The scholarship that helped Gomez attend �鶹��Ƶ gave her the freedom to explore an unexpected direction. The people she met along the way helped her pursue it. Now, she wants to offer that same guidance to students following her.

“I want everyone to succeed, honestly, more than I have,” she said.

“Your flights, hotel, plans and reservations end up scattered across a dozen apps, emails and screenshots, and when something goes wrong mid-trip you’re the one scrambling to fix it,” Sanchez said.

His answer was Trip Pilot, an organizer and in-trip companion designed to keep travel information in one place and help travelers handle problems as they happen.

Sanchez was one of 21 participants to pitch an idea on the opening night of Techstars Startup Weekend AI: Ideas in Action, held Oct. 2-4 in Winston-Salem. Trip Pilot was among six concepts selected by participants for development over the weekend.

Martha and Spencer Love School of Business students and alumni had a strong showing across the competition, helping develop the first- and second-place ventures while contributing to several other teams. The Doherty Center for Creativity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship served as a facilitator sponsor and helped send �鶹��Ƶ students to Winston-Salem, covering registration and lodging for participants.

Startup Weekend moves quickly. Participants pitch ideas Friday, form teams around selected concepts and spend the weekend testing those ideas with customers and mentors, developing business models and preparing final pitches for judges.

For Sanchez, that process changed Trip Pilot significantly.

“We started out targeting older travelers with a text-and-call AI assistant, then moved away from that and repositioned it as an organizer and companion rather than another planning or booking app,” Sanchez said.

By the end of the weekend, he had narrowed his audience to college students taking their first trips as independent adults. As the weekend progressed, Sanchez took on a larger role in developing and testing the idea.

“Working mostly on my own forced me to learn how to validate an idea, not just pitch it,” Sanchez said. “I built a simple survey to see if strangers cared, and I realized how much I had been guessing about my customer. I also learned I can keep going and lead even when things don’t go to plan.”

Sanchez is continuing to develop the concept through customer interviews, including conversations with �鶹��Ƶ students who have studied abroad.

Carmine Familletti ‘27, a finance and entrepreneurship major from Basking Ridge, N.J., took a different path into the weekend’s first-place venture. After listening to the opening-night pitches and talking with several teams, the idea behind Little Helper stood out to him.

is a safety application for children’s Windows PCs and Macs designed to identify potential signs of grooming, bullying or explicit content in online chats and alert parents.

“I spent time talking with other teams and testing their ideas, and this one stood out as the strongest, so I joined the team,” Familletti said.

Familletti served as chief financial officer, building the pricing model, calculating operating costs and developing a three-year financial plan. His financial work also influenced how the product was designed.

“I used that cost data to see which features were cheap and which were expensive to run,” Familletti said. “That helped us redesign the AI engine to be as cost-efficient as possible, cutting our AI cost from about $26 per family per month to about $1.20.”

By the final pitch, Familletti said the team had more than a concept to show the judges.

“We came in with more than an idea,” Familletti said. “By the final pitch, we had a working product, survey data from real parents, and financial numbers we could defend.”

Little Helper earned first place and received Sparq Coworking memberships, app development support from YohDev and a sponsored launch party to help the team continue developing the venture.

Gabi Czerveny ’27, a marketing major from Charlotte, N.C., joined Transfer Ready, a concept pitched by �鶹��Ƶ alumnus Aaron Satko ’25 after his own experience trying to buy a business.

“He was like, ‘I have an idea for putting the value from the CEO’s head back into the business,’” Czerveny said.

The team developed the concept around helping business owners capture knowledge that might otherwise exist primarily in their heads before retiring or selling the company.

For Czerveny, part of the work was helping the team turn a wide range of ideas into a focused concept.

“We had a lot of ideas on the table, so I helped us narrow in on what we could realistically accomplish over the weekend,” Czerveny said.

She also helped refine the team’s presentation, cutting down slides and making sure the final pitch clearly communicated the idea.

Transfer Ready earned second place and the Social Impact Award, recognizing the venture’s potential to support business and wealth transfer, particularly for minority- and women-owned businesses.

“They said that was so important, especially for small towns, because there are so many small businesses and a lot of them shut down when an owner leaves,” Czerveny said. “Our idea was to keep these companies that have been in business, in business.”

The team also received Sparq Coworking memberships and development support from Sigma Software Vertex to continue building the venture.

The Transfer Ready team also included �鶹��Ƶ students Pierson Norris ’27, Aaron Grubman ’29 and Murray Marks Jr. ’28, along with alumni Joshua Mason ’25 and Satko. Kathy Atwiine ’29 participated on another team during the weekend.

Czerveny’s role with Startup Weekend began before the competition. As a Techstars student ambassador, she helped recruit �鶹��Ƶ participants and worked with Ashley Wilcox, director of the Doherty Center, to get students involved.

Wilcox also traveled to Winston-Salem and served as a judge during the weekend.

