Costello College of Business Students

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Nirup Menon

MS in Business Analytics Student of the Year says hard work, motivation, and organization are key to success

Jennifer Anzaldi — Fri, 28 Jun 2024 16:37:24 +0000

MS in Business Analytics Student of the Year says hard work, motivation, and organization are key to success Jennifer Anzaldi Fri, 06/28/2024 - 12:37

Katie Kacher, the 2023-24 master’s in business analytics Student of the Year is proof that hard work, motivation, and organization are the key ingredients to success in graduate business school. After earning her bachelor’s in commerce from the University of Virginia, Kacher chose the Donald G. Costello College of Business at ��AV for her graduate degree, primarily due to George Mason’s reputation for high caliber coursework and student outcomes. A Northern Virginia resident, Kacher notes that the proximity to campus and the in-state tuition rates were also factors in her decision to be a part of the inaugural class of the master’s in business analytics program.

Katie Kacher

Completing the program in just a year, Kacher has thoroughly enjoyed building her skillset learning multiple programming languages, data visualization tools, and the newest trends in big data. She particularly enjoyed her data mining course with Professor Jean-Pierre Auffret. Kacher says she was impressed with Auffret’s ability to tie in thought-provoking contemporary case studies to class, which called for a good mix of both learning a technical skill and tying it to conceptual real-world elements.

Auffret acknowledged that Kacher’s great interest in learning led to her success in data mining. “Katie is very diligent in mastering complex topics. She made excellent contributions to class discussions with an interest in current issues related to current AI-related issues of trustworthy AI, polices and legislation for AI, and societal considerations for generative AI, such as ChatGPT,” said Auffret. “Katie and her team did a fantastic class project on factors related to U.S. housing affordability.”

Kacher credits her successes as a student to not only the great teachers in the masters of business analytics program, but also to her motivation and dedication to succeeding. “I spend about three hours a week outside of class per course working on classroom-related work,” says Kacher. “I also have a good work-life balance and feel like my organizational skills have helped me stay focused on what’s important.”

Aside from being an exemplary student, Kacher also works as a financial data analyst at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C. “This job allows me to use the technical skills I’ve learned and apply them in a way that makes a difference to people in the world,” says Kacher.

She believes that being organized and intentional in dedicating time to both her schoolwork and career has allowed her to balance starting a new position and a new program simultaneously. For tips on how to balance both schoolwork and career, students may meet with Costello College's Office of Career Services. Kacher met with the Office of Career Services team in the fall to discuss her career pathway and satisfaction. “While career services did not directly get me my job, I would recommend students who are unsure of their career path meet with them to start the conversation,” says Kacher.

Kaleb Lewis, director of career services, agrees. “Meeting with a career advisor early in a graduate program encourages students to think strategically about their long-term career plans. By setting clear goals and milestones, students can stay proactive in pursuing opportunities that align with their aspirations while taking classes,” says Lewis. “The Costello College of Business Office of Career Services can help students identify and leverage transformative career resources effectively, maximizing the student’s potential for success both during and after their degree program. Career advisors provide guidance on professional development strategies, including resume building and networking skills. Our office is here to help build a solid foundation for students’ future career endeavors.”

As for advice for students looking to join the MS in business analytics program, Kacher encourages people to go for their dreams. “If it is something you really want, you can find a way to do it. If you are motivated, anything is possible.”

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Master's in Business Analytics Program

Costello College of Business Graduate Programs

Photography entrepreneurs continue to grow businesses while studying marketing

Greg Johnson — Wed, 26 Jun 2024 14:18:18 +0000

Photography entrepreneurs continue to grow businesses while studying marketing Greg Johnson Wed, 06/26/2024 - 10:18

Many students graduate from the Costello College of Business at ��AV with bold plans to start their own companies. Bethany Rivera and Alex Tugbang, both undergraduate marketing students and classmates in Jiyeon Hong’s marketing course, had already launched their respective businesses, Rivera’s Photography and Photuggraphy, prior to enrolling.

“In my digital marketing course, I’m trying my best to keep my materials up to date and focus on skills and lessons of practical value, offering many opportunities for students to apply what they learn in class to real-world scenarios,” says Hong. “This is because the digital world is constantly changing, and I believe the best learning can come from hands-on experience.” Focused on their career ambitions and passions, Rivera and Tugbang knew what they wanted to learn more about to become even more successful entrepreneurs.

