100 Best & Brightest Undergraduate Business Majors Of 2023

Anjali Bobba, Georgetown University (McDonough)

Georgetown McDonough’s Anjali Bobba has also been shouldering responsibilities well beyond her years. Working at a classmate’s dating app startup, Bobba has been busy developing a marketing plan, pitching investors, creating digital content, and managing a team of ten people. As a Baker Trust Fellow, Bobba has even been assessing core courses with business faculty.

“[We’ve been] identifying creative ways to include more diverse material, create opportunities for discussions on DEI, and support faculty who are committed to enhancing the ways in which they address these topics. I specifically focused on the accounting and marketing departments and was able to suggest specific materials to the faculty that would aid in the migration of diverse course tools. Now as a senior, it is wonderful to experience Georgetown professors integrating DEI topics into their coursework as I truly believe diversity is an integral part of learning.”

A LIFETIME OF PREPARATION

Andrew Darby, Cornell University (Dyson)

Bobba herself will be joining Johnson & Johnson after graduation. Andrew Darby of Cornell University’s Dyson School and Dana Birke of Cornell’s Nolan Hotel School of Administration are both ticketed to McKinsey & Company. The same is true at Carnegie Mellon’s Tepper, where Nubia Teklu and David You will both be joining Google – with Teklu earning previous internships at Cisco and Salesforce to boot. As a whole, six Best & Brightest members have been hired by McKinsey & Company, followed by Goldman Sachs (5), Ernst & Young (5), Deloitte (4), JP Morgan Chase (4), Google (3), and Bain & Company (3). And the class certainly applied their business instincts early. The University of Richmond’s Brendan Fowler, a Bank of America hire, became an entrepreneur when he was six. He sold rocks and pinecones, hoping to differentiate himself from lemonade stands competing for neighborhood dollars. Sure enough, his life has come full circle: he is now the co-founder of a beverage startup. And let’s just say Wharton’s Derek Nhieu received an early introduction to managing supplier relationships in his first venture.

“I created my first “business” and website for it in 3rd grade and got in trouble with the principal for using the school’s free printing to promote it.”

That said, business isn’t the Class of 2024’s only talent. The University of Arizona’s Carlos Armando Alvarez-Macias can “sight-read” music sheets. This means he only needs 30 seconds of thought before he can play a piece on his piano. Florida Southern College’s Katie Sharp has spent 15 years in dance, mastering styles ranging from tap to ballet to hip-hop. Similarly, Sarina Upadhye has spent much of her life preparing for her Visharad, a Kathak dance graduation.

“I have been dancing since I was 3 years old and I started a form of classical Indian dance, Kathak, when I was in middle school,” explains the University of Minnesota senior. “My Visharad was the culmination of years of dance classes coming to fruition in the form of a three-hour long performance with my two partners. The 18 months I spent training for my Visharad taught me about patience, dedication, and perseverance and I would give anything to go back to that experience.”

Daniella Nakash, Emory University (Goizueta)

A LOVE OF SHARKS

The class certainly isn’t afraid to take a risk and get their hands dirty. Daniella Nakash, a senior at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School, used “trial-and-error” to discover the perfect TikTok algorithm to go viral. The result? She produced a “traveling snowball” video that produced over three million views. Speaking of dirty hands, the University of Illinois’ Alexis Boykin has “held a snake, alligator, and a shark”, while Cornell University’s Andrew Darby engages in “catch-and-release shark tagging.”

“They are such beautiful animals and seeing them up close is really special,” Darby adds. “My sisters, who love swimming in the ocean, wish I would stick to golf.”

Maxim Manyak, University of Notre Dame (Mendoza)

Or fencing. That’s what Tulane University’s Geeta Jhangiani competed in, ultimately making the Junior Olympics in high school. Before investment banking, Maddy Whirledge found joy in science, appearing as a kid scientist on the Late Show with David Letterman. Impressed? Georgetown University’s Anjali Bobba actually wrote a bill during an internship with Congresswoman Jackie Speier. If you’re looking for a model to make an impact, look no further than Sankalp Mohan Sharma, a senior at Indiana University’s Kelley School.

