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A native of Northern Virginia, Yvonne Demory has long considered ����AV to be a beacon of impact to the region.

Texas-born and raised Gabrielle Webster, BA Integrative Studies ’14, MS in Management ’16, first learned about ����AV through her high school debate team. Now, as a double alumna, Webster is equipped to forge her ascending career in management while also giving back to the School of Business through serving on alumni advisory boards.

If there’s one thing that stuck with Ola Sage, MS Technology Management ’99, from her time studying at the School of Business, it is the importance of preparation. Preparation is what her intensive workload came down to—preparation for her career, preparation for each class, preparation for any possible scenario. More than two decades later, she continues to prepare herself, her clients, and the next generation. As a business leader strongly invested in the community, Sage hopes that underrepresented demographics, especially African Americans and women, feel encouraged by seeing her as a role model and that they too prepare to prosper.

Karen Crosswhite had already served in international corporate tax roles with three of the four leading accounting firms before starting her own. She decided to enroll at Mason to take her career to the next level and be the best possible accountant for her clients.

Many individuals speak of their time attending university as being their formative years. Coming from China, Yingjun Chen, MS Management ’18, not only grew as a business graduate student, but she also had to adjust to an entirely new country and culture.

For Charles “Chuck” Schue, Executive MBA ’05, his Native American heritage plays a significant role in his identity.

Mandy O’Neill, associate professor of management, decided to step away from campus for a deeper dive into her research on organizational culture.

The ����AV School of Business has partnered with Brown & Brown Insurance since 2008 in bringing campus audiences engaging, timely, and thought-provoking speakers through the Brown & Brown Speaker Series. Now the longest running speaker series at the university, 40 prestigious leaders have already taken the stage including Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, Co-Founder of Cisco Systems Sandy Lerner, and CFO of Travel Channel Kellie Goldstein among many others.

Celia Miranda, now a senior majoring in information systems and operations management, attended a bootcamp for aspiring entrepreneurs when she was a high school senior. The bootcamp took place on the Fairfax campus of ����AV. It was then and there that she learned what she wanted to do and where she was comfortable studying.