Bethany Rivera

Her family and friends knew it was only a matter of time until Bethany Rivera became an avid photographer. “Ever since I was born, I was surrounded with cameras and pictures,” she says. She fondly recalls her father giving her a Canon camera when she was 12 years old, but it wasn’t until high school that she realized she could make a living with it. She had taken a picture at a pep rally and sent it to her English teacher, who also taught the yearbook class. They selected the photo to use on the cover, and Rivera quickly became involved with working on the yearbook.

Since officially launching her business in 2021, she has steadily grown her clientele from people she knows in the local Hispanic community. In addition, many of her clients are of Indian background, connections stemming from befriending the owner of an Indian restaurant.

Alex Tugbang

Alex Tugbang’s passion for photography began more recently. Inspired by videos he watched on YouTube, he decided to bring a camera with him on a family vacation to Hawaii in 2016. At first, he wasn’t happy with how his pictures were turning out, but he continued to practice and teach himself until they got better and better.

“When I was in Hawaii, there was this crazy moment when the concierge sat me down and asked me if I made money off photography, and he walked me through how to open a business,” he says.

Shortly after the trip, he started doing photo shoots for friends performing activities like dance. As his content was put out there, dance studios began to contact him. As a graduate of Bishop Ireton High School, he became friends with the bishop who recommended him to several other churches in the area for projects. And so, his client network grew rapidly, all while being a self-taught photographer and videographer.

Both Rivera and Tugbang find their current coursework, especially Jiyeon Hong’s course, immensely helpful in growing professionally. “She doesn’t know this, but every time she’s teaching something I always make the changes on my website,” says Rivera. “Like when she was talking about SEO and how to optimize your SEO and everything, I was on my website making those changes in real time.” One of the course’s projects that Tugbang finds particularly helpful is analyzing a company’s website and social media presence to make recommendations. In fact, it’s something he finds himself doing often for his business. “For example, this dental company reached out to me, and I could see they didn’t even have a website and needed this and that,” he says. With an analytical eye and a strong marketing skillset, he can help clients reach their goals. “I’m very proud of my students who are pursuing their entrepreneurial spirits while managing their academic responsibilities,” says Hong. “I wish them all the best for the continued growth of their businesses.”

Rivera is already doing professionally what she’s always wanted to do. Now her goals are just bigger and more ambitious. In addition to photography and marketing, she finds much to love about being an entrepreneur. “Before I started my business, I was a homebody who didn’t go too far unless it was with family or friends,” she says. “Now that I have clients in different locations, I get to see different locations I wasn’t aware about, and I get to connect with different people from different cultures.” The sky is the limit for Tugbang’s business as well. “I definitely want to keep focusing on my business,” he says. “It allows me to grow myself and grow the community as well because there’s other photographers I’m helping, and they help me with my own projects as well.” With ever-expanding client networks and skillsets, Bethany Rivera and Alex Tugbang are excited to continue growing their businesses to new heights.

Topics

Marketing Area

entrepreneurship

Learn more about the Marketing Area's Academic Programs

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Jiyeon Hong

Sustainability MBA elective matches student teams with partner companies

Greg Johnson — Thu, 16 May 2024 15:09:06 +0000

Sustainability MBA elective matches student teams with partner companies Greg Johnson Thu, 05/16/2024 - 11:09

When hearing the term “sustainability” in business circles, there’s often a misconception that it hinders growth. For the last three years, the MBA elective course Environmentally Sustainable Operations has offered interested graduate students from across ��AV the opportunity to work with companies from multiple industries on making the business case for sustainability.

Dominic Leone, Jordan Heisen,
Sabrena Snow (Hyde), Rachel Edwards

Each year, new companies participate, mobilized by George Mason alumni, faculty and staff, and other community members. “I only need to have one conversation with them, and then they're on board,” says Ioannis Bellos, an associate professor of Information Systems and Operations Management (ISOM) at the Costello College of Business at ��AV and director of the MBA Program; Bellos developed the course and has been teaching it since Spring 2022. This latest semester the course featured consulting projects with: Schneider Electric, 4P Foods, Hyde, MAXSA Innovations, and Future Acres Urban Farming.

