Levi Grimm

Miami University, Farmer School of Business

“Always up for a challenge or adventure – just send me a calendar invite first.”

Fun fact about yourself: Undefeated family Monopoly champion since age six

Hometown: Okeana, Ohio

High School: Ross High School

Major: Information Systems and Entrepreneurship

Minor: Computer Science and Cybersecurity Management

Favorite Business Course: Social Entrepreneurship

Extracurricular Activities, Community Work, and Leadership Roles During College:

Extracurricular Activities, Community Work, and Leadership Roles

Business Honors Cohort Member
Business Student Advisory Council Member
Farmer School of Business – Student Ambassador
Issac & Oxley Center for Business Leadership – Student Director
JEE Foods – Executive Director
Miami University Food Recovery Network
Miami University Gospel Choir
Miami University Honors College – Student Ambassador
Miami University Prodesse Scholars Program
Miami University Student Sustainability Council Representative
Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute – Civic Leaders Fellow

Honors and Awards

2024 United Nations Civil Society Conference Speaker
Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society Member
EY Information Systems & Analytics Scholarship Recipient
John Altman Institute for Entrepreneurship, RedHawk Venture Pitch Competition – 2nd Place
KPMG Information Systems & Analytics Scholarship Recipient
Miami University Love & Honor Cup Award Winner
President’s List

Where have you interned during your college career?

Deloitte Consulting, Cincinnati, OH – Business Technology Solutions Summer Scholar
United States House of Representatives, Washington, DC – Congressional Intern
Food Rescue US, Stamford, CT – Product Support Representative

Where will you be working after graduation? Deloitte Consulting, Business Technology Solutions Analyst

Who is your favorite business professor? Dr. Megan Gerhardt has been more than a Human Capital Management and Leadership professor to me – she’s been a mentor. As part of the Issac & Oxley Center for Business Leadership, Dr. Gerhardt has guided me in how to lead in alignment with my core values and personal “why”. I admire her passion for what she teaches and her individual attention to students. She asks questions that challenge me to think differently and have spurred countless moments of personal growth.

What is the biggest lesson you gained from studying business? Knowledge about specific topics is undeniably important in any major, but I have realized that there are foundational skills that cut across every major that aren’t necessarily taught in textbooks. In my experience, building your professional reputation, through the way that you conduct yourself, is just as important as gaining knowledge and understanding content. As professionals, we need to focus on our character to build trust, maintain integrity, and lead authentically. It is one’s reputation and character that can pave the way to relationships that produce results and solve problems.

What advice would you give to a student looking to major in a business-related field? Remember that you define what success looks like for you. It is easy to fall into the trap of comparison or adjusting your measuring stick based on how others define success. It is important to focus on YOUR goals and view your success in light of those goals.

Looking back over your experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently in business school and why? The faculty at the Farmer School of Business is outstanding, and that is clear from day one. The professors truly care about your aspirations and want to support you. My most memorable experiences often began with a conversation outside of class where a professor asked a question that led to me sharing more about my interests or activities. Looking back, I wish I would have engaged with the faculty sooner. Not only did I feel supported, but the relationships also led to internships, research projects, and opportunities that enriched my experience.

What is one way that your business school has integrated AI into your programming? What is one insight you gained from using AI? The Farmer School of Business emphasizes being “Beyond Ready” for the professional world, and I feel that the AI strategy is meant to mimic what we would find in our jobs. The use of AI was encouraged to complement our thinking. For example, in an internship preparation class, we learned AI prompting and used it to refine our resumes and cover letters. Using AI has shown me its incredible power to tackle monotonous, repetitive work. However, it has also exposed shortfalls in imagination and accuracy. Although a helpful tool, AI can never replace the creativity and ingenuity of the human spirit.

Which academic, extracurricular, or personal achievement are you most proud of? As a Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation Civic Leaders Fellow, I was one of 25 students from across the nation brought together to learn from elected officials, exchange policy ideas, and develop strategies for encouraging informed patriotism and civic responsibility. I’m proud of the experience because I believe that I was the truest to how I want to lead in business and serve my community. I took advantage of the opportunity to listen to and engage with participants with diverse backgrounds, political beliefs, and experiences. The fellowship deepened my understanding of the complex issues we face and showed me how we can work together, despite differences, when we remain united on the end goal.

