Victoria Lyczak
University of Notre Dame, Mendoza College of Business
“A bookworm, aspiring management scholar, and champion for uplifting communities, near and far.”
Fun fact about yourself: I’ve been counting the number of squirrels I’ve spotted on ND’s campus since my first year, and the number totals over 1,800!
Hometown: Wichita, KS
High School: Wichita Collegiate School
Major: Management Consulting & Theology
Minor: Business Honors Program
Favorite Business Course: Innovation & Design Thinking
Extracurricular Activities, Community Work and Leadership Roles During College:
- Mendoza College of Business College Council
- Mendoza Honesty Committee
- Röpke-Wojtyła Fellow of the Ciocca Center for Principled Entrepreneurship at the Catholic University of America
- Sorin Fellow with the de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture
- Bradley Fellow
- Transpose Dance Collective (Vice President for 2 years, President)
- Writer for HerCampus
- Stage Manager for Cavaret & Director for Cavanaugh Hall’s annual Christmas Pageant
- Worked closely with Bakhita’s, a women’s vocational school in rural Uganda, to promote digital literacy, develop a memoir for the head of school, and develop the spirituality portion of a life design program for the students there.
Where have you interned during your college career?
Midwest Billboards (Wichita, KS; Operations Transformation Analyst)
University of Notre Dame, Mendoza College of Business (Notre Dame, IN; Research Collaborator / Assistant)
Where will you be working after graduation? I am hoping to pursue a PhD in Management, in Organizational Behavior, to advance our understanding of how to support employee dignity in the workplace.
Who is your favorite business professor? It would be James Otteson because he fundamentally redefined the role I saw business playing in society. Business is not merely some sort of conduit allowing an exchange of goods and services, but rather something much more that actually uplifts humanity. Additionally, his commitment to teaching at the highest level and encouraging excellence among his students, his service through the Business Honors Program at Notre Dame, and the way he does it all cheerfully inspire me about the kind of professor I strive to be someday.
What is the biggest lesson you gained from studying business? Honorable business is an act of service and truly supports human dignity, both of employees and consumers, by allowing employees to engage in work as humanity is called to do and by meeting real human needs through the exchange of goods and services.
What advice would you give to a student looking to major in a business-related field? If the field of business feels broad and overwhelming, consider focusing on the skills you want to gain from your undergraduate studies; skills like problem solving, design thinking, and effective communication will take you far, regardless of whether you go into traditional consulting, banking, or non-profit work.
What has surprised you most about majoring in business? One thing that has surprised me about majoring in business is how many elements of business there are and how valuable each of those individual components is. It has been really neat to get a high-level understanding of each of these components through foundational classes like Financial Accounting, Principles of Marketing, and Introduction to Business Technology & Analytics. This makes me appreciate the importance and complexity of what my classmates and future colleagues are doing to a much greater extent.
Looking back over your experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently in business school and why? I would get involved with impact consulting work and academic research work sooner! These activities have defined the second half of my undergraduate business experience, and I wish I could have encountered these formative experiences earlier to have more time to dive deeper into them and do more of what has become my passion.
Which academic, extracurricular or personal achievement are you most proud of? I am most proud of my involvement in the Business Honors Program at Notre Dame as part of its inaugural cohort. We have had a unique opportunity to shape a rising program, take newly-developed challenging courses, and broaden our understanding of the connection between theology and business to cultivate a strong understanding of honorable business. Through the BHP, I even had the opportunity to take a PhD class with Dr. Jason Colquitt, which was part of the catalyst for why I am planning to pursue a PhD in management now.
Which classmate do you most admire? I particularly admire Josh Haskell because of his service-oriented mindset, vulnerability, and determination. Josh is in the Business Honors Program with me. In the program and across campus, he is known for embodying these traits and boldly living them every day. I have witnessed his service-oriented mindset and vulnerability through the honors program, and his determination from afar in class as well as on group projects together.
Who would you most want to thank for your success? I want to thank Holly Francis at Dale Carnegie because she taught me strong communication skills and nurtured the confidence in myself that has taken me where I am today.
What are the top two items on your professional bucket list? I want to serve the Academy of Management in a leadership role and be actively involved as a professor in an undergraduate ethical business program like the Business Honors Program at Notre Dame.
What made Victoria such an invaluable addition to the Class of 2024?
“Victoria Lyczak embodies intelligence, wisdom, and empathy. As her professor in design thinking and impact consulting, I have had the privilege to see firsthand the passion and perseverance she has poured into working with a girl’s school in Uganda on collaborative innovation projects to support the young women in developing skills to lift themselves and their families out of poverty. I have also had the opportunity to engage Victoria as my research assistant, affording me with the opportunity to see another dimension of her academic excellence. She stands as a testament to the transformative power of intellect, compassion, and an unwavering commitment to understanding the human experience. Beyond being a student, she is truly a force for good, and an inspiration to others to reach for their highest potential.”
Wendy Angst
Teaching Professor of Management & Organization
Director of Undergraduate Studies – Impact Consulting Minor
Mendoza College of Business
University of Notre Dame
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