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Since the Center for Real Estate Entrepreneurship’s (CREE) inception a dozen years ago, its advisory board, comprised of the region’s senior leaders from across the real estate industry, has been a staunch supporter of developing the next generation. As both the center and the master’s in real estate development program (MRED) mature, former students who have advanced in the careers and become industry leaders themselves, are coming back to support the program that helped them along their way.

The financial support that comes from receiving the Emerging Business Leader Award (EBLA) is significant, but for Nema Djavadi, BS Finance ’17, the recognition itself was most beneficial. The award opened up doors to prestigious employers and peers, allowing him to build a remarkable network, all while still an undergraduate student.

While on campus, it was imperative to Juancarlos Figueroa, BS Finance '20 that he lived his �鶹��Ƶ experience to the fullest. And he did just that, taking leadership positions in the Hispanic Student Association (HSA), Association of Latino Professionals for America (ALPFA), and the Student Managed Investment Fund (now the Montano Student Investment Fund). His �鶹��Ƶ experience has continued since graduating, and as an alum he has served as vice president of the investment committee for the Montano Student Investment Fund and continues to serve on the Latino Alumni Chapter Executive Board. 

After transferring to �鶹��Ƶ and graduating from the Master’s in Management accelerated one-year program in 2020, Cooper Mrowka decided to take advantage of his collegiate baseball eligibility to further his education. “I started looking to sports jobs, maybe combining my sport management and business management degrees and people kept saying that the new thing is data analytics–knowing how numbers work, how to analyze them, and how to use them to your advantage,” he says. Following completion of the business analytics certificate, Mrowka found that the skills he developed were applicable to a variety of fields, giving him many careers to choose from. 

On July 1, 2022, Dr. Ajay Vinzé began his tenure as the new Dean of �鶹��Ƶ’s School of Business. We sat down with Dean Vinzé to get to know him and learn about his first job, his favorite activities, and more! 

Molly Gimmel’s career has long been dedicated to helping other women become outstanding leaders. For more than two decades, she has served as the CEO and co-founder of Design To Delivery Inc, a federal government contractor helping organizations manage acquisitions, contracts, and projects. Recently, she founded the Vellamo Leadership Institute, an online community where women can support and mentor each other. And in April her book, Master Your Mindset: How Women Leaders Step Up was released, revealing the attitudes of effective female leaders across industry to show the reader how she too can reach her full potential.

On the afternoon of Tuesday, July 19, members of the School of Business Alumni Chapter, joined by Dean Ajay Vinzé, took time out of their busy schedules to give back to the local community. At the Food for Others warehouse in Fairfax, the group assembled hundreds of power packs of food for students facing food insecurity.

Alumni share their advice to fellow alumni.

The School of Business recently welcomed nine new board members to the Dean’s Advisory Council. The council acts as a partnership between the school and business leaders in order to deepen the business community’s participation in the development of �鶹��Ƶ business students. Members of the council represent a variety of industries and provide a real world perspective that ensures the school’s program curricula meet current industry needs.

As Ngoc Le was wrapping up her sophomore year at the �鶹��Ƶ School of Business, she was surprised to learn that she had been nominated for the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) scholarship. After a demanding application process, her hard work was rewarded as she was named a PCAOB scholar.