Dawn Kink, University of Illinois (Gies)
“Professor Dawn Kink in the Accountancy department certainly stands out as one of my favorites. I have been fortunate enough to take both Accounting 304: Accounting Control Systems and Accounting 405: Assurance and Attestation with Professor Kink, who is an alumna of Gies and worked as a partner at PwC for 30 years. Professor Kink is committed to giving back to the university and inspiring others with her vast industry knowledge and experience. Accounting 405 ultimately sparked my passion for auditing.
I have seen few professors who dedicate as much time and effort as Professor Kink in designing each lesson, paper, and project. Her priority is to see each of her students succeed. But what truly distinguishes Professor Kink is her commitment to students outside of the classroom. My favorite moments were spent during informal meetings or “coffee chats”. Here, she shared experiences throughout her professional career, such as working around the world, particularly in London and Zurich. In the spring of 2021, when everyone was exhausted from over a year of remote learning, Professor Kink came to the rescue with weekly emails full of comedic images and videos. The following fall, when recruitment season for internships arrived, Professor Kink was instrumental in helping me prepare for and guiding me through the entire process. In short, Professor Kink is everything one could ever ask for in a professor. She is passionate, caring, and dedicated to all of her students, regardless of the need or request. She is always there for us. I hope to one day follow in her footsteps and become a Gies professor myself; I certainly know where to turn for inspiration. She is a true testament for what it means to be an Illini!”
Alex Kogen, University of Illinois (Gies)
“I have taken four courses and had countless office hours with Professor Dr. Alan Hertz during my time at Hult. His enthusiasm for the humanities, coupled with the energy and ingenuity with which he delivers the content, are inspiring. His teaching technique creates an environment of openness and self-expression. On several occasions, I left his critical thinking class having more questions than when I first entered based of the stories he delivered in class. In his theatre class, I had a broader appreciation and understanding of the arts and for London as a city of limitless opportunity.
Jeanette Heidewald, Indiana University (Kelley)
He taught me the importance of understanding the perspectives of others and how to evaluate the validity of arguments presented in society. Through his classes, I’ve learned how to construct a powerful narrative, which I have directly been able to apply in my professional roles. Anyone at Hult will tell you that Professor Hertz cares deeply for his students. I am incredibly grateful to have shared abundant memories in and outside the classroom through the field trips to performance venues and museums across London. Thank you so much, professor; my Hult experience would not have been as transformational and fun without you!”
Zachary Benetatos, Hult International Business School
“Jeanette Heidewald, who taught honors business communications, allowed us to make our own decisions, grow as business leaders, and deal with the consequences both positive and negative of our actions. Like an actual supervisor she was always looking for ways for us to maximize our potential using the skills we learned in the classroom for external opportunities. With her heavy emphasis on real-life case scenarios, this class was one of the most important classes that I use each day, to stand out in my internship, and to hope to shine during my full-time offer.”
Maiya Cook, Indiana University (Kelley)
“A professor who I cannot say enough about is Professor Nandu Nayar. Professor Nayar goes out of his way to help his students succeed both in the classroom and professionally. He designed an entire course geared towards helping his students break into high finance roles, and brought in high caliber professionals to speak to our class. As the finance chair, he has transformed the finance department and works hard to create opportunities for his students, as well as to increase the number of firms targeting Lehigh. It is rare to find a professor who commands the respect of all his students and is able to captivate a room the way he can.
The day before I had the interview for the job I ended up accepting, I reached out to Professor Nayar and asked him if he would help run me through some technical questions prior to the interview. He was more than willing to make time for me out of his busy schedule, and his advice ended up making a big difference in my interviews. It is evident that Professor Nayar really cares a lot about his students, and the impact that he has both on a personal level for the people he teaches and works with and on a larger level for the university cannot be understated.”
Connor Sept, Lehigh University
Lori Rogala, University of Michigan (Ross)
“During freshman orientation, I met Professor Mark Shapiro as he was leading the MGT100 Program (Managing for Success in the Global Environment), a required course for all first-year business students. Unbeknown to me at the time, he would be someone that completely shaped my college career. Dr. Shapiro is incredibly gifted in his ability to lead thought-provoking and memorable lectures with lessons that transcend beyond the classroom, and I can honestly say that many other Miami Herbert students share the same sentiment. He was also my professor for BSL212 (Intro to Business Law and Ethics). Inspired by his passion and the wealth of litigation expertise he brought to the curriculum, I added Legal Studies as a second major which balanced out the quantitative work in my finance courses. I have so much gratitude for his exceptional mentorship – he has helped me navigate difficult career decisions, and his wisdom has enabled me to become more flexible in the way I define success. Most of all, he has played a significant part in my growth as an aspiring business professional.”
Cory Levy, University of Miami (Herbert)
“My favorite professor at Ross has to be Lori Rogala! I took two classes with her (Business Law & Ethics and Law of Marketing) and served on a committee alongside her during my junior year of college. She made class and meetings exciting, as Professor Rogala perfectly balanced being supportive whilst challenging me and other students to be our best. It’s clear that she’s passionate about the work she does both inside (as a professor) and outside the classroom (trying to make our DEI curriculum better), and I deeply admire the effort she puts into making our educational experience worthwhile.”
Kirsten Lam, University of Michigan (Ross)
“Rand Park has been my favorite professor at the University of Minnesota because of the intensity and energy he brings to his courses. He was one of my first professors at the Carlson School when I took his Corporate Ethics and Responsibility course as a freshman. It’s during this course that I grew to love Rand’s energetic teaching style that brought life to a course topic that I didn’t inherently have an interest in. In addition to the energy that he brought every day, Rand set a precedent for me as a freshman on what business should look like when done ethically and with the care of all stakeholders at the forefront. He transformed my perception of business away from the historic bad practices we learned about in his course to a more idealistic version of business where it can be used as a tool to benefit the people and communities around me.”