“The experience exposed us to different people, perspectives and ideas than we might otherwise encounter,” Czerveny said. “I would mainly suggest that people go to push themselves out of their comfort zones. There are always new ideas there that you would never think of. You really leave the weekend feeling refreshed and focused”

Familletti echoed that advice for students considering a future Startup Weekend.

“Just do it,” Familletti said. “Whatever your skill set, and whatever you do or don’t know going in, the competition will push you to learn something new.”

He started over.

Taylor was leading about 1,200 employees when he told company leaders he eventually wanted to run a business. Their response: He needed to learn how to build brands. So the engineer and plant manager moved into marketing, working alongside colleagues who were much earlier in their careers.

“It was a wonderful lesson in humility,” Taylor said. “It was a great chance to learn and to be in the learning mode, not the knowing mode.”

That willingness to keep learning became a recurring theme on Sept. 10 in LaRose Digital Theatre at the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business.

The conversation was moderated by Jack Ryan P’17, founder and principal of Jack Ryan Advisory and chair of the Love School of Business Board of Advisors.

Taylor spent more than 40 years with P&G, with assignments across the United States, Asia and Europe before eventually becoming chairman, president and CEO. Today, he serves as senior operating adviser to Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, chairman of the supervisory board of Opella Healthcare Group and non-executive chair of Delta Air Lines’ board of directors.

When Ryan asked what advice he would give students preparing to enter the workforce, Taylor pushed back on the idea that there is one ideal first assignment.

“Many people ask me, ‘What’s the right first assignment? Do I need to start in marketing or sales?’” Taylor said. “It doesn’t matter. What matters is what you do with the first assignment. Do you come into whatever you’re asked to do and do it with excellence?”

He said that strong work creates the credibility to take on larger challenges and eventually influence the organization itself.

“If you really want to change the system, be successful at wherever you are,” Taylor said. “That gives you a platform to be able to change the system. You build credibility that you can accomplish outcomes, and once you do that, the willingness for others to listen to you grows.”

Taylor said one of the strongest differentiators he has seen among successful leaders is their ability to bring out the best in the people around them.

“The greatest differentiator I’ve seen in my time with P&G, my time at Delta and now working with a private equity company is often their ability to unleash those around them,” Taylor said. “Those that have relatively little ego, but a high level of achievement, a high level of personal accountability and a high level of empathy for others.”

That combination, he said, creates something leaders cannot achieve on their own.

“What happens is they generate followership,” Taylor said. “That creates wonderful outcomes, especially when you get to mid- and higher levels, because the group amplifies the results.”

Students later turned the conversation toward artificial intelligence, asking Taylor what skills they should focus on as AI changes marketing and business.

Taylor said AI is already helping companies create and analyze content more quickly, but technology does not replace the need to understand the people a business serves.

“When we go to markets, the first meeting is in homes,” Taylor said. “We’d get to know the person. We’d learn about their life, their kids. ‘Tell us what you do each day.’”

He said those visits allowed teams to observe what consumers actually did, not just what they said they needed.

“You find there’s a lot of compensating behaviors consumers have,” Taylor said. “They’ll say, ‘This is not an issue,’ but you see they do an extra step because something doesn’t work the way they think it should.”

Taylor shared examples from P&G’s work in markets around the world, including observing how consumers washed their hair in rural China and how a consumer in Japan used Febreze on furniture she wished she could wash.

“You don’t see that looking at a sheet of paper,” Taylor said.

For Taylor, AI can accelerate the work once a company understands the problem it is trying to solve.

“AI will let you have faster, better answers once you know what to work on,” Taylor said. “What mountain do you want to climb? And that often comes from a better consumer insight and empathy.”

For the final student question, Taylor was asked whether there was one piece of advice he had used as a filter when making major decisions throughout his career.

His answer brought the conversation back to learning.

“Probably the simplest one is: Can I make a difference, and can I learn?” Taylor said.

He encouraged students to consider those questions as they evaluate their own opportunities, rather than getting caught up in salary, job titles or whether an assignment appears prestigious.

“Pick a place that you’re happy to walk in the door every day, you can hold your head up, you can learn and you can make a difference,” Taylor said. “You have talents and the ability to do a ton of things. You get to choose how you use those.”

�鶹��Ƶ Lessons from Leaders

Launched in 2017 by Dean Emeritus Raghu Tadepalli, Lessons from Leaders brings senior executives to campus for open talks, small group discussions and purposeful one-on-one networking that connects students with mentors. The program helps bridge classroom learning to real-world decision-making and strategy, and aims for every student to leave with a new contact and meaningful career insights.

Investors often look at past performance when deciding where to put their money. New research by Morillon and his co-authors examines whether retail and institutional investors respond to the same measures of fund performance.

The co-authored article, “”, looks at several ways of measuring real estate mutual fund performance, from straightforward returns and Morningstar ratings to more complex measures that account for investment risk.

Using real estate mutual fund data from 1995 to 2022, the researchers compared those performance measures with subsequent fund flows to better understand which measures appear to be associated with investors’ allocation decisions.

