Alums Inducted Into Hall of Fame

May 18, 2016

2016 Hall of Fame Alumni Inductees Robert Hughes '92, Drew Figdor '83, and Corliss Montesi '85 (Nathan Oldham/UConn School of Business)
2016 Hall of Fame Alumni Inductees Robert Hughes ’92, Drew Figdor ’83, and Corliss Montesi ’86 (Nathan Oldham/UConn School of Business)

School Honors Three Top Business Leaders Who Also Make Time to Give Back

The UConn School of Business honored three of its top alumni on May 6, inducting them into the School’s Hall of Fame during an elaborate and festive ceremony at the Hartford Marriott Downtown.

Those honored included: Continue Reading

Trailblazers: Three Outstanding Students Inducted Into Hall of Fame

Associate Dean of Research Sulin Ba presents Emily Vasington '16 with her Hall of Fame award. (Nathan Oldham/UConn School of Business)
Associate Dean of Research Sulin Ba presents Emily Vasington ’16 with her Hall of Fame award. (Nathan Oldham/UConn School of Business)

An undergraduate who worked to improve bachelor-degree programs, an MBA student who helped his colleagues make new business contacts, and a Ph.D. student with award-winning research were the three student inductees into the School of Business Hall of Fame on May 6.Continue Reading

Graduates: Listen to Your Mother!

May 17, 2016

John Y. Kim '87 MBA, president and CIO of New York Life, offers advice to School of Business graduates during commencement on May 8. (Nathan Oldham/UConn School of Business)
John Y. Kim ’87 MBA, president and CIO of New York Life, offers advice to School of Business graduates during commencement on May 8. (Nathan Oldham/UConn School of Business)

New York Life President John Y. Kim ’87 MBA Delivers Light-hearted, Advice-Filled Commencement Speech

Be kind to your siblings and your co-workers, never show up at a celebration empty handed, and listen to your mothers.

That was some of the advice that alumnus John Y. Kim ’87 MBA, the president and CIO of New York Life, offered to School of Business graduates during commencement on May 8. Continue Reading

Graduate Profile: Alexandra Wilds ’16

Alexandra Wilds (Nathan Oldham/UConn School of Business)
Alexandra Wilds (Nathan Oldham/UConn School of Business)

Alexandra Wilds: Management
The Quest for Quality Health Care Worldwide is This Graduate’s Career Focus

“I know you’re all here to make money,” said the business professor teaching an introductory course at the university that Alexandra Wilds ’16 attended during freshman year.

And Wilds got a lump in her throat. A very big lump. Because her reason for pursuing a business education wasn’t to seek wealth or power, but to focus onContinue Reading

Graduate Profile: Kayla O’Leary ’16

Kayla O'Leary (UConn School of Business)
Kayla O’Leary (UConn School of Business)

Kayla O’Leary: Marketing
‘Those High Achievers Pulled Out a Competitive Side in Me!’

Kayla O’Leary ’16 combined her passion for marketing and her love of the law into an honors thesis during her senior year.

How do you balance a consumer’s freedom of speech, including the right to gripe about a product or service on social media, with a company’s right to respond to unfair criticism and protect its brand equity?Continue Reading

Graduate Profile: Brendan Moore ’16

Brendan Moore (Zack Wussow/UConn School of Business)
Brendan Moore (Zack Wussow/UConn School of Business)

Brendan Moore: Real Estate
Graduate Plans to Bring Irish Work Ethic to Job; Mentor UConn Students the Way Others Guided Him

Having a strong network of colleagues and friends is crucial in every business, but especially in commercial real estate.

“The professors really preached to us that it is important to maintain your friends and network with your classmates,” said Brendan Moore ’16. “It is such a big industry, but everyone is connected in some aspect.”

Moore, a native of Trumbull, was namedContinue Reading

Graduate Profile: Grace Kim ’16

Grace Kim (UConn School of Business)
Grace Kim (UConn School of Business)

Grace Kim: Accounting
‘I think UConn was one of the better choices I’ve made’

Grace Kim ’16 pursued her college education with zeal. An accounting honors student, she also minored in Spanish and art history, lived abroad with a Spanish family for a month, and worked at the Benton Museum of Art on campus.

“I figured I’m paying for a great college education, I may as well take every opportunity I can and enjoy it,” she said.

For this first-generation college student, the only child of Korean immigrants, graduation is bittersweet.Continue Reading

Graduate Profile: Andrea Jimenez ’16

Andrea Jimenez at the 2016 UConn School of Business undergraduate commencement ceremony. (Nathan Oldham/UConn School of Business)
Andrea Jimenez at the 2016 UConn School of Business undergraduate commencement ceremony. (Nathan Oldham/UConn School of Business)

Andrea Jimenez: Financial Management
Graduate Took Time to Reflect on Family’s Sacrifices That Provided Her with a Brighter Future

It would be an understatement to say that earning her college degree was profoundly important to Andrea Jimenez ’16.

“Graduation is such a special moment and it has made me reflect on where I came from and what previous generations did to allow me to be here,” said Jimenez, a native of Mexico, who has earned a bachelor’s degree in financial management.

Jimenez has lived in Connecticut since she was 2. But several years ago, Continue Reading

Graduate Profile: Kevin Brown ’16

Kevin Brown '16 (Nathan Oldham/UConn School of Business)
Kevin Brown ’16 (Nathan Oldham/UConn School of Business)

Kevin Brown: OPIM
Declined Two Job Offers Before the Right One Came Along

When you’re about to graduate from college and start your career, it’s tempting to grab the first job offer that comes your way.

“I think the best advice I got from both professors and employers, is Continue Reading

Student Graduation Speaker: Parth Rana ’16

Parth Rana '16 (Nathan Oldham/UConn School of Business)
Parth Rana ’16 (Nathan Oldham/UConn School of Business)

Finance major Parth Rana ’16, the student graduation speaker, told his classmates that they shouldn’t use their UConn knowledge strictly to excel in their careers. To do so, would be an injustice to the values of the university, he said.

Instead, he urged students to show gratitude to the innumerable people that helped carry them to this height and to blend knowledge with action. Meet new people, push yourself out of your comfort zone and express passion and excitement in all that you do, he said.

Related Commencement 2016 Stories

2016 School of Business Undergraduate Commencement Ceremony (Video)

View a copy of the 2016 Commencement Program

Listen to Your Mother! New York Life President John Y. Kim ’87 MBA Delivers Light-Hearted, Advice-Filled Commencement Speech

Graduate Profiles

When School of Business Dean John A. Elliott introduced the Class of 2016 at Commencement on May 8, he congratulated them on the significant milestone of graduation and reassured them that they are well prepared for what lies ahead.

“You are poised to become prominent members of your communities, voters whose votes will guide our choices, leaders whose words will affect others,” he said. “You are prepared to continue to learn, to leave your mark on our world, to innovate and create, to produce new products and new companies and to be leaders in your communities.”

Below, some of the top students from the Class of 2016 share their future plans: