An undergraduate who wants to use data analytics to decrease modern-day slavery, a student who worked at a start-up that is trying a new approach to cancer treatment, and a doctoral student studying conflict in the workplace were among the student fellows inducted in the School of Business’ Hall of Fame.
The celebration took place on March 22 at the Hartford Marriott Downtown, where some 250 alumni, faculty, staff and friends gathered for what is traditionally the School of Business’ biggest celebration of the year. UConn President Susan Herbst and Connecticut Lieutenant Gov. Susan Bysiewicz were both in attendance.
The Student Fellows included:
Hannah Bonitz ’19 (MIS)
Hannah Bonitz will graduate in May with a bachelor’s degree, majoring in management information systems. Her passion for business analytics and project management led her to begin her career with Travelers Insurance, where she has interned for the last three summers, in their IT Leadership Development Program.
Bonitz pursued a minor in women’s, gender, and sexuality studies minor. Her coursework led her to become an undergraduate research assistant in UConn’s History Department and inspired her year-long, ongoing honors thesis research into leveraging technology and analytics to combat modern slavery.
A student in the Honors program, Bonitz works in the Management Department as a social media coordinator for the academic journal Group and Organization Management and in the OPIM Department as a lab specialist researching analytics platforms and emerging technologies.
Ben Morneault ’19 (MGMT)
Ben Morneault is a senior majoring in business management with a concentration in entrepreneurship and a minor in analytics. He has maintained a 4.0 GPA while acting as president of the Business Management Society, and Ambassador for the Management Department, Innovation Quest, and the Werth Institute for Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Morneault also performed concept development and testing with Encapsulate, a medical diagnostic start-up, raising over $40,000 to fund its individualized chemotherapeutic solutions for cancer patients.
He has been recognized for his leadership and entrepreneurial work, including a spotlight in the 2018 School of Business Dean’s Report; an invitation to the CCEI Summer Fellowship, iQ Summer InQbator, and Emory University Undergraduate Business School Leadership Conference; and an allocation of funding from the Third Bridge Grant Program and Get Seeded Pitch Event. This past summer, Ben worked as a venture analyst intern for Loeb Enterprises, an early-stage venture lab in New York City. Some of his projects included gamification of an e-commerce platform, cost reduction for a Fortune 100 company, and podcast development with Fortune 100 executives. He is excited to return to Loeb Enterprises this summer as a business analyst.
Semin Park ’19 Ph.D. (MGMT)
Management Ph.D. candidate Semin Park is interested in relational dynamics within and between teams. Park is completing her dissertation, a multi-method experimental study of the conflict dynamics in a simulated mass-casualty incident with medical response. Her research has been published in leading peer-reviewed academic journals, including the Academy of Management Review, Organizational Research Methods, and American Psychologist, and her dissertation was awarded the Lee Hakel Award from the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology.
Park has also excelled in the classroom, receiving an average rating of 4.97 out of 5 from her students and she was awarded the school-wide outstanding Ph.D. student teaching award. Park earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a master’s degree in organizational behavior and human resource management from the Seoul National University. She will become an assistant professor at the University of Iowa’s Tippie College of Business in the fall.
Xiao Wang ’18 MSFRM
Xiao Wang received her master’s degree in financial risk management (MSFRM) in 2018 and was recognized as the strongest group leader upon graduation. Wang now works as the academic technician and lecturer for the MSFRM program. She is intrigued by the intersection of finance and data analytics and aspires to work in a data-driven role in the financial industry.
In January 2018, she led a team of four in the PRMIA Risk Management Challenge, and won both the regional round in New York and later the international round, beating teams from the U.S., Asia, Africa and Europe. In November 2018, the same team was awarded third place in McGill International Portfolio Challenge in Montreal, Canada.
In addition to her excellent academic performance, Wang also served as the vice president of the Graduate Financial Association in Hartford and was the graduate assistant for MSFRM, bridging the communications between faculty members and students.
Stephanie Winiarski ’19 MBA
Stephanie Winiarski will earn her MBA in marketing in May through the part-time MBA program. Winiarski currently serves as one of the Hartford part-time MBA Student Ambassadors. While pursuing her degree, Winiarski has worked full-time for Prudential Financial in marketing for the Individual Life Insurance business, and recently accepted a new role with the Individual Solutions Group’s Advanced Planning team. At Prudential, she is the Mentorship Committee Chair for the Generations Business Resource Group, whose purpose is to facilitate dialogue and learning among members of the diverse generations in the workforce. She also is an active member of the Prudent Speakers Toastmasters Club.