Key Findings:

• Retail-oriented funds were most responsive to past returns, or how much the fund had gained or lost.
• Institutional investors appeared to look beyond simple returns and consider how much risk a fund took to achieve them.
• More complex ways of measuring fund performance appeared to have limited influence on the investment decisions of either group.
• The findings suggest retail and institutional investors may look at different information when evaluating real estate mutual funds.
• The research also considers how those investor preferences may affect the decisions fund managers make to attract investment.

“Students who see risk-adjusted performance measures for the first time reasonably ask whether anyone actually uses them. This paper is a useful answer,” said Morillon. “Institutional money does look past raw returns, retail money largely does not, and the more complex measures move very little capital either way. A measure only matters if someone is trading on it.”

The article was published in The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics with co-authors Ryan G. Chacon at the University of Denver, William G. Hardin III at Florida International University and Pratik Kothari at Oakland University.

Morillon joined �鶹��Ƶ in 2019. His research interests include real estate, mergers and acquisitions, international finance, corporate governance and emerging financial technologies. His recent work has also explored the use of artificial intelligence and large language models in commercial real estate.

He received the Love School of Business Dean’s Award for Excellence in Scholarship in 2022 and has earned multiple awards for his research, including the American Real Estate Society’s Best Practitioner Research Prize and two Emerald Literati Outstanding Paper Awards.

The program paired undergraduate students with faculty members to support AI-related projects across the school. Student fellows helped develop and deliver workshops, interview faculty and build materials for future courses and boot camps.

Sakura Kawakami ’26 worked with Scott Oakes, assistant teaching professor of management, and fellow students Julia Amodeo ‘26 and Katie Geraghty ’26 on workshops for Gateway classes.

The team visited eight classes and reached approximately 240 students through 20-minute sessions with hands-on exercises. The workshops introduced students to Gemini Pro, available through �鶹��Ƶ, and focused on practical skills such as improving prompts through iteration and added context.

“The primary goal was to establish a baseline of AI fluency among Gateway students, who are primarily first-year business students,” Oakes said. “We also wanted to test whether a short, bootcamp-style training session could effectively introduce students to practical AI skills within a classroom setting.”

Faculty established the project’s overall objectives before the students joined. Kawakami, Amodeo and Geraghty then helped develop classroom activities, learning objectives, presentation materials, pre- and post-session surveys, and the rollout plan. The students also led the workshops and helped analyze the resulting data.

“My role as an AI Fellow was to act as a bridge between students and faculty, advising students on how to use AI to enhance their learning, not replace it,” said Kawakami, a Business Analytics and Project Management major from Rotorua, New Zealand. “The goal was to make sure students felt confident using these tools in ways that supported them.”

One focus was helping students understand that effective use of AI often requires refining a prompt rather than accepting the first response.

“One of our biggest teaching points was the importance of iteration when prompting AI,” Kawakami said. “By refining and tailoring your prompts to your own needs, you get far more accurate and useful responses.”

Oakes said the student fellows strengthened the project by bringing their own experiences with AI into the classroom.

“Peer-to-peer learning is incredibly powerful,” he said. “First-year students often feel more comfortable asking questions and exploring new technologies when they see successful upper-level students demonstrating how they actually use those tools.”

Another team worked with Kem Zhang, associate professor of business analytics, on projects designed to support more advanced AI use in business courses.

Thomas Case ’26, a supply chain management and business analytics major from Atlanta, G.A. and Oliver Lorraine ’27, a project management and business analytics major from Red Bank, N.J. gathered input from faculty and developed materials for future workshops. One project focused on Associate Professor David Jiang’s, Bring the Venture to Life entrepreneurship course, where students develop and launch venture ideas.

Based on the needs identified for the course, the team created materials for an “AI-powered entrepreneurship” workshop covering topics such as prompting for code, e-commerce, payment integration and deployment.

Case led the workshop design and drafted presentation materials. Lorraine documented the development process and built reusable coding templates for future workshops and boot camps.

“The transition from AI users to AI builders or AI architects is an important distinction because knowing how to use a tool generally is much different than knowing how to use a tool to innovate,” said Case.

Lorraine also created Google Colab notebooks with coding templates for future use.

Zhang said the goal is to help students move beyond basic familiarity with AI tools.

“For business students, knowing how to use an AI tool is expected,” Zhang said. “The real advantage comes when they understand how these tools can be used in problem solving and to create concrete, AI-based solutions.”

Several projects from the spring semester are expected to continue during the 2026-27 academic year, including the entrepreneurship workshop, an AI Boot Camp for incoming students and additional work on AI integration.

The spring 2026 AI Student Fellows were Brandon Boudreau ‘27, Thomas Case ‘26, Oliver Lorraine ‘27, Dylan Stone ‘28, Julia Amodeo ‘26, Sakura Kawakami ‘26, Lindsay Balick ‘27, Katie Geraghty ‘26, Katrina Papierman ’26 and Tristan D’Adamo ‘28.

She has had plenty of opportunities to find out.

