As another school year comes to a close, we are excited to recognize and announce the students that received awards by making significant contribution to the UW-Madison campus during this current academic year. While the COVID-19 virus disrupted in-person instruction in March, our resilient administrators, faculty, staff, and students adapted quickly and successfully to the new normal of online classes and finished the semester on a high note. As the spring semester at UW-Madison ends, we want to acknowledge students’ outstanding accomplishments.
LÜM Scholarship
For the second year in a row, we are proud to have Live Undiscovered Music (also known as LÜM) sponsor this award. The purpose is to provide scholarship support to an undergraduate student seeking a degree or certificate in entrepreneurship. This year’s LÜM Scholarship is presented to Adam Opichka who will be graduating in May 2020 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Sciences and a certificate in entrepreneurship. He was also president of Transcend UW. Adam will be working at Slalom as a Solution Analyst in Chicago, Illinois.
Alan C. Filley Outstanding Undergraduate Award
Al Filley was a professor of management in the Wisconsin School of Business from 1961 to 1998. Professors Al Filley, Bob Pricer and Jon Udell established what is now known as the Weinert Center. Professor Filley was a master teacher who is remembered by countless former students who were inspired by him to become successful business owners. This award honors his contributions to entrepreneurship. This year’s recipient of the Alan C. Filley Outstanding Undergraduate Award is Alexandria (Lexi) Peetz who will be graduating with her Bachelor of Business Administration degree with a double major in Human Resources and Risk Management in May 2020. Lexi will be working at Epic Systems as a Quality Assurance Software Tester in Madison, Wisconsin.
James J. Weinert Outstanding WAVE Student
Entrepreneurship Award — Voted on by classmates
Each year the Weinert Applied Ventures in Entrepreneurship (WAVE) class selects a classmate for special recognition regarding the advice and assistance the person gives to other teams to enhance and enrich their business ideas. This year’s recipient of the James J. Weinert Outstanding WAVE Student Entrepreneurship Award is Megan Stock. Megan is a student in the Center for Brand and Product Management and will be graduating with her Master of Business Administration degree in May 2020. She also was a member of the Fellowship in Enterprise Development program and worked in the Weinert Center for Entrepreneurship. She will be working at Tyson Foods as an Associate Brand Manager in Chicago, Illinois.
Jon G. & Susan S. Udell Scholarship in Entrepreneurship
In its third year, this endowed scholarship in entrepreneurship was started by Jon and Susan Udell. Jon Udell was a professor of marketing and worked on free enterprise education in the Wisconsin School of Business with Bob Pricer and Al Filley and merged their programs to create the Enterprise Center which was later renamed the Weinert Center. Jon & Susan created a scholarship to be awarded to an MBA candidate that has a passion for entrepreneurship. This scholarship will assist in providing financial support through the student’s last year of study. Sara Klunk, an MBA student in the A.C. Nielsen Center for Marketing Analytics and Insights, is this year’s recipient. Sara will be interning at SC Johnson as a Consumer Insights and Business Analytics Intern in Racine, Wisconsin.
MBA Award Winners
The MBA and Master’s Program Office held their Awards ceremony virtually on Thursday, April 30th and four of our Fellowship in Enterprise Development students won very prestigious awards. These outstanding students are working to make the world and the Wisconsin School of Business a better place!
Badger Spirit Award
Kaitlyn Wilchynski (Fellowship ’20) received the Badger Spirt Award. This award was created to recognize students who demonstrate enthusiasm and generate excitement with the Wisconsin MBA Community. She also was recognized as one of our 4 nominees for the Poets and Quants Top 100 MBA’s Best and Brightest and will be featured on commencement day as one of two featured student presenters. Kaitlyn, an MBA student in the Center for Brand and Product Management, will be graduating in May 2020 and will be heading to Intuit as a Product Manager in Mountain View, California.
Impact and Innovation Award
Johnnie Wagman (Fellowship and WAVE ’20) was the recipient of the Impact and Innovation Award. This award is for an individual who has developed a program/event or created a significant impact on the full-time MBA Program. The nominee must demonstrate that they have been innovative and that they are committed to shaping the future for the Wisconsin MBA. Johnnie, an MBA student in the Erdman Center for Operations and Technology Management, will be graduating in May 2020 and is seeking a role as a product manager for productivity or education software.
Jerred Service Award
Keaton Nankivil (Fellowship and WAVE ’20) was selected for the Jerred Service Award. This award emphasizes a student’s service activities while pursuing a graduate degree along with strong academic achievement. Keaton, an MBA student in the Nicholas Center for Corporate Finance and Investment Banking, will graduate in May 2020 and is pursuing opportunities on the investing side of finance and is interested in working for a startup or accelerator to advise small companies.
Outstanding Student Award
Hannah O’Brien (Fellowship and WAVE ’20) received the Outstanding Student Award. Recipients for this award are selected on the basis of their academic excellence, extracurricular activities and service activities. Students with a GPA of 3.75 or higher are eligible to be nominated for this award. Hannah, an MBA student in the Center for Brand and Product Management, will graduate in May 2020 and will join SC Johnson as an Associate Marketing Manager in Chicago, Illinois.
MBA Leadership Award
Megan Stock (Fellowship and WAVE ’20) won the MBA Leadership Award. The recipient of this award is a student who has displayed extraordinary leadership skills and service to the MBA Program during their two years. Megan, an MBA student in the Center for Brand and Product Management, will graduate in May 2020 and has accepted a full-time position at Tyson Foods as an Associate Brand Manager in Chicago, Illinois.
We congratulation and celebrate the achievements of these students and wish them the best of luck as they start the next chapter of their lives.
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