“I run a sustainable development organization that is now present in over 11 countries and has been recognized by President Barack Obama, Vice President Al Gore and the United Nations.”

A SMILE A DAY KEEPS THE DOCTOR AWAY

Indeed, you’ll find the entrepreneurial spirit alive-and-well among this year’s Best & Brightest. Carnegie Mellon’s David You openedCapital Gains on campus, a student-run, weekend restaurant that markets grain and salad bowls. His team handled everything from hiring to menu preparation, even helping 15 students gain social security numbers. At Cornell University, Andrew Darby co-founded Crossroads, a social enterprise that markets clothing and accessories made by Nigerian artisans, with profits supporting a village health clinic. Maxim Manyak started his non-profit, the Pediatric Pep Talk Foundation, with the noblest of goals: Make children smile. At Notre Dame, Manyak is the team captain of the lacrosse team, along with being the President of the Student Athlete Advisory Council. His experience with pediatric patients spurred him to develop an app where college athletes could connect with these children to inspire and support them. The venture has already connected 26 Notre Dame varsity teams with 25 patients. Within the year, Manyak projects his foundation will expand to four more schools and deliver 2.400 smiles.

“It is difficult to even begin to explain the impact we have been able to have on these young teammates of ours and their families,” Manyak tells P&Q. “There is nothing quite like the power of a smile to completely revolutionize someone’s day, especially when paired with a team of college athletes that supports them every step of the way. I have truly found this to be my greater purpose and I could not be more grateful to be in the privileged position I am in as a Student-Athlete at Notre Dame. They have provided me with a tremendous amount of resources they have provided me with in order to build out and execute my dream of providing a smile a day to keep the doctor away for little children across the country.”

The Class of 2023 has also carried this creative impulse into their schools. Alex Firestine started an analytics institute at the University of Pittsburgh through the League of Emerging Analytics Professionals (LEAP). The institute has helped over 100 students earn analytics certifications and produced a core course taught to 300 students. By the same token, Sankalp Mohan Sharma launched People of Indiana University in response of the culture shock and homesickness that came from moving from Bangalore to Bloomington. Over the past three years, Sharma has interviewed over 130 members of the university community to showcase their stories and passions.

“Through the challenging pandemic, all we read about were heartbreaking stories of how the human race was navigating the pandemic, numerous cases of racism, and a mentally taxing election in the United States,” he tells P&Q. “We at People of IU made an endeavor to highlight the Hoosier heroes that were creating a positive impact across the globe. From nurses to resident assistants and food service workers, we highlighted motivating stories of those that were among us and were creating a difference.”

Maria Klostrakis, University of San Diego (Knauss)

USING DISEASE TO DRIVE EXCELLENCE

The Class of 2023 did more than make a difference. In many cases, they beat the odds. That’s certainly true for first generation students like Maria Klostrakis. Graduating in the top 5% of her class at the University of San Diego’s Knauss School, Klostrakis’ family immigrated from Greece to California. Now, Klostrakis hopes to ease the learning curve for her younger siblings when it is their turn to pursue a college education. Azerbaijan native Laman Mirzaliyeva came to the United States – by herself – in high school, learning English and taking standardized tests on the fly.

“I am proud of the 16-year-old me who found the courage to leave her home and move to a country 6,000 miles away from her family and friends where she did not know even one person, working hard every single day to become successful there,” writes Mirzaliyeva, who studied accounting at Binghamton University School of Management. “From language barriers and cultural differences to being far away from loved ones, there were many challenges I had to face throughout my journey that tested my resilience and determination.”