As a commercial sales operations intern with Labcorp’s Southeast Division team in Tampa, Fla., Green has worked on projects involving client communication, sales data, finance and presentations. No two assignments have looked exactly the same, which has become one of her favorite parts of the experience.

“I’ve had the opportunity to try a little bit of everything, in both finance and sales, which has helped me discover what I enjoy and what I want to continue exploring,” Green said.

Green was drawn to Labcorp by its mission to improve health and improve lives. She saw the internship as a chance to gain corporate experience while contributing to a company whose work has a direct impact on others.

Throughout the summer, she worked on multiple projects. Some required her to reach out to clients and gather information. Others involved analyzing sales data, creating graphs and tables, and presenting her findings in a way that could help leaders better understand performance.

One assignment challenged Green to make sense of a spreadsheet containing thousands of data points. She built pivot tables to organize the information, identify relevant patterns and answer specific business questions.

“At first, the volume of data felt overwhelming, but working through it taught me how to organize complex information and use it to answer specific business questions,” Green said.

The experience strengthened more than her technical Excel skills. It showed her how analysts determine what information matters, identify patterns and present their findings in a way that can guide decisions.

“The project helped me understand how data analysis turns a large amount of information into insights that can support business decisions,” she said.

Another project required Green to translate large amounts of sales data into graphs and tables that leaders could review quickly and use to assess performance.

“It was rewarding to create something that helped make the data more accessible and gave leaders a clearer view of where the team stood,” Green said. “The experience showed me how important it is not only to analyze information, but also to present it in a way that supports decision-making.”

The range of assignments has helped Green build technical skills while also learning more about the kind of work that interests her. She has enjoyed moving between data analysis, problem-solving and collaboration with colleagues across different areas of the business.

Although she has not settled on a specific career path, the internship has clarified what she wants her future work to involve.

“I want to pursue a career where I can use data to solve problems, contribute to business decisions and do work that has a meaningful impact,” Green said.

Green credits her �鶹��Ƶ coursework and professors with helping her arrive prepared to contribute. She specifically recognized professors Feng Dong, Brandon Sheridan, Julie Swanner, Lakeisha Vance and Drew Peabody for helping her build the knowledge and confidence she has relied on throughout the summer.

“Looking back, every class I have taken at �鶹��Ƶ has helped me in one way or another, whether I realized it at the time or not,” Green said. “They gave me the foundation and confidence I needed to walk into my internship ready to learn, contribute and make the most of every opportunity.”

Her days are full. As a member of the �鶹��Ƶ women’s soccer team, Green is often up around 5:45 a.m. for practice before beginning her workday. But between the early mornings, new software and varied assignments, she has learned the value of remaining curious and open to unfamiliar work.

Her advice to other Love School of Business students is to ask questions and take advantage of opportunities outside their comfort zones.

“Every opportunity is a chance to learn something new,” Green said, “and you never know what experience might end up shaping your future career.”

Teza shares what she hopes to accomplish in her new role and how �鶹��Ƶ students can benefit.

How would you describe your career path?

My career path consists of a series of lateral and advancement roles that provided exposure to multiple facets of the apparel industry. These positions prepared me to lead several market-leading brands, develop strong teams and implement transformation across complex regional and global businesses.

What does serving as an Executive in Residence at the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business mean to you?

I am excited to mentor and guide the next generation of leaders. I look forward to translating classroom learning into real-world scenarios and creating professional pathways through networking, internship opportunities and exposure to different industries.

What kinds of conversations and experiences do you hope to create for �鶹��Ƶ students during your time on campus?

I look forward to meaningful conversations regarding leadership, insights into managing domestic and global businesses and how students can create a pathway to finding a career in which they will thrive.

What perspectives from your work in global consumer brands are you most excited to share with �鶹��Ƶ students?

Leading a winning global brand combines emotional brand equity, operational scale and local execution. Managing global teams is both challenging and rewarding; it is critical to be well-versed in regional cultures to maximize employee engagement, create consistency in brand positioning and delight consumers.

What advice would you offer students who are interested in leading teams or managing large, complex organizations?

Leading a large organization requires the alignment of people, capital and processes to deliver results at scale. Aligning on priorities, building strong teams, operational excellence, constant communication, establishing decision-making rights and protecting a culture are the foundational blocks for success.

Beyond your résumé, what should people know about you and what you enjoy outside of work?

My primary focus is my family and making the most out of every day. My husband and I travel extensively to explore off-the-beaten-path locations, and we have a passion for boating, pickleball and golf. We enjoy spending time with our three children as they navigate their own career and life journeys, and we continue to coach people and businesses to help them maximize their potential.

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Coming to �鶹��Ƶ wasn’t a leap into the unknown for Kate Cooper ’26. It was a path already shaped in part by her sisters’ experiences. What she built from there, though, became entirely her own.

Her sisters’ time at �鶹��Ƶ introduced her to the value of small class sizes and close relationships with faculty, where conversations extend beyond the classroom and often lead to new opportunities. But it was her acceptance into the Business Fellows program that made her decision clear.