Which classmate do you most admire? Little did I know that the roommate I found through the college roommate matching system would be a fellow business student and become one of my strongest friends. I admire him and continually learn from him four years later. To say that Chris Petropoulos is dedicated to excellence in what he does would be an understatement. From intellectual conversations to scheming about our future passive income investments, Chris always brings a thoughtful perspective. I admire Chris’s character, his loyalty, and his discipline. I feel that the saying “iron sharpens iron” describes our friendship. Chris spurs me on to strive for excellence in all I do.

Who would you most want to thank for your success? My high school teacher, Mr. Tom O’Neill, left a lasting impact on how I approach opportunities and challenges. Mr. O’Neill instilled the mindset of thinking in terms of possibilities and seeing obstacles as opportunities. He believed that the best way to learn was by doing even if it meant failing forward. He urged me to be relentless in pursuing my goals and to see ‘no’ as a temporary barrier to ‘yes’. It was the way he pushed and mentored me that ignited a fire to not admire the problems around me but to do something about them.

What are the top two items on your professional bucket list?

Take part in a public speaking tour
Continually give back through nonprofit work and potentially run for public office

What made Levi such an invaluable addition to the Class of 2025?

“I have known Levi for almost two years as a Professor of Management and Leadership and as Director of the Isaac & Oxley Center for Business Leadership at the Farmer School of Business at Miami University. In my 20 years of being a college professor, Levi has been one of the most impressive students I have encountered. While his accomplishments speak for themselves, I am happy to share my perspective on his academic achievements, leadership abilities, and his tremendous impact on our Center, school, campus, and the community.

Levi exemplifies servant leadership, conscientiousness, and extraordinary performance in so many ways. He has a double major in Computer Science & Cybersecurity Management. He is a strong student, as evidenced by his strong GPA (3.96), but his impact is much more significant than that. It is probably most telling that this strong level of in-class academic performance is just the first of many reasons Levi deserves this award.

While maintaining that stellar GPA across two challenging majors, Levi also completed a national fellowship with the Ronald Reagan Presidential Institute. This fellowship is given to undergraduate students who have a passion for civic responsibility and community service.

Levi is never one to draw attention to himself or be the loudest one in the room, so perhaps it is not a surprise that I did not learn right away about the truly phenomenal work he does as the Executive Director of Jee Foods, a local nonprofit, student-run food rescue organization. I first heard about this work during our one-on-one leadership coaching sessions in the CBL. Levi was inspired by a core values exercise we had done in one of our leadership labs and was interested in having his high school volunteers complete it as well. This exercise allows individuals to clarify their own core values to better understand what drives them to lead but also is helpful in building effective and cohesive teams. Levi understood that a volunteer workforce was likely there for a wide range of reasons and wanted to better understand his team so he could lead them effectively. His interest and willingness to take what he was learning on campus and apply it to strengthen his work and impact in the community is what makes Levi so deserving of this award.

After that session, I began to learn more about Levi’s passion for Jee Foods. Inspired by a goal “to strive to end hunger, food waste, and poverty through food rescue. While our team is committed to addressing the needs of those who are hungry, we aim to take on the core factors in which these problems are rooted, to create sustainable change.” The organization began as the result of a high school project challenge (Samsung Global STEAM Challenge) and was presented at the United Nations in 2018. Jee Foods went on to receive a proclamation from the mayor of Hamilton, won the SAGE (Students for the Advancement of Global Entrepreneurship) World Cup in South Africa in 2018, and became a vital part of community survival efforts during the 2020 pandemic. Today the organization serves over thirty organizations across three states through the USDA Farms to Families program, distributing as much as 80,000 pounds of produce, dairy, and meat products weekly. As a college student, Levi leads this amazing organization, often taking business calls right outside my office in between his classes. Just last week he commented that they had received a donation of 250,000 pounds of potatoes (!) and he was brainstorming what to do with them all.

He doesn’t seek praise or recognition for any of his work, which makes him all the more deserving of it. In one of our recent coaching sessions, I told Levi I considered him a Level 5 leader. Level 5 leaders “display a powerful mixture of personal humility and indomitable will. They’re incredibly ambitious, but their ambition is first and foremost for the cause, for the organization and its purpose, not themselves.” Over spring break, Levi then emailed me that he was on vacation reading a book all about Level 5 leadership.

Levi has inspired me to be a better leader and a better teacher by setting an example for all of us. He strives for excellence in everything he dedicates himself to doing, and he represents the best of who we are. While I do not think he needs any recommendations from external sources to demonstrate his amazing abilities and drive to improve our society.”

Megan W. Gerhardt, Ph.D.
Professor, Management & Leadership
Co-Director, Isaac & Oxley Center for Business Leadership
Farmer School of Business
Miami University

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