Chike Okonkwo, University of Minnesota (Carlson)
“Kymm Hadlock: I have had Professor Hadlock for three business communication classes. Over the course of three semesters, I have seen my writing and presentation skills increase tremendously with her help. Professor Hadlock never lets good be good enough, and while this can be frustrating at times, she has pushed me to grow as a student. Her dedication and commitment to seeing students succeed makes her one of the best professors within Broad.”
Jack Budde, Michigan State (Broad)
Breagin Riley, University of North Carolina (Kenan-Flagler)
“Professor Brian Hanssen is my favorite professor because he cares about each and every single one of “his students. He taught me Organizational Communication and because of him, it’s one of my favorite classes at Stern. He gives personalized feedback and structures his classes to be incredibly engaging by incorporating in-class exercises such as impromptu presentations. All of this, and his humor, make early morning classes worth going to.
Eric Zhang, New York University (Stern)
“My favorite professor is Dr. Breagin Riley after I took her class BUSI 562: Consumer Behavior. Her course had some of the most engaging material I’ve had at the business school, and I was fascinated by the reasoning and theory behind consumer behavior. Not only was the course engaging, but it was clear that Dr. Riley cared about us as her students. Assignments were thoughtful, grading was fair, and she gave us countless real-world applications of the material. She prioritized our well-being and wanted us to understand the material instead of just getting a good grade. I felt listened to and understood by Dr. Riley, and appreciated her kindness and attention to student needs.”
Marley Davis-Martin, University of North Carolina (Kenan-Flagler)
“Martin Barron is my favorite professor at Notre Dame. Professor Barron has a keen ability to connect with students at an individual level and unlock vigor for complex subjects such as machine learning and analytics. He often sacrifices his time to sit down with students and walk them through model building and is truly only an email away. Each interaction with him leaves students feeling empowered to take on complex projects. Beyond all of this, Professor Barron cares deeply about his students. Whether it’s by encouraging students to put their health first or remembering their favorite soccer team, he ensures that there are no barriers to being a successful student in his class.”
Allan Njomo, Notre Dame (Mendoza)
“Ahmed Elshahat is my favorite professor for a few reasons. His teaching style strikes a balance of theory and real-world applications. He combines analytical concepts with his previous consulting experience to give us a well-rounded foundation of finance concepts.
He sets time aside so that I can connect with him outside the classroom to talk about my career goals and ambitions. We discuss my future aspirations and projects together to refine what would be most beneficial to my future. We also have a good time talking about the latest basketball games. I enjoyed hearing about his time playing international basketball and how that has added to his perspective on finance, the future, and more. I look up to him as my mentor and hope we can continue this relationship in the future.”
David Turnbo, University of Pittsburgh
“My favorite professor is Kevin McMahon due to his incorporation of faith and finance within the business school. I have had Professor McMahon for three semesters, and he has always been able to tie in the importance of faith and ethics in the world of finance. He also does a phenomenal job of bringing his real-life work experience and religious experiences into the classroom. In the process, he educates students on the trials and triumphs of corporate America and how to maintain a life you are proud of. Professor McMahon always makes time for his students when they are struggling in the classroom or outside of it. I will never forget my sophomore year when my father was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer and Professor McMahon showed me sympathy, compassion. He helped me complete my Managerial Finance I course while commuting to Lexington, Kentucky, as often as possible to be there for my family during difficult treatments. To this day, I attribute much of my success to Professor McMahons teachings.”
Katie Markham, Providence College
Bill Bergman, University of Richmond (Robins)
“One professor that has consistently made the most meaningful impact in my life is Mr. Bill Bergman. He formats his classes in such a way that those classes transition you from just learning concepts to actively thinking about their applications in the real world. His hands-on teaching style truly puts you in the seat of a salesperson or business executive (depending on the situation), where you are forced to make real decisions with limited time. His projects go above-and-beyond those which are expected in a classroom setting, and I walk out of every class with fresh perspective on tackling the problems I face. Bergman somehow finds a way to locate every student’s strength and use those strengths to outperform the competition in a collaborative, challenging, yet rewarding environment – something that is critical to success in business.”
Mihir Shroff, University of Richmond (Robins)
“My favorite professor is Kevin Johns who teaches Business Policy and Strategy. I initially had some skepticism about this course because it is a three-hour section on a Tuesday night that ends at 10:30 pm. However, Professor Johns has made his course three hours that I look forward to weekly. I enjoy how he can teach about business’ construction and functionality from both a theoretical and pragmatic perspective through his depth of business experience. I also appreciate Professor Johns’ laid-back approach, making the class a casual but informative discussion rather than a standard lecture with little to no interaction.”
Dustin Han, Rutgers University (New Brunswick)
“My favorite professor is Andre de Souza. He is a person I admire for many reasons. Firstly, he cares about you learning the material and applying inside and outside of the classroom. He makes himself available throughout the week to address any questions or concerns you have regarding the material. Additionally, he is so passionate about what he teaches that you feel motivated to learn and do well. This does not come naturally to everyone – he truly has a gift for teaching. Furthermore, Dr. De Souza motivates his students to engage in co-curricular and extracurricular activities that may help them in the long run. His genuine interest in seeing other students thrive is truly remarkable.”
Lizbeth Edwards Smith, St. John’s University (Tobin)
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