“Once I got into the Business Fellows program, that’s what really sealed the deal for me,” Cooper said. “I knew I’d have access to alumni networks, career opportunities and experiential learning.”

Cooper, a finance major from Chalfont, Pennsylvania, found her direction through real estate, drawn to the field’s ability to shape how people live, work and connect with their communities.

“I like real estate for its ability to shape the way people live, work and play,” Cooper said. “There is something really special about seeing how decisions about a property can improve the experience of the people and communities around it.”

That interest came into focus through hands-on experiences both inside and outside the classroom. A real estate conference in New York City became a turning point.

During the trip, Cooper toured properties, connected with industry professionals and began building relationships that would shape her next steps in real estate.

One of those connections eventually led to an internship with Rose Associates, a property management and investment firm focused on luxury apartment properties in New York City and surrounding markets. She continued working with the firm during her senior year and will join Rose Associates full-time after graduation.

Cooper’s path into real estate also took shape in the classroom. An economics course with Steve DeLoach pushed her to think differently early in her �鶹��Ƶ experience, while principles of finance with Kate Upton gave her a stronger foundation in the field. In real estate modeling, Cooper connected that preparation directly to her career goals, learning Argus, an industry software platform she later became certified in.

Margarita Kaprielyan, associate dean and faculty advisor for the Real Estate Club, became one of Cooper’s most influential mentors.

“Professor Kaprielyan has been one of the most influential mentors in my �鶹��Ƶ experience,” Cooper said. “She was always looking out for opportunities that could help me grow and helping me think through what came next.”

Leadership became another defining part of her time at �鶹��Ƶ. Cooper served as president of both the Real Estate Club and Women in Sales, creating opportunities for students to connect with alumni and explore career paths.

In the Real Estate Club, she developed a comprehensive resource guide for students interested in real estate, outlining certifications, modeling tools and ways to gain experience beyond the classroom.

“I wanted to put myself in uncomfortable positions so I could grow,” she said. “Being in those leadership roles helped me figure out my style, but it also gave me the chance to help students who were once in my shoes.”

Her �鶹��Ƶ experience also extended beyond the United States. Through the Business Fellows program, Cooper traveled to Dubai and Abu Dhabi, marking her first time abroad. She later studied in London, where she completed an internship connected to the real estate and events industry while taking courses across the city.

“Studying abroad expanded my worldview and changed the way I think about how I want to live my life,” Cooper said. “I was learning through the city, through my internship and through the people around me. That kind of experience teaches you things you can’t always get from a classroom alone.”

For Cooper, those connections, both on campus and through �鶹��Ƶ’s alumni network, have been central to her success.

“We have such an amazing alumni network,” she said. “People are always willing to help if you reach out.”

As she prepares for life after graduation, Cooper reflects on an experience shaped by mentorship, initiative and a willingness to step into new opportunities.

“My advice is to take advantage of everything �鶹��Ƶ offers,” she said. “There are so many opportunities here, but you have to go after them.”

Hosted in partnership with William & Mary’s Raymond A. Mason School of Business, the summit invited participants to think not only about how AI is changing higher education, but also what should remain central to the student experience: judgment, curiosity, ethical decision-making, human connection and the ability to keep learning.

The summit opened Friday evening with a program that blended student innovation, music and conversation about AI’s role in business education. Haya Ajjan, dean of the Love School of Business, welcomed attendees before Margarita Kaprieylan, associate dean of the Love School of Business, guided the event as the program’s main host.

The evening featured student AI tool showcases, AI Fellows presentations, a performance by Vital Signs, �鶹��Ƶ’s a cappella group, and a fireside chat with higher education leaders.

Student presentations highlighted a range of AI applications, from financial education and career preparation to human resources and access to technology. Projects included a gamified credit simulation that helps students practice financial decision-making and GRIFFIN, an AI-powered tool designed to support human resources classification and pay decisions.

The fireside chat was moderated by Casey Evans, associate dean for undergraduate programs and student services at American University, who also joined the discussion alongside Stephen Walls, assistant dean at the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin, and Hussein Issa, associate professor of accounting information systems at Rutgers Business School.

Saturday began with a keynote conversation between Anuj Mehrotra, dean of Georgia Tech’s Scheller College of Business, and Jeff Sanders ’00, chief architect at Microsoft.

“Even a year ago, people were still doubting whether AI is here or not,” Mehrotra said. “At this point, AI is here.”

For Mehrotra, the question is no longer whether students should use AI, but what business schools are preparing them to do in a world where AI can already summarize, create, analyze and simulate.

“What has not changed is curiosity, the value of integrity, judgment and the importance of human relations,” Mehrotra said.

He challenged business schools to think beyond content knowledge and focus on the value students bring when information is abundant.

“We have to figure out what that North Star is going to be,” Mehrotra said. “It’s not going to be simply knowing something or being able to analyze something, because AI can do it for them.”

That theme continued during the “What Industry Wants Now” panel, which brought together leaders from Microsoft, Gartner, Bank of America and OpenAI.