Because of the partnership building done by Bellos and others at George Mason, this course offers an excellent experiential learning opportunity where students help real companies, gaining insight from the executives in the process. “It was an exceptional opportunity to mentor MBA students from George Mason’s Environmentally Sustainable Operations course,” says Kevin DeLeon, program manager of sustainability business at Schneider Electric. “We were excited to participate and offer students a glimpse into the practical aspect of driving sustainable improvements. This collaboration is a reflection of Schneider Electric’s mission to champion sustainability and our commitment to engaging and educating future leaders.”

MBA students Rachel Edwards and Jordan Heisen had previously participated in the Global Residency program at the Costello College of Business, where they visited Sweden and Denmark to meet with businesses in the sustainability field, sparking both of their interests in the subject. For their sustainable operations project, they joined fellow MBA student Dominic Leone to work with Hyde, a Washington, D.C., based company pioneering AI-driven solutions to combat excess inventory in the apparel industry. The three of them worked closely with Hyde representatives to examine ways they could make their practices more sustainable.

“Apparel clothing discarded in landfills is now visible from space,” says Sabrena Snow, Hyde’s vice president of partnerships and sustainability. “We began working with the Costello College of Business to really quantify the impact of excess inventory, and its disposal, on the environment.”

The team of Costello MBA students examined Hyde’s business practices to see how they could best help them.

“A lot of companies are pumping out new fashion trends,” says Leone. “If that trend is going to continue, how can we do it in a more sustainable way where we don’t overorder and have a crazy amount of excess inventory?”

Once a week, the team met with CEO Rahul Jindal and Snow. “Going through the paper with Hyde and hearing the feedback from both representatives, they were an incredible pleasure to work with,” says Heisen.

“By building a framework, and combining our EPA data, company interviews, and Hyde's proprietary data, the George Mason team was able to size the impact of producing and dumping excess apparel inventory in the United States,” says Snow. 

The Hyde representatives took it a step further and connected the students with high-profile contacts from the fashion industry’s sustainability field. “When we started this project, Hyde was trying to get partners and funding,” says Edwards. “Being able to attach this white paper to any sort of funding that they’re trying to get later, this is their documentation of what’s going on.”

One of the community partners who worked to recruit participating companies for the course was Fairfax County Government’s Office of Environmental and Energy Coordination. “When we were approached about working with Professor Bellos, it seemed like a perfect opportunity for companies in our Green Business Partners program,” says Gina Weil, co-manager of the Green Business Partners program. “We know that green business is good business, and helping businesses identify both the economic and environmental benefits to adopting sustainable practices is central to our mission.  We were thrilled to be able to connect his students with Future Acres Urban Farming, and we know the experience for the students and the company was incredibly positive and beneficial for both.” The mission of the Green Business Partners program is to support Fairfax County businesses in creating a carbon neutral economy through collaboration and learning opportunities that advance climate action.

Students with guest speaker Ian Gayman,
MBA '23 (Partner at Environmental
Resources Management)

Though there was more to the course than this collaborative project, the experiential aspect brought the learning experience full circle. Bellos worked closely with the company representatives to ensure that their organizations got the most out of the projects.

Heisen appreciated how he explained case studies in the classroom. “He does a really great job of breaking down each case and ultimately getting you to thinking of another perspective,” he says. Sustainable operations lead to profit, says Edwards, “Unless it’s actually making money and it’s financially viable, there’s no reason for a company to do it.”

Recently, 68% of all prospective graduate students surveyed by the Graduate Management Admission Council said that sustainability is important or very important to them. This course is in direct response to this increasing market need.

If you want to learn more about how you can become a business leader with a sustainability mindset, please learn more about the Costello College of Business MBA program.

Topics

MBA Program

Sustainability

experiential learning

innovative classes

impact fall 2024

Learn more about the Costello MBA Program

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Ioannis Bellos

Ambitious management and marketing student leads in many organizations across campus

Greg Johnson — Wed, 15 May 2024 13:10:51 +0000

Ambitious management and marketing student leads in many organizations across campus Greg Johnson Wed, 05/15/2024 - 09:10

After two years of studying management and marketing at the Costello College of Business and the Honors College at ��AV, Rakibul Alam’s academic credits have put him a semester ahead of schedule.

