The Wisconsin School of Business held its 2026 BBA Graduation Celebration May 7 at the Kohl Center on the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s campus. This year’s ceremony was hosted by WSB’s Undergraduate Program.
In his address, Albert O. Nicholas Dean Vallabh “Samba” Sambamurthy encouraged graduates to set goals and to be prepared, but to “hold on loosely to the blueprint.”
He referenced the 2021 historic archeological find of dugout canoes in Lake Mendota; the canoes date back to more than 1,000 years.
“Yes, we’re leaving with degrees. But more importantly, we’re leaving with relationships, resilience, and a community that shaped who we are.”
—Bella Shim (BBA ’26)
“Some of the most important things in your life will be the ones you didn’t map out in advance,” he told the audience. “[It’s] much like those canoes: hidden in one of the most studied lakes in the world, waiting to be found—not by the people with the most data, but by the one who stayed curious, who went back, who looked again. That is the skill that will matter most in what comes next.”
Student keynote speaker Bella Shim (BBA ’26), real estate and urban land economics and management, inspired graduates and their families as she described her cohort’s journey. It was one of coming “full circle,” from the early days of feeling tentative and alone to navigating uncertainty boldly and together—and then paying it forward for future Business Badgers.
“Yes, we’re leaving with degrees,” Shim said. “But more importantly, we’re leaving with relationships, resilience, and a community that shaped who we are.”
Business Badger excellence was also in the spotlight again on May 9, when WSB student Ryan Schwartz (BBA ’26) delivered the student commencement address for the UW–Madison ceremony at Camp Randall Stadium.
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