“Universities now have the task not just to prepare students for a first job anymore,” said Nicole Perrelle, head of AI executive advisory service at Gartner. “It is to prepare them to have that life of continuous learning.”

For panelists, that preparation includes more than technical fluency. It also requires judgment, communication and the ability to use AI responsibly in complex workplaces.

“How do we accelerate the adoption of AI but do it in the right way?” said Danielle Nashold ’04, head of AI monitoring and controls strategy at Bank of America. In a highly regulated industry, Nashold discussed the importance of building governance, monitoring and control structures that allow organizations to use AI responsibly.

Amy Robbins ’14, brand insights lead at OpenAI, said AI fluency was expected when she interviewed for her role, but the conversation focused more on the human skills she would bring to the work.

“They were much more interested in how I think, how I approach complex problems, how I communicate,” Robbins said.

For Robbins, that human perspective remains essential, even inside an AI company.

“It’s not layering AI into existing systems for us,” Robbins said. “It’s layering the human into the AI systems.”

Jeff Sanders ’00, chief architect at Microsoft, added that higher education and industry will need to learn together as AI continues to change careers and roles.

“We don’t have all the answers,” Sanders said. “We know that careers are going to change. We know jobs are going to change.”

During the AI Fluency Mapping session, Tawnya Means, founding partner and principal of Inspire Higher Ed, helped prepare participants for the afternoon design sprint by walking them through ways to use AI with more purpose.

Casey Evans, associate dean for undergraduate programs and student services at American University’s Kogod School of Business, offered examples from Kogod’s redesigned curriculum, where students learn to evaluate AI critically and understand where their own judgment adds value.

“Students really need to learn how they are adding value, not just cutting and pasting,” Evans said.

Means then introduced tools participants could use in the design sprint, including the CRAFT framework, which helps users build stronger prompts by defining context, role, action, format and tone.

The summit also featured faculty pitches from �鶹��Ƶ and William & Mary, giving participants examples of how instructors are already experimenting with AI in their classrooms.

In the afternoon, participants applied ideas from the summit during the “Hack the Business Curriculum” design sprint.

The design sprint concluded with three winning teams.

First place went to Calibra, a classroom tool designed to help faculty evaluate and strengthen assignments for AI resilience, critical thinking, curiosity, metacognition and career development.

Second place went to Essentials of Business Reimagined for AI, which proposed redesigning an introductory business course around a semester-long AI-powered simulation.

Third place went to Roast My LinkedIn, a career-readiness tool that uses humor to review LinkedIn profiles before offering practical feedback.

The summit concluded with remarks from Katherine Guthrie, associate dean at William & Mary’s Raymond A. Mason School of Business.

“This doesn’t end here,” said Guthrie. “This collaboration started after William & Mary hosted an AI summit last year, and it has grown into a shared effort to create space for educators, students and industry leaders to think more intentionally about AI in higher education. We’re looking to next year, where the summit will continue at William & Mary and build on what has been started here.”

The summit was supported by sponsors including Quinncia and Global Academic Ventures. Quinncia provides career-readiness tools that support students in the job search process. Global Academic Ventures supports study abroad programming and international learning opportunities.

Additional sponsors included Breakout Learning, Interpretive Simulations, McGraw-Hill, QuantHub and GMAC.

Katherine Guthrie, associate dean at William & Mary with fellow colleagues

Casey Evans, associate dean for undergraduate programs and student services at American University, moderating the discussion alongside Stephen Walls, assistant dean at the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin, and Hussein Issa, associate professor of accounting information systems at Rutgers Business School

Margarita Kaprieylan, associate dean at the Love School of Business introducing the keynote

Tawnya Means, founding partner and principal of Inspire Higher Ed, and Casey Evans, associate dean for undergraduate programs and student services at American University’s Kogod School of Business, at the AI Fluency Mapping session

Quinncia presenting at the AI Summit

Global Academic Ventures presenting at the AI Summit

Margarita Kaprieylan, associate dean at the Love School of Business, and Katherine Guthrie, associate dean at William & Mary’s Raymond A. Mason School of Business

Vital Signs performing at the AI Summit

Casey Evans, associate dean for undergraduate programs and student services at American University, moderating the discussion alongside Stephen Walls, assistant dean at the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin, and Hussein Issa, associate professor of accounting information systems at Rutgers Business School

Anuj Mehrotra, dean of Georgia Tech’s Scheller College of Business, and Jeff Sanders ’00, chief architect at Microsoft

Anuj Mehrotra, dean of Georgia Tech’s Scheller College of Business, and Jeff Sanders ’00, chief architect at Microsoft

Anuj Mehrotra, dean of Georgia Tech’s Scheller College of Business, and Jeff Sanders ’00, chief architect at Microsoft

A full list of award and scholarship recipients appears below.

Academic Achievement Award Recipients

Academic Excellence Award in Accounting
Kirsten Myburg
Allie Rosinger

This award is given to a senior Accounting major who has demonstrated superior academic achievement, provided significant contributions to the department, and possesses potential for intellectual growth.

