Another year, another graduating class! As students leave Grainger Hall for the final time, we reflect on the year and the time we have spent together.
As the year closes, we want to recognize these accomplished scholars in all they have achieved during their time here at UW-Madison and in the Weinert Center.
Schulze Publication Award
Phil Greenwood, Senior Lecturer, submitted an article to the Entrepreneur & Innovation Exchange (EIX) and won the coveted Richard M. Schulze Publication Award where the money is used to fund student scholarships. The first recipient was Seneida Biendarra who is a graduate student in the Design + Innovation program and will receive her Master of Science degree in May 2022. She is pursuing a job in product development and continuing to work on her startup, Skillzboard.
The second recipient is Ebonie Reavis who is an electrical engineering major with a certificate in entrepreneurship. While still deciding on her internship for the summer, Ebonie will be participating with her dance team KASPER and plans to become certified in SEO analytics and digital marketing.
LÜM Scholarship Award
For the fourth 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 Sara Zaidan who is a triple major in entrepreneurship, marketing and information systems and will be graduating in May 2022. She will take some time off and has plans to begin working on a startup.
Jane Pricer Memorial Scholarship
We are pleased to announce a new scholarship that was established to celebrate the life of Jane Pricer who sadly was taken away from us too soon on December 26, 2021. Jane was the wife of Professor Bob Pricer, co-founder of the Weinert Center. Jane was a driving source of inspiration and positivity and created a nurturing environment to students to pursue their business interests and dreams. This year’s Jane Pricer Memorial Scholarship is presented to Marina Bloomer who will graduate with her MBA degree in Brand and Product Management in May 2022. She will be working on her startup Stellar Tech Girls in Middleton.
Jon G. & Susan S. Udell Scholarship in Entrepreneurship
In its fourth 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. Macallum Brabender, an MBA student in the Erdman Center for Operations and Technology Management, is this year’s recipient. Macallum will be at Verzion as an MBA Supply Chain Ideation intern.
Outstanding WAVE Student
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 Gladis Guerrero Gee. Gladis is a student in the A.C. Nielsen Center for Marketing Analytics and Insights and will be graduating with her MBA degree in May 2022. She will be working at ZS Associates with the title of Strategy Insights and Planning.
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.
We also say farewell and goodbye to our outstanding Fellowship and WAVE students. These students excelled both inside and outside of the classroom and we wish them well as they prepare for the adventures that lie ahead.
We are pleased to share the future plans of our Fellowship and WAVE students with you.
Marina Bloomer (Fellow & WAVE ’22) will be launching her company, Stellar Tech Girls, as Founder & Program Director in Middleton, Wisconsin.
Samantha Betlej (Fellow & WAVE ’22) will be joining Cisco Systems, as a Duo Security Product Manager in Chicago, Illinois.
Logan Butson (WAVE ’22) will be joining S.C. Johnson as an Associate Manager of Consumer Insights in Racine, Wisconsin.
Jennifer Dyken (WAVE ’22) will be joining AstraZeneca as part of their Commercial Leadership Development Program in Wilmington, Delaware.
Brandon Evans (Fellow & WAVE ’22) will be joining Morty as a Founding Product Manager in Los Angeles, California.
Gladis Guerrero Gee (Fellow & WAVE ’22) will be joining ZS Associates as a part of their Strategy Insights and Planning team in San Francisco, California.
Thomas George (Fellow & WAVE ’22) is still on the market for full-time positions.
Victor Huebner (WAVE ’22) will be remaining at UW Health as an Improvement Advisor in Madison, Wisconsin.
Deeptanshu Jha (Fellow & WAVE ’22) will be joining Intuit as a Product Manager in Mountain View, California.
Sam Johnson (Fellow & WAVE ’22) will be joining Cognizant as the Manager of Corporate Strategy in Chicago, Illinois.
Chetan Kamalraj (Fellow & WAVE ’22) will be joining Caterpillar, Inc. as a Technical Product Management in various location in U.S.
Stephanie Kind (WAVE ’22) will be joining Kimberly-Clark as an Associate Brand Manager in Chicago, Illinois.
Robert Kozarek (WAVE ’22) will be remaining with the Isthmus Project as an Innovation and Commercialization Analyst in Madison, Wisconsin.
Kwesi Kwapong (Fellow & WAVE ’22) will be joining Danaher as a General Management Development Program Associate in Loveland, Colorado.
Jason Lee (Fellow ’22) will be joining Schwan’s Company as an Associate Brand Manager in Minneapolis, MN.
Daniel Mellen (Fellow ’22) will be joining Palo Alto Networks as a Senior Treasury Analyst in Santa Clara, California.
Katya Mikhailenko (WAVE ’22) will be joining GE Healthcare as part of their Commercial Leadership Development Program in multiple cities.
Joseline Nyinawabera (Fellow & WAVE ’22) will be joining Intel Corporation as part of their Sales and Marketing Rotational Program in Chandler, Arizona.
Folarin Omotoriogun (Fellow & WAVE ’22) will be joining Google on their Technology Solutions Consultant in Mountain View, California.
Alissa Pfeiffer (WAVE ’22) will be remaining at CUNA Mutual Group as a Senior Manager of Product Innovation Research in Madison, Wisconsin.
Nitheesh Polamreddy (Fellow & WAVE ’22) will be joining Wayfair as a Senior Manager of Strategy and Operations in Boston, Massachusetts.
Akhil Remesan (Fellow ’22) will be joining Madison Lake Capital as a Principal in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Charlie Scott (Fellow & WAVE ’22) is still on the market for full-time positions.
Devon Smith (WAVE ’22) will be joining Danaher in their General Management Development Program in Loveland, Colorado.
Alyssa Spiel (Fellow & WAVE ’22) will be joining S.C. Johnson as an Associate Manager, Claims & Product Experience in Racine, Wisconsin.
Rufus Sweeney (WAVE ’22) will be continuing on in Medical School.
Krystal Tran (Fellow & WAVE ’22) is still on the market for full-time positions.
Aldo Vacco (WAVE ’22) will be joining Komodo Health as a Customer Success Manager in Madison, Wisconsin
Owen Wade (Fellow & WAVE ’22) will be joining Moxe as a Strategic Marketing Manager in Madison, Wisconsin.
Christopher Wiesneski (WAVE ’22) will be joining SC Johnson as an Associate Brand Manager in Racine, Wisconsin.
We wish them all the best and look forward to hearing about their future success and the positive change they will create in the world.
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