Rakibul Alam

Now planning to graduate in December of 2025, Alam has been working at an accelerated rate both inside and outside of the classroom. He saw how many opportunities George Mason had to offer, and he was keen to take advantage of as many of them as possible. Among his accolades so far are being named an Honors College Professional Development Fellow, co-founding the Collective Organizations of South Asia, serving as senator in the George Mason Student Government, being a student ambassador for the Costello College of Business, receiving the Shrivastava Diversity and Inclusion Scholarship, and being named the Schwartzstein First-Year Research Award Finalist for his research project, “Coastal Bangladesh: the Effect of High Soil Salinity & Sustainable Agriculture.”

Coming in his freshman year as a commuting student, Alam wanted to learn about the student body and find ways in which he could immediately get involved and feel at home at George Mason. The first group he joined was the Bengali Patriots Association, where he quickly became the freshman representative and most recently the treasurer. “Within the first two weeks, I also learned there was an election for student government,” he says. “I ran for election, and I won and have served as senator the past two years. Everything kind of spiraled from that.” Through the student government, he was also appointed as a student ambassador for the Costello College of Business. As a Costello College of Business ambassador, he’s interacted with and presented to students, prospective students, community partners, and even the Board of Trustees. The position has empowered him to build and expand on his skillsets as he showcases what it means to be a Costello College of Business student. Recently, he’s shifted his ambassador focus to marketing and has been creating social media content to engage the student body, reaching nearly 50,000 views.

This past April, Alam’s startup company, Project Hope, co-owned and established by management and entrepreneurship student Naila Ahsan, was awarded the top prize in Social Impact at the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship’s Patriot Pitch Competition. “Our campaign endeavors to furnish annual provisions of safe, sustainable, reusable sanitary napkins to marginalized communities,” he says. “In Bangladesh, 85% of the menstruating population cannot afford necessary menstruating products. Therefore, we are on a mission to end period poverty.” Presenting the prize check to Alam and Ahsan was Sumeet Shrivastava, MBA ’94, an individual whom Alam now considers a mentor. Always proactive in getting involved and making connections, Alam connected with Shrivastava and Christine Landoll, director of business engagement at the Costello College of Business, at several events across the university. Receiving the Shrivastava Diversity and Inclusion Scholarship opened even more doors for him. The scholarship is awarded to students who are contributing to diversity and inclusion through their leadership roles. Rakibul Alam is an exemplary Shrivastava Diversity and Inclusion scholar.

While Alam has taken advantage of the myriad opportunities at George Mason, like with Project Hope, he has also identified and worked toward introducing new solutions and initiatives where he sees a need. He did this when he co-founded the Collective Organizations of South Asia. “The South Asian community was so strong, but it was very dispersed, and our goal was to unify under the organization,” he says. “Our main objective was to provide scholarships for South Asian students.” He is currently their vice president of internal affairs.

In addition to the organizations where he is an active member, Alam enjoys participating in events put on by others across campus. “Going to so many different cultural events helps make you a global leader,” he says. “Companies are very represented all over the world, so having that global understanding is very important.” From the get-go, he came into George Mason with a vision of using the university’s diverse resources to make his student experience as rewarding as possible. Furthermore, this summer he will be interning at the Pentagon with the United States Department of the Navy as a financial management intern. Only two years in, he has a resume stacked with accomplishments, a network connecting him with esteemed business leaders, and the drive to put all of his goals within reach.

Topics

Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship

diversity

Learn more about Student Organizations at the Costello College of Business

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Sumeet Shrivastava, '94

Christine Landoll

Winning teams are selected at the annual Patriot Pitch Competition

Greg Johnson — Thu, 18 Apr 2024 19:21:12 +0000

Winning teams are selected at the annual Patriot Pitch Competition Greg Johnson Thu, 04/18/2024 - 15:21

Led by the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) within the Costello College of Business at ��AV, the Patriot Pitch Competition supports early-stage business ventures and ideas from Mason students and recent alumni. On April 11, the finalists made their final pitches on the Fairfax Campus.