Challenge and Expect Award in Accounting
Kate Rohan
Zachary Taylor

This award is presented to a senior Accounting major who has demonstrated excellent growth in academic achievement and in contributions to the department.

Earl D. Honeycutt, Jr. Sales Leadership Award
Alex Scheinler

This award recognizes a senior majoring in marketing or minoring in professional sales who has shown leadership in the sales program, has the potential to positively impact their future organization, and has demonstrated an overall positive attitude in supporting their fellow sales students.

Excellence in Financial Education Student Award
Justin Betts
Andrew Glas
Em Orendorff

This award is given to a senior finance major who has demonstrated excellent academic achievement and possesses potential for professional growth in financial services.

Goldstein Family Award
Maggie Blakeney

This award is for a graduating senior who, after transferring to �鶹��Ƶ (and the LSB) earlier in their academic career, has established a record of sustained engagement and high academic success and who embodies the university’s engaged learning focus through participation in high-impact learning activities.

Walter Hattenbach Award
Kaila Burke

The senior marketing major with the highest GPA receives this award, which Dr. and Mrs. James W. Johnston established in honor of their friend, Walter Hattenbach.

John Kappas Economics Award
Quinn Faller

This award goes to the senior economics major who best demonstrates enthusiasm for economics, potential for leadership and classroom excellence. It is named in honor of the late John Kappas, a 1985 �鶹��Ƶ graduate.

Love School of Business Academic Excellence Award
Greta Hessenthaler
Kirsten Myburg
Katrina Papierman
Anthony Vozella

This award is presented to the student with the highest GPA among those graduating with a major in the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business.

Love School of Business Courageous Leadership Award
Noah Biggers

This award is given to a student who exemplifies courageous leadership within and outside of the Love School of Business.

Love School of Business Responsible Leadership Award
William Foster

This award is given to a student who exemplifies leadership, service and academic achievement within the Love School of Business.

Perseverance Award in Accounting
Ben Lyons

This award is presented to a graduating accounting senior whose resilience and commitment led to significant improvement while successfully navigating the rigors of the four-year curriculum.

Student Achievement in Business Analytics Award
Greta Hessenthaler

This award is given to a senior business analytics major who has shown enthusiasm and success in his or her courses as well as promise for future achievement.

Student Achievement in Economics Award
Jin Kobes
Daisy Martinez-Jimenez

This award is given to a senior economics major who has shown enthusiasm and success in his or her courses as well as promise for future achievement.

Student Achievement in Economic Consulting Award
Sivan Danziger

This award is given to a senior economic consulting major who has shown enthusiasm and success in his or her courses as well as promise for future achievement.

Student Achievement in Entrepreneurship & Innovation Award
Juan Daniel Chiriboga
Taylor Sluss

This award is given to a senior entrepreneurship & innovation major who has shown enthusiasm and success in his or her major as well as promise for future achievement.

Student Achievement in Finance Award
Liam Becker
Emily McAninch
Asa Traylor

This award is given to a senior finance major who has shown enthusiasm and success in his or her major as well as promise for future achievement.

Student Achievement in Human Resource Management Award
Maddy Shapiro

This award is given to a senior human resource management major who has shown enthusiasm and success in his or her courses as well as promise for future achievement.

Student Achievement in International Business Award
Melena Hasskerl-Friedrich

This award is given to a senior international business major who has shown enthusiasm and success in his or her major as well as promise for future achievement.

Student Achievement in Marketing Award
Rachel Buckle
Lauren Kulda

This award is given to a senior marketing major who has shown enthusiasm and success in his or her major as well as promise for future achievement.

Student Achievement in Project Management Award
Anna Johnson

This award is given to a senior project management major who has shown enthusiasm and success in his or her major as well as promise for future achievement.

Student Achievement in Supply Chain Management Award
Maylee Clerici

This award is given to a senior supply chain management major who has shown enthusiasm and success in his or her major as well as promise for future achievement.

Martha and Spencer Love School of Business Dean’s Awards for Faculty and Staff

Excellence in Teaching
Jose Cerecedo Lopez

The Martha and Spencer Love School of Business Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching recognizes a faculty member who exemplifies the �鶹��Ƶ teacher-scholar model. This person is outstanding in the classroom, engages students in the learning process, maintains academic rigor, and provides evidence of commitment to the intellectual development of students through mentoring and related activities.

Excellence in Scholarship
Feng Dong

The Martha and Spencer Love School of Business Dean’s Award for Excellence in Scholarship recognizes one or more faculty members each year whose scholarly work has a significant intellectual impact in keeping with the �鶹��Ƶ scholar-mentor model. Selection factors for this award include publication or presentation of peer-reviewed research in quality outlets and evidence that the faculty member engages in scholarship-related activities. These activities might include supporting the scholarly endeavors of colleagues, advancing the school’s reputation, and mentoring students in undergraduate research.

