Johnson recognizes 2019 award winners across nine academic programs

As part of Commencement weekend 2019, several students across Johnson’s seven MBA programs and two MPS in Management programs were recognized for their achievements, contributions, and academic performance. One-Year, Two-Year, and Johnson Cornell Tech MBA program graduates and their families gathered at the annual Dean’s Awards Brunch on Friday, May 24, hosted by Mark Nelson, the Anne and Elmer Lindseth Dean of Johnson, while MPS graduates attended an evening reception the same day. Graduates of Johnson’s executive MBA programs have been celebrating their accomplishments at various events and receptions throughout the close of the spring semester.

Please join us in congratulating this year’s award winners and recognized students!

Commencement Ceremony Class Representatives

Johnson Degree Marshals

Sara Schmitt, One-Year MBA

Symone Williams, Two-Year MBA

Johnson Banner Bearers

Billy Ross Murch Elliot, MPS in Management

Catherine Brown, Executive MBA Americas

Chenxi Xie, Cornell-Tsinghua Finance MBA

Cornell SC Johnson College of Business Banner Bearer

Natasha VanWright, Executive MBA/MS in Healthcare Leadership

Johnson Recognition Ceremony Speakers

Elise Aileen Barry, Two-Year MBA

Angus McKenzie, MPS in Management – Accounting Specialization

Ricardo Miracca Gennari, One-Year MBA

Sara Katherine Yun, Johnson Cornell Tech MBA

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Johnson MBA Program Awards

Academic Excellence Award, Johnson Cornell Tech MBA Program

Amy Jarvis

This Academic Excellence Award is presented to the graduating Johnson Cornell Tech MBA student who has excellence in their academic pursuits.

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A. Donald Kelso Award

Liz Colicchio, One-Year MBA

Michael Brady, Two-Year MBA

Rodney Gaines, Two-Year MBA

Presented by Vishal Gaur, Betsy Dick, and Kathryn Kvasnica, the A. Donald Kelso Award is given to graduates who have contributed significantly to the advancement of the Johnson, have helped to make it a better place, and whose contributions, while numerous, are often “unsung.”

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BR Consulting Award

Shane Counts

Cristina Furlan

Presented Darden Lajqi, president of BR Consulting, the BR Consulting Award recognizes two graduating students who served as BRC consultants, displayed leadership in their BRC project, and have, in turn, delivered impact to a local business or nonprofit or a Cornell alumni/student-led organization.

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Consulting Award

Alexander Hansen

Emily Luscz

Presented by Randy Allen and Jacob Lehman, the Consulting Award recognized graduating students who have displayed the ability to become outstanding consultants through demonstration of the requisite attributes. The winners we selected by the Career Management Center and the consulting faculty with input from the critical thinking and leadership staff and faculty.

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Diversity and Inclusion Leadership Award

Peter Akinleye

Christina Chan

Ethan Erickson

Caitlin Gillespie

Pat Kimener

Sara Schmitt

Presented by Jamie Joshua and Jessica Krom as representatives of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, the Diversity and Inclusion Leadership Award recognizes graduating MBA students who have shown leadership and commitment to the Johnson community by either encouraging or improving inclusion or expanding Johnson’s global brand and influence through their work on projects and initiatives.

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Finance Award

Lindsey Staley

Presented by professors Maureen O’Hara and Drew Pascarella, the Finance Award is given to the top graduating student in the field of finance as selected by the finance faculty.

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Fried Fellows

Christina Chan

Josh Feit

Tejaswi Jain

Amy Jarvis

Mark Krutty

Apurwa Pokhrel

Emily Shaw

The Fried Fellowships were established by a generous gift from Albert Fried, Jr., a longtime member of the school’s Advisory Council and a graduate of the Class of 1953. Fried Fellows are nominated by Johnson students and faculty to recognize students who have distinguished themselves both in the classroom and in leadership of extracurricular activities.

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Hemmeter Award

Nichole Bestman for SHIPFAIR

Presented by Tom Schryver, Brad Treat, and Ken Rother, the Hemmeter Award is given by the Hemmeter family to the business plan most likely to launch a successful business, as determined by Johnson’s entrepreneurship faculty.