Patrick Soleymani

Before the finals commenced, 16 semifinalist teams, their mentors, and 16 semifinalist judges participated in the semifinal round via Zoom, providing them the chance to develop the skillset to pitch their ideas virtually to stakeholders. These semifinalists represented six colleges and schools from across Mason, including College of Engineering and Computing, Schar School of Policy and Government, College of Education and Human Development, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, College of Science, and the Costello College of Business.

After narrowing down the field to eight finalists, two teams in each competition track, the Johnson Center Bistro filled with spectators to watch and vote on the final pitches. In addition to earning $6,000 for first place and $3,000 for second place in each track, teams were eligible to be voted as Mason’s Choice Awardees by the audience members, receiving another $1,000 for each track. The tracks were Public Engagement, STEM, Social Impact, and General Entrepreneurship.

Seth Goldman and Ali Aldubaisi '21

Emceed by Patrick Soleymani, associate dean of outreach and strategic engagement at the Costello College of Business, the competition was proceeded by a keynote discussion with Seth Goldman, co-founder of Eat the Change, Just Ice Tea, and Honest Tea; and recent Mason alumnus entrepreneur Ali Aldubaisi, BS Neuroscience ’21. Aldubaisi asked Goldman about his challenges and triumphs as an entrepreneur, setting the stage perfectly for the next generation of entrepreneurs ready to make their pitches.

Each finalist team was given five minutes to make their pitch, followed by five minutes of answering questions from the panel of judges. The panels of finalist judges comprised Mason stakeholders, faculty, alumni, and other successful entrepreneurs, who were experts in the given competition track.

In all four tracks, the first-place winner was also voted the Mason’s Choice Award Prize winner, awarding each team a total of $7,000. For the Public Engagement Track, UR2CLOSE was selected as the top pick for their following distance indicator to be mounted on the rear license plate of a car to prevent rear-end collisions.

In the STEM Track, FlightCommand Pro was selected as the first-place winner. FlightCommand Pro’s mission is to provide better products and systems for drone operations, including drone deliveries flying with more certainty when beyond the visual line of sight. “As a part of my systems engineering senior design project, my team and I performed a context analysis and a stakeholder analysis to find the performance gaps for a case study about drone delivery to an island located in the Chesapeake Bay – Tangier Island,” says Diana Machuca, a senior studying systems and industrial engineering. “To bridge the gaps, we designed the Drone Range Dynamic System and came up with a business plan for the project.” Mason alumnus Scott Hine, BS Decision Science ’85, mentored the team, advising them to emphasize the humanitarian aspects of the product to appeal to people’s hearts. The team is looking forward to using their winnings to test their system using a real drone.

Project Hope, established by Naila Ahsan, a senior studying management and entrepreneurship, and Rakibul Alam, a junior studying management and marketing, was chosen as the top pitch in the Social Impact Track. In Bangladesh, where 85% of the menstruating population cannot afford the necessary menstruating products, Project Hope endeavors to furnish annual provisions of safe, sustainable, and reusable sanitary napkins to those most in need. “In 2016, I was hosting a warm clothes drive during winter, and I came across a young girl who was banished from her shack in the slum area,” says Ahsan. “To my surprise, I was shocked to see how she was struggling in the cold. But due to lack of access to period products and prevailing stigma, she was banished due to her periods!” Alam says, “I joined the venture to engage and partner with corporations and NGOs to accelerate the business’s growth.” Alam and Ahsan plan to convert their prize money into Bangladeshi taka and invest into the fast-growing business.

Taking the top prize for the General Entrepreneurship Track was Zachary Suh with ElderlyEats. Suh, a freshman studying marketing, created ElderlyEats to provide senior citizens with meal plans that are diverse, customizable, and nutritious. The idea came to him when his grandmother developed health conditions that made it difficult for her to digest food. “Our team of dieticians and chefs have carefully curated traditional meals elders are used to and incorporated common nutritional needs elderly people deal with, past just vegan and gluten free and accommodate common dietary conditions, such as Alzheimer’s and dysphagia,” he says. Suh is planning to use the prize money to develop meals vetted through dieticians and stronger customer discovery.

