100 Best & Brightest Business Majors Of 2020

Emory University’s Catherine Xu

THE CLASS DUCK

Of course, some students never needed to leave campus for diverse experiences. Exhibit A: John Wen. Here what he was doing as a Babson College undergrad: “Applying statistical models to predict future NBA All-Stars; designing an indoor navigation app to assist the visually impaired; starting a multi-purpose fitness bottle company; and building a neural network model to predict student absences based on alcohol consumption and giving actionable insights from our findings.”

When the Class of 2020 wasn’t busy shuttling off to Asia or re-writing business models, they were collecting honors. Arianne Evans was elected to be Bucknell University’s Class President, while the University of Arizona’s Hunter Lindgren was named Homecoming King.  At Ohio State’s Fisher College, Jaret Waters took home the Walter M. Rudin Outstanding Junior Award, which honors academic and leadership excellence. At the same time, Carolyn Kirshe was a founding member of the McDonough Global Case Team, taking 1st place in Canada’s Scotiabank International Case Competition and making it to the final round in competitions held in Norway and The Netherlands. And there must be something in the Atlanta air. Georgia Tech’s Darby Foster notched internships at Boston Scientific, Georgia-Pacific, Boeing, and Microsoft. Across town, Emory’s Catherine Xu did the same at Bank of America, Coca-Cola, and the U.S. House of Representatives.

That didn’t happen by accident, writes Allison Burdette, who teaches business law at Emory. “There is an adage: be a like a duck, smooth on the surface, but paddle like the devil underneath. BBA Council President Catherine Xu is this proverbial duck. She indeed is grace itself on the surface. But, with leadership roles spread across campus, she is truly paddling like crazy underneath. She is a leader that leads so effortlessly that you will probably just notice the progress that is occurring and not notice her role in making that progress happen. She leads with a smile that belies the steel in her character that is determined to ensure that students’ voices will be truly heard.”

Kaelyn Patel, Rutgers University

It wasn’t just faculty hailing this year’s Best & Brightest. Susan Sledge, who heads up the leadership program at Texas Christian University’s Neeley School, relayed an email from an alum about Rachel Haugh’s internship at Dell:

“Just wanted to reach out and give you an update on Rachel Haugh. She just finished her internship and CRUSHED it. She was a perfect culture fit for Dell and represented TCU and the BNSF Neely Leadership program extremely well. So well, that she was 1 of 9 (out of 54 eligible) interns to receive an offer for SCDP. Rachel was absolutely incredible. We feel as though she is the best Horned Frog intern to EVER work for Dell (including one of our all-star SCDP alums that’s currently Chief of Staff within the company).  She impressed not only me but many of our leaders, and I think she embodies passion, humility, genuine empathy, and a true growth mindset besides her billion other strengths.” 

A POET AND A QUANT

That’s how others see them. How do the Best & Brightest see themselves? Rutgers’ Kaelyn Patel calls herself “sunshine mixed with a little hurricane.” At the University of North Carolina, you’ll meet T.J. Tucker – DJ TJ for short – a JP Morgan recruit who personifies the “work hard, play hard” lifestyle. The University of Virginia’s Emily Copa lives by a simple motto: “Do now, sleep later.” Her superpower: she can talk to a brick wall. And then there’s Poet Larsen from the University of Wisconsin…

“My name is Poet and I do quantitative work. It’s as if this [Poets&Quants] nomination was made specifically for me,” he quips.

Alas, Larsen ranks among the very best Pokemon players in the world. That’s just one cool story from the 2020 Best & Brightest. The University of Arizona’s Daniela Cuevas, a boxer, once sold her car for Bruno Mars tickets. Layal Zalkout used to be terrified of flying. After graduating from Southern Methodist University, she’ll start work at (wait for it) American Airlines. Syracuse University’s Ryan Houck designs websites on the side…something he has done since middle school. That said, Alexandra Gallagher has pursued her passion even longer.

“I trained in classical ballet for 13 years pre-professionally before coming to Fordham,” she writes. “For several years I studied at the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at American Ballet Theatre and was fortunate to perform with ABT at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center on numerous occasions. I also traveled to Denmark and Panama through dance!”

University of San Diego’s Elizabeth Augusta Longacre

A CLASS OF EXPLORERS

Denmark and Panama? That’s child play to Kaelyn Patel. She once reached the top of Greece’s Mount Olympus, home of the Gods. Who could possibly top that? Well, Catherine Xu is one; she climbed 10,000 feet higher, scaling Mount Kilimanjaro one Christmas. Let’s not forget the University of San Diego’s Elizabeth Augusta Longacre? She once hopped into 28-degree water…in Antarctica! And that may be her most ho-hum adventure.

“I have been to 35 countries on 6 continents, and I’ve frequently had the opportunity to stay in local residencies for extended periods of time,” she writes. “I’ve spent over a month in London, Paris, Buenos Aires, and Morocco individually, three months in Guatemala, and four in Nepal. Within my travels, I am most proud of the fact that I completed an 18-day trek to Everest base camp as a solo female traveler.”