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Henny Wittink Memorial Marketing Prize

Casey Easley

Presented by Manoj Thomas, the Henny Wittink Memorial Marketing Prize was established in honor of a prominent Dutch businessman. The recipient was selected for both academic performance and substantial contributions to Johnson.

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Integrative Case Competition Winners

Barbara Salgado

Jake Donich-Croll

Pat Kimener

Jun Ye

The capstone Integrative Case Competition takes place at the end of the first semester of the first year of the Two-Year MBA program.

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Jan H. Suwinski Award Given By Corning for Excellence in Strategic Operations

Stan Benarick

The Jan H. Suwinski Award Given by Corning for Excellence in Strategic Operations recognizes one outstanding graduating student each year, as selected by the operations management faculty. Johnson is very grateful to Corning for establishing this award and to Professor Suwinski for his commitment to the strategic operations curriculum at Johnson.

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John Blodgett Peer Award

Brian Guo

The John Blodgett Peer Award was established by the Class of 1984 in memory of their classmate, John Blodgett. John was a student who was always willing to help his fellow classmates, both in and out of the classroom. His support and friendship enhanced the Johnson experience for many. In honor of John, each year the first-year class selects a graduating student who has made a significant contribution to the first-years through formal or informal teaching, advising, and coaching.

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Leadership Crisis Challenge Winners

Mary-Kate Duffy (2018)

Pat Kimener (2018)

Lindsey Staley (2018)

Caitlin Gillespie (2019)

Devashish Murkya (2019)

Chandana Shankar (2019)

Sarah Theobald (2019)

The Leadership Crisis Challenge is in intensive, two-day case competition that tests students’ ability to lead during and escalating corporate crisis.

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Leadership Prize

Mohamed Soliman, One-Year MBA

Shannon Boyle, Two-Year MBA

Presented by professors Glen Dowell and Risa Mish and chosen by the management and organizations faculty, the Leadership Prize is given to graduating MBA students who have demonstrated outstanding scholarship in the fields of management and leadership and who have demonstrated a commitment to those fields in terms of both extracurricular activities and their chosen career.

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Leading Teams Case Competition Winners

One-Year and Johnson Cornell Tech:

Antonio Ricciardelli

Queen Hashi

Courtney Levering

Sridharan Ravichandran

Siqi Shi

Two-Year MBA:

Ethan Erickson

Reid Holzbauer

Jose Lizarraga

Corey Minerva

Paul Wu

The Leading Teams Case Competition takes place during the first few weeks of each MBA program.

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McAllister Award in Honor of Charlotte Rosen for Excellence in Business Writing

For their essays on cultural differences between workplaces:

Alex Abosi

Anne Choong

Renato Ribeiro

Michelle Lu

For “Kane is Able Customer Segmentation:”

Jordan Bhogosian

Ben Ingersoll

Caroline Wright

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McAllister Speech Award in Honor of Charlotte Rosen

Christina Chan

Jeff Chow

Mary-Kate Duffy

Madeline McDougall

The McAllister Speech Award in Honor of Charlotte Rosen is awarded each year to Johnson students for excellence in presetting during the case competition that is part of the Marketing core course in the Two-Year program.

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Poets&Quants Best & Brightest MBAs and MBAs to Watch in the Class of 2019

Fernanda Carranza

Christina Chan

Harrison Jobe

Earl Roach, III

To compile its annual Best & Brightest and MBAs to Watch awards, Poets&Quants, reached out to 68 highly ranked, full-time MBA programs. Each was asked to submit up to four nominees who best represented the spirit and values of their programs. In the process, P&Q encouraged schools to factor in qualities such as “academic prowess, extracurricular achievements, innate intangibles and potential, and unique personal stories.” The nominations are evaluated by the Poets & Quants editorial staff, and ultimately the final selections they make are designed to serve as a source of inspiration, as well as offer a deeper look at the distinctiveness and diversity of MBA students.

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Samuel C. Johnson Award in Sustainable Global Enterprise for Individual Leadership

Christina Chan

Matthew Pundmann

Presented by Mark Milstein and Monica Touesnard, the Samuel C. Johnson Award in Sustainable Global Enterprise for Individual Leadership recognizes outstanding students who have demonstrated excellence, leadership, and scholarship in the area of sustainable global enterprise while at Johnson.