Sumeet Shrivastava, MBA ’94

Sumeet Shrivastava, MBA ’94, donor of the CIE’s Shrivastava Family Refugee and Immigrant Success through Entrepreneurship (RISE) program, announced the event’s winners, track by track, and welcomed them to the stage. External representatives from each competition track presented giant checks to their respective winners. The representatives were Beth Young, PhD Education Policy ’18, president of Quality Information Partners, Inc. and Commissioner of Fairfax City Economic Development; Gurdip Singh, divisional dean of the School of Computing in Mason's College of Engineering and Computing; Anil Sharma, CEO of 22nd Century Technologies Inc.; and John Hoeveler, manager of national business investment at Fairfax County Economic Development Authority.

Dean Ajay Vinzé

The 2024 Patriot Pitch Competition was a culmination of months, and sometimes years, of hard work, starting from the initial idea to the polished pitch in front of a room of audience members. For a month leading up to the semifinals, the teams met with their mentors and attended entrepreneurship training sessions with Costello College of Business faculty. The experience of the participants and the feedback they received will serve as a launching pad to becoming successful entrepreneurs. The event is another triumph of inclusive entrepreneurship for the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and the Costello College of Business.

Thank you to the event’s sponsors: 22nd Century Technologies, Inc.; College of Engineering and Computing at ��AV; Fairfax City Economic Development Authority; Costello College of Business Women in Business Initiative; Costello College of Business Management Advisory Council; Fairfax County Economic Development Authority; and the Greg and Camille Baroni Center for Government Contracting at the Costello College of Business.

The CIE team led the organization of the event, helping make it an outstanding experience for all those involved.

If you are interested in being a mentor, judge, or sponsor of the Patriot Pitch, please email ciemason@gmu.edu to learn more.

2024 Patriot Pitch Competition Participants

Lead Event Organizers: CIE Team

Topics

Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship

entrepreneurship

Learn more about the Patriot Pitch Competition

In This Story

Ajay Vinzé

Patrick Soleymani

Sumeet Shrivastava, '94

Rebecca Howick

Accounting students visit the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

Greg Johnson — Thu, 11 Apr 2024 13:25:04 +0000

Accounting students visit the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Greg Johnson Thu, 04/11/2024 - 09:25

Prior to his teaching career, Bret Johnson, an associate professor of accounting at the Costello College of Business at ��AV, was a staff accountant at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Accounting students and faculty

“I went back as an academic fellow, so I was there from 2020 to 2021, and part of my responsibility was arranging these student visits for other universities to come,” he says. Johnson knows the current SEC academic fellow Ally Zimmerman, an assistant professor of accounting at Florida State University’s College of Business. She coordinated the visit for Costello College of Business students to visit the SEC headquarters on the afternoon of Wednesday, February 28. An independent agency of the United States federal government, the SEC was established following the Wall Street Crash of 1929 to protect investors and enforce the law against market manipulation.

Johnson worked with Ethan Kinory, an instructional assistant professor of accounting at the Costello College of Business, to assemble a group of students they could bring on the visit. Kinory is the faculty advisor to Mason’s chapter of Beta Alpha Psi, an international honor organization for financial information students and professionals. The chapter has 41 total students, 29 of whom are accounting majors, and it runs approximately 12 events per semester. In addition to Beta Alpha Psi students, other attendees in the group included students from the accounting honors program and the master of science in accounting program. “It’s a huge benefit of us being here in the backyard of Washington, D.C., to have these types of opportunities,” says Johnson. “We have a great relationship with the people there, and that’s really helpful to foster these types of opportunities in the future.”

The Costello College of Business group arrived at SEC headquarters by 1:30 p.m. and was greeted by Ally Zimmerman in the lobby. From there, the afternoon was broken into segments running approximately half an hour each until the agenda concluded at 5:00 p.m. Interactive presentations were given by representatives from the office of the chief accountant, division of investment management, division of enforcement, division of corporation finance, and division of examinations.

The students’ trip to the headquarters showed them how they could apply what they have learned in the classrooms as future professionals, whether it be at the SEC or elsewhere. “This excursion provided an invaluable opportunity for students to gain insight into the SEC's role and organizational structure,” says Maya Didier, a master’s in accounting student and vice president of Beta Alpha Psi. "Visiting the SEC provided me with a valuable opportunity to apply the theoretical knowledge I gained from textbooks into a real-life experience from talking to individuals who work for the SEC to visiting the building where all the work happens,” says Nathaly Pablo, a master’s in accounting student. “It was a great experience to broaden my understanding and perspective of the accounting profession."