Being a first-generation student wasn’t the biggest test endured by Kamilah Latif, a senior at the Hult International Business School. Soon-to-be an Ernst & Young M&A consultant, Latif was diagnosed with type one diabetes as a young teen. However, her conditions also motivated her to excel academically and support those who received the same diagnosis. For Grace Oakey, the diagnosis of autoimmune neuromuscular condition juvenile dermatomyositis came when she was nine. A muscle disease, Oakey says she could barely climb a flight of stairs, let alone walk a quarter mile. Between the complications and hospitalizations through her teenage years, Oakey developed a resolve to focus on her academics and never fall behind.

Aidan Vito Arone, Providence College

“I used academics as a motivator to continue persevering through the medical obstacles I faced,” explains Oakey, who’ll graduate from Fordham University’s Gabelli School this spring before joining Blackstone as an analyst. “This persistence began to evolve into the academic and career ambitions I would carry with me, the grit which would push me to the accomplishments I achieved in high school and college.”

PARENTS: CHAMPIONS AND ROLE MODELS

Sometimes, the biggest accomplishments are often the most subtle. At the University of Denver’s Daniels College, Ben Boxell takes inspiration from his classmates voting him as the “Best Group Member” – a testament to his abilities: flexibility, reliability, likeability, and capabilities. Looking back, Aidan Vito Arone is still stunned over the transformation he has made over the past four years at Providence College. He started out, in his words, as a “trainwreck” – unmotivated and unable to stand out. As a junior, an epiphany hit home: he had ambitions – and needed to realize them.

“I started reading again for pleasure; I took my goals in bodybuilding so much more seriously; and I began to do what I wanted to do in life, not what would make me fit in,” he writes. “I went from an anxious mess to someone who saw the beauty in the world around and was able to control my emotions. I stopped taking my time on this world for granted and began to take in every waking moment.”

For these blessings – education and careers, networks and possibilities – many Best & Brightest thank their parents. Archi Das, a senior at Boston University’s Questrom School, reveres her parents for leaving Bangladesh to give her and her siblings better opportunities in New York City. Ana Vallejo Herrera lived at home while studying accounting and finance at the University of Houston’s Bauer College. Since Vallejo Herrera didn’t own a car, her parents would drop her off at the Metro station on their way to work and often pick her up from campus after 9 p.m. classes. For Juan Luis Kruger, a University of North Carolina business administration and economics major, his father acted as a role model who taught him business through example.

“I always had something to learn from him, whether visiting mining projects at 9,000 feet in the Peruvian Andes or social housing projects in the northern coast of Peru; discussing business articles together; or talking about my future and how to approach certain classes at the business school. The most important factor behind these learnings is that he taught me by example: showing up to work every day, taking time for our family during the weekends, showing us integrity in his acts, being humble about his achievements, and always putting people first.”

Lauren Gordon, Georgia Tech (Scheller)

LESSONS LEARNED

As the Class of 2023 streams into the workforce, what lessons have they learned and what advice would they give? Katherine Hyde, a senior at the University of South Carolina’s Darla Moore School, offers this nugget: “Prepare until you can completely explain and present the topic.” The University of Pittsburgh’s Lauren McNichol asserts that “You can learn from everyone and anything.” For USC’s JaJa Tong, business is all about relationships. That means summoning the courage to talk to leaders at events.

“I realized that, although they were much further in their careers, these professionals had once been in my shoes and knew what it felt like. Swallowing my initial fear, I pushed myself to talk to senior managers and CFOs. I eventually obtained a Big Four internship, as well as mentors who never hesitate to share invaluable advice when I need it. Four years ago, I never expected to graduate with such a vast network of experienced professionals, but am ever-grateful that I am.”

Another adage? How about Lauren Gordon’s “There is only one constant in business: Change.” By that, the Georgia Tech senior means that everything is always evolving, be it technology, consumer expectations, and even economic conditions. That requires, she says, an openness to change and innovation. When it comes to being a business student, Juan Luis Kruger urges his successors to live in the moment and make the most of their time.

“Explore your career options and the world, master your competitive advantage, commit 100% of your energy to whatever course of action you take, believe in yourself, and value the opportunities that life presents you.”

Congratulations, Class of 2023! Savor the moment. You were amazing!

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