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S.C. Johnson Marketing Case Study Competition Winners

Jeff Chow

Jorge Flores-Herrera

Brad LaPoff

Timothy Masek

Rodrigo Palacios

The S.C. Johnson Marketing Case Study Competition is held during the Marketing core course in the Two-Year MBA program.

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Spirit of Cornell Tech Award

Mark O’Looney

The Spirit of Cornell Tech Award is presented to the graduating Johnson Cornell Tech MBA student who personifies the spirit and ambitious qualities of a Cornell Tech education.

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Thomas R. Dyckman Accounting Excellence Award

Renato Ribeiro

Rebecca Sabatini Regueira

The Thomas R. Dyckman Accounting Excellence Award is named to honor an esteemed, longtime Johnson accounting professor. This award is given in recognition of outstanding achievements in accounting studies, and the recipients are selected from among the top accounting students by the accounting faculty.

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Vithala & Saroj Rao Marketing Prize

Dave Elman

Presented by Manoj Thomas, the Vithala & Saroj Rao Marketing Prize recognizes a graduating marketing students who has demonstrated outstanding scholarship and who has enhanced Johnson by their contributions. The marketing faculty selects the prize recipient from the top marketing students.

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MPS in Management Awards

Community Engagement Award

Simran Kashyap, MPS in Management – Accounting Specialization

The Community Engagement Award, endorsed by the Johnson MPS Programs Advisory Council, is given to one student in either MPS program in recognition of an individual who has served others and made a positive difference in campus, local, state, national, and/or global communities. Simran participated in the Low Income Taxpayer Law and Accounting Practicum, where she spent more 120 hours helping low-income families with tax-related issues. As a part of this program, she traveled to various Volunteer Income Tax Assistance sites in rural Alaska to prepare tax returns for low-income families and personally helped issue $150,000+ in refunds. Her work also involved helping farmers from Mexico, who are seasonally employed in the United States on H2A visas, with tax preparation and education.

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Peer Leadership Award

Billy Murch Elliott, MPS in Management

Angus McKenzie, MPS in Management – Accounting Specialization

Awardees for the Peer Leadership Award are nominated and approved of by both faculty and staff and have demonstrated exceptional leadership skills, involvement in activities, and strong academic performance. Billy and Angus are co-chairs of the Johnson MPS in Management Advisory Council and have spent countless hours working with on various projects and events this year. This year, the group focused its attention on how the two MPS programs might integrate with and strengthen their ties to the Johnson community. They both have led by example with their dedication to service, their enthusiasm, and their caring personas.

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NYSSCPA’s Superior Scholars in Accounting Studies Award

Marc Faren, MPS in Management – Accounting Specialization

The New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants (NYSSCPA) presents an award each year to students in recognition of outstanding achievements in accounting studies. This award, in the amount of $500, honors accounting students who have earned the highest overall grade point average and have completed the school’s registered accounting curriculum. This student will also receive a free membership to the NYSSCPA as part of this award.

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Class of 2019 Representatives and Agents

Johnson Student Council

Make it Count Committee Members

Peter Akinleye
Rene Bonomi
Christian Laftchiev
Sara Schmitt
Chandana Shankar

MPS in Management Advisory Council

Executive MBA/MS in Healthcare Leadership Class Representatives

Nicholas Gavin
Neiger Green

Executive MBA Metro NY Class Representatives

Jerrol Charles
Ryan Cunningham
Melissa Kung
MinJoo Park

Cornell-Tsinghua Finance MBA Student Council

Class of 2019 Campaign Agents

Robert Cantave, Executive MBA Metro NY
Andrea Cohen, Executive MBA/MS in Healthcare Leadership
Mustafa Fatakdawala, Executive MBA Americas
Tejaswi Jain, One-Year Ithaca MBA
Julie Labonte, Executive MBA Americas
Caitlin Quill Maguire, Johnson Cornell Tech MBA
Angus J. McKenzie, MPS in Management
Lauren Nicole Palazzola, Two-Year Ithaca MBA
Sara Schmitt, One-Year Ithaca MBA
Chenxi Xie, Cornell-Tsinghua Finance MBA
Honghe Zhang, Cornell-Tsinghua Finance MBA

Congratulations to these outstanding scholars and the entire Johnson Class of 2019!