For the 20 students who attended, it was a worthwhile and potentially career-altering event. “A lot of my students who attended told me that they hadn’t previously considered a career in the SEC or any regulatory agency,” says Kinory. “Now that they’re aware, they are considering those types of opportunities and potential employment down the road.” The proximity of ��AV and the proactive partnership building done by the faculty members open the doors for countless other top-notch experiential learning opportunities for Costello College of Business students.

Topics

Master's in Accounting Program

Accounting Area

Learn more about Beta Alpha Psi

Learn more about Mason's Master's in Accounting Program

In This Story

Bret Johnson

Ethan Kinory

The Montano Student Investment Fund provides experiential learning for student leaders

Greg Johnson — Thu, 21 Mar 2024 20:28:24 +0000

The Montano Student Investment Fund provides experiential learning for student leaders Greg Johnson Thu, 03/21/2024 - 16:28

Co-founded in 2018 by Trevor Montano, BS Accounting ’00, and Derek Horstmeyer, a professor of finance at the Costello College of Business at ��AV, the Montano Student Investment Fund (SMIF) is an all-equity investment fund administered by finance students at the Costello College of Business.

Montano Student Investment Fund Officers

Under the supervision of ��AV’s Endowment and Board of Trustees, students working on the fund engage in incredible experiences, like building the portfolio, presenting pitches to a committee, and expanding their overall financial expertise in an academic setting. Participants must first complete Finance 477, the student management investment fund course for students to practice pitching stock.

Students selected as officers have the responsibility of managing Mason’s endowment for their respective terms. “The student officers of the Montano SMIF have a huge amount of responsibility and they all take it seriously,” says Horstmeyer. “In addition to managing a segment of the GMU endowment, they help lead Costello Fellows on Wall Street, compete in a nationwide SMIF competition in Chicago each year, and run the Alpha Challenge.”

It was during the Finance 477 course that Christopher Lindholm discovered his passion. “I had been coming to school for marketing, but finance really scratched that itch,” he says. Lindholm became so interested in the subject matter that he was eager to get involved and is currently the president of the investment committee on the SMIF. In order to be an officer for the fund, students must apply and interview with Derek Horstmeyer. “The main thing that made me want to apply for this officer position was Dr. Horstmeyer, like the way he teaches and how he’s so invested in it,” says Clarita Orosco, vice president of the risk committee. “It made me excited to learn more.”

The SMIF has attracted the attention of some of the business school’s most ambitious finance students. “I thought this was a great way for me to get involved on campus, pursue my own interests, and learn more by talking to other finance students and hearing their ideas and different perspectives,” says Sriprajna Medicherla, president of the operations and finance committee. “In finance it’s all about perspective and figuring out what the best decision is given the information.” Medicherla and a few of her teammates got to hear even more perspectives when they went to Chicago for a competition with about fifty other student managed investment fund groups from other universities. “Meeting other SMIF officers from different universities was really interesting and so was hearing their ideas about what they implemented in the fund,” she says.

It is not required to be a finance concentration or even a business major to take part in the SMIF. Gabriel Curtis, president of the risk committee, who is majoring in computer science and minoring in finance, had been exploring ways in which he could make an impact in areas besides computer science. “In finance there’s a lot of opportunities to be a generalist, and that’s honestly what I care about a lot more,” he says.

Every year, the SMIF’s officers present the annual report to the Board of Trustees, showing what was in the portfolio and how everything performed. “You get real world experience with them that you probably wouldn’t find in a typical finance course,” says Lindholm. The ability to manage a real investment fund while receiving active feedback in a classroom setting is an experience that benefits all of the participants, regardless of their career ambitions. “I would say I was able to be more informed,” says Curtis. “I’ve gotten to talk to people who graduated and work in investment banking. That’s where I’m headed now because of the fund.” Orosco adds, “I didn’t realize how many opportunities there were and how many news things Dr. Horstmeyer wanted us to explore.”