Longacre may have traveled to Everest alone, but the Class of 2020 credit their achievements to the time and sacrifices of their loved ones. Many Best & Brightest point to their parents for instilling their curiosity, character, and courage…not to mention a few business fundamentals. That was certainly true for Boston College’s Amy Ferreira and her father.

PRACTICING BUSINESS AT AN EARLY AGE

“He built a business from the ground up, has remained true to his values, and never forgets his roots,” she writes. “My dad nurtured my curiosity about business at a young age by teaching me about the financial markets. Growing up, we spent hours discussing supply and demand and stock exchanges. I was fascinated by the possibility of owning my very own share of The Walt Disney Company. Each day I continue to be inspired by my dad’s persistence, hard work, and humility.”

Growing up, Will Pemberton was struck by his mother’s “grace and perseverance.” Despite the demands of being a single mother, he says, she focused on being a role model who was always there during the ups-and-down that came before Lehigh University – and beyond.

“She has never allowed me to consume in excess the fruits of my labor, ensuring that while celebrating the accomplishments I maintain my hunger for more,” Pemberton explains. “She’s also more importantly, never allowed me to excessively internalize the pain and sorrow that accompanies facing failure and being in the midst of defeat, ensuring that I always remember to brush myself off and continue to fight the good fight.”

University of North Carolina’s TJ Tucker

Some profound influences come from outside the family. When DJ TJ was 12, he was hired by Bonnie Griffin, who gave him an MBA in service and leadership through his high school years. “She taught me accountability, time-management, and customer service,” he reminisces. “Above all, her management style and general persona made me eager to over-deliver. After 5+ years of working for her, the concept of “over-delivering” became a part of me. I love people to be happy with my work, but more so I aim to go far beyond their expectations. This mindset and level of work ethic are the core of my success in everything that I do or have done, and I owe that all to Bonnie Griffin.”

DREAM JOB: COLLEGE FACULTY

What’s next for this year’s Best & Brightest? Amid a world in flux, many wonder whether they’ll still have jobs come summer. Even if their dreams are delayed, they can take comfort in a truth that has inspired the worried and weary alike: This too shall pass. Over time, the gifted and gutsy will always find a place. For Notre Dame’s Kate Oh, that hopefully translates into earning a Harvard MBA and becoming the “go-to person” in her field. Downstate, Indiana University’s Alexa Austin plans to turn her travel points into trips to see the Seven Wonders of the World. After leaving the University of Michigan, Liz Hochberg hopes she is so renowned and rounded that she is interviewed by Anderson Cooper…and Howard Stern.

That’s not to say everyone can’t wait to leave business school. “I dream of someday becoming a professor,” adds Allison Ferreira. “I would like to teach and create a business course(s), perhaps in venture capital, private equity, or investment banking after gaining industry experience.”

NYU Stern’s Caitlyn Lubas

As graduation – whatever that means now – approaches, the Best & Brightest have plenty of advice to share with students following in their footsteps. Maia Julianne Kennedy harkens back to an insight from Bashar Masri, an entrepreneur and futurist. He told her: “Remember that nothing is below you and nothing is above you.” It has turned into a mantra that has guided her young career.

FOLLOW YOUR MUSE

“What had made Masri and so many of his other international peers so successful was that they realized that offering a helpful hand, mopping the floors and cleaning the bathrooms with their staff was the best for their relationships,” explains the Wake Forest senior. “To students interested in studying business, I urge you to remember this. There is no honest work that is below you and there is no job out of your limits if you are willing to work. Each day you have a choice. Regardless of where you are, you have the choice of whether to complain about your situation, your job, and work or you can dedicate your energy and time to completing the task in front of you with positivity, integrity, and precision.”

In contrast, Caitlyn Lubas urges future business majors to be true to themselves. By that, she means that students should focus less on following the herd and landing a job. Instead, they should become more versatile and find ways to integrate their passions into their career pathways.

“My internships, classes, and extracurriculars don’t quite align with any common path, but I was able to weave a story of things I’m passionate about. While some might be busy “checking all the boxes” and following a set path, your unique interests will set you apart and help make you more interesting, memorable, and exposed to rare opportunities.”

Those opportunities stem from the nature of business itself: dynamic and ambiguous, full of risk and bereft of straight answers. That’s exactly what makes majoring in business so electrifying and essential, says Arianne Evans

“Studying business is like playing a game, but the rules are always changing. There are rarely definitive right or wrong answers in the field of business, but it is all dependent on the contextualized goal at hand. Therefore, business is also like a puzzle; it is putting pieces together, sometimes many times before you get the right fit, but with a steadfast vision in mind. If you are driven by strategy, teamwork and execution then majoring in a business-related field is for you.”

To read in-depth profiles of 100 of the Best & Brightest business majors, go to pages 3-4.

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