Exemplary Service – Faculty
John Wimmer

The Martha and Spencer Love School of Business Dean’s Award for Exemplary Service-Faculty recognizes one or more faculty members each year who have contributed in meaningful ways to the ongoing welfare and betterment of the college, university and profession. This award follows from the �鶹��Ƶ servant-leadership model. Selection is based on service in the preceding year, plus overall willingness to volunteer one’s time when needed and to carry new ideas to reality.

Exemplary Service – Staff
Sara DeVane

The Martha and Spencer Love School of Business Dean’s Award for Exemplary Service-Staff recognizes a staff member who has contributed in meaningful ways to the ongoing welfare and betterment of the LSB.  This contribution includes performing duties above and beyond the staff member’s regular functions to support and advance the LSB.

Exemplary Service – External
Rob Springer

The Martha and Spencer Love School of Business Dean’s Award for Exemplary Service-Staff recognizes a member of the larger �鶹��Ƶ community who has contributed in meaningful ways to the ongoing welfare and betterment of the LSB.  This contribution can take the form of assisting the LSB with a specific program or project or providing ongoing support for LSB activities.

LSB Sophomore Recognition

Benjamin Grover Johnston Award
Andrew Abraham
Logan Brzezanski
Lindsay Butkus
Izzy Butler
Gabrielle Evans
Addie Gilner
Henry Ginsburg
Dylan Golden
Isabella Johnson
Avery Launer
Jordyne Lewis
Ben Peake
Hope Rosen
Isaiah Scott
Greta Smith
Casey Steinert
Dani Stuart
Ben Waechter
Ellis Weber-Provost
Sophia Winston

This award honors the sophomore(s) with the highest GPA in the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business. Dr. and Mrs. James W. Johnston established this award in memory of Dr. Johnston’s brother, Benjamin Grover Johnston.

2026-27 Endowed Scholarships and Awards

The Andras Family Award
Abigail Mulvaney

The A. Vance Beck, Sr. and Gwendolyn D. Beck Scholarship
Virginia Manning

The Calvert C. and Margaret H. McGregor Scholarship
Maximiliano Camacho Garcia

The Charles David Smith Endowed Scholarship
River Cranford

The David A. Stevens ’81 Internship Scholarship
Chaise Hannibal
Winter Oaster

The David O. Bowden Economics Scholarship
Ellis Weber-Provost

The Department of Economics Endowed Scholarship
Sophia Winston

The Don S. and Margaret M. Holt Scholarship
Ashley Valency
Skylar Zimmerly

The Dudley Ray Watson Memorial Scholarship
Mackenzie Ross

The Frechette Family Foundation Fund for Global Engagement
Madisen Groff
Brennan Higgins

The Frederick K. Gilliam, Sr. Scholarship
Sophia Arminio
Lauren Beckman
Colleen Bolger
Elizabeth Moores
Anna Rubino
Jesse Sherrill

The Humphries Achievement Award
Loren Palma

The J. Harold Smith Scholarship
Jordyne Lewis

The James T. Toney Endowment Fund
Madeline Dolan

The Janie E. Council Scholarship
Patrick Drury

The John and Helene Sparks Scholarship for Business
Dulio Sorel di Donato

The John L. Sills, Jr. Scholarship
Benjamin Peake

The John R. Hill ’76 and Lesley W. Hill Endowed Fund for Engaged Learning in Business
Marlie Barhorst

The Linda Thompson Weavil Endowed Scholarship
Kristen Covington
Jasmine Newkirk

The Mark A. Horsburgh Study Abroad Scholarship
Michael Dumiec
Peyton Jones

The Mary C. Bullock ’47 and George P. Bullock ’47 Business Scholarship
John Cirelli
Jane McNeil
Avery Wilson

The Mills Family Endowed Scholarship
Tristan D’Adamo
Sahrahie Enamorado

The Myers Family Endowed Scholarship in Business
Aidan Roche

The Park Business Scholarship
Alyssa Adams

The Peter L. Tourtellot Endowed Scholarship in Business
Emma Cincotta

The R. Alston Team III Endowed Scholarship in Business
Eli Karpas
Emma Meunier

The R. Cruse Lewis Master Pools Guild/Love School of Business Endowment Scholarship
Gabriela Maldonado Alvarez
Ashlyn Wenner

The Rehnert Family Business Internship Award
Rita Ho
Korey Philpot
Fanyu Sha
Abigail Wong

The Rose Family Endowed Fund for Engaged Learning in Business
Samuel Bernard

The Samuel L. Burke Endowed Scholarship
David Graves
Elizabeth Shum

The Sirabella Family Scholarship for Engaged Learning in Business
Alison Whipple

The Taylor S. Davis Scholarship for Engaged Learning in Business
Anna Maddox

The Troy Family Endowed Scholarship for International Study
Shannon Cross
Jack Miller

The Waesche Engaged Learning Scholarship
Luke Shatkin

The Wells Fargo Scholarship
Jackson Steiner

The William A. Klopman, Jr. Memorial Scholarship
Megan Abbot

The Yearwood Family Scholarship
Bong Realiza