The networking, knowledge, and confidence that these students have acquired through working on the Montano Student Investment Fund have given them the immersive student experience promised at the Costello College of Business. “This much responsibility shows through on their resumes – past officers of the SMIF have gone on to work at Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, and private equity shops in New York City, Chicago, and Austin,” says Horstmeyer. Not only are the student leaders prepared for their careers but they are actively being recruited by employers.

Topics

Accounting Area Page

Student Managed Investment Fund

��AV Foundation

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Alumni

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Derek Horstmeyer

The Donald G. Costello College of Business scholarship luncheon brings together recipients and donors

Marianne Klinker — Tue, 28 Nov 2023 17:48:55 +0000

The Donald G. Costello College of Business scholarship luncheon brings together recipients and donors Marianne Klinker Tue, 11/28/2023 - 12:48

The scholarship luncheon, held each fall by the Donald G. Costello College of Business at ��AV, brings together scholarship donors with the student recipients of those scholarships.

Along with faculty members and other leaders from across the business college, they share personal stories and challenges as well as plans for the future. On Tuesday, November 7, the latest group of donors and awardees gathered to build connections and share inspiration.

Dean Ajay Vinzé delivers opening remarks.

Following an introduction by Yena Kim, director of academic achievement and innovative learning at the Costello College of Business, and opening remarks from Dean Ajay Vinzé, several donors and recipients addressed the audience about the impact of scholarship in their lives. Mishell Orellana Arispe, a senior studying finance, Salman Funyas, a senior studying business administration and accounting, and Kyle Samuel, a sophomore studying finance were among the students at the luncheon who spoke about their experiences.

“As a proud recipient of two scholarships, I'm incredibly grateful for the gift of time and vote of confidence they've given me,” says Mishell Orellana Arispe, recipient of the Gerald Hanweck Sr. Legacy Scholarship and the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) Scholarship. “I take these awards as a challenge to get out of my comfort zone and push myself to do better each day.”

"I was hesitant towards adding a second concentration, but I had often heard people say where there is a will, there is a way,” says Salman Funyas, recipient of the Janis S. Reed Endowed Scholarship. “In my case the way came in the shape of another human who made it possible for me to chase my dream of becoming a CPA."

"Being an immigrant, the financial aid opportunities that are available to me are limited, thus you cannot fathom how much these scholarships would aid me in pursuing my dreams,” says Kyle Samuel, recipient of the Kahil Family Scholarship and Emanuel A. Baker Endowed Scholarship.

Stephanie Zimmermann, '93 (center) with scholarship recipients.

Attending the luncheon as a donor of the Women in Business Initiative Endowed Scholarship, Stephanie Zimmermann, BS Decision Science and Management Information Systems ’93, was once in the position of the students in the room. “As a scholarship recipient, I have always been grateful for the gift I received—it was more than just the money—it was the confidence, validation, and recognition received for the work I was doing at that time,” she says. “The opportunity to pay it forward, and to help build the legacy that supports our current and future Costello College of Business scholars is one of the main reasons why I support the mission.”

James R. Beers (second from left) with scholarship recipients.

The James R. Beers Endowed Scholarship is contributed to and supported by James R. Beers and Baker Tilly US. “I very much enjoy meeting and listening to the students and knowing I have helped your deserving students achieve their educational objectives,” says Beers. “I also enjoy visiting with the Mason team who are so important in making this undertaking successful.” Shabinaaz Mahdi, BS Accounting ’12, is partner at Baker Tilly. “This is one of my favorite events to attend because I enjoy talking with the recipients and learning about their journeys and aspirations,” says Mahdi. “Our profession is dynamic, innovative, and growing, and Baker Tilly is committed to helping today's students become tomorrow's generation of business advisors and leaders.”

Jeff Johnson, BS Business Administration ’75, relished the opportunity to sit down with the students awarded with the Johnson Family Endowed Scholarship. “The most impactful thing for me was getting to spend time with some of the scholarship recipients,” he says.

The scholarship luncheon was a rewarding experience for everyone involved. The student recipients thanked and learned from the generous donors who have impacted their education, while growing their professional networks in the process. And the donors were able to get to know the remarkable students whom their scholarships are benefitting. The Donald G. Costello College of Business greatly appreciates the wonderful donors who enrich the lives of our future business leaders.

Topics

Costello College of Business Scholarships

Costello College of Business Alumni

Scholarships