Past Award Winners

2020 Award Winner

Maria Katrina Enero Volante from National University of Singapore (NUS)

“Energy industry e-nnovation”

Maria Katrina Enero Volante from the National University of Singapore was presented with the GBF 2020 Student Leadership Award for her vision and leadership as the first female president of the NUS MBA Energy Club. Katrina developed a holistic and persuasive strategy which spurred interest among students with and without relevant energy industry background.

Her strategy was hinged on: Education – Increase awareness through the creation of the “Plug-In” brand and enhance understanding on the energy landscape via Energy 101 sessions and participating in international conferences; Ecosystem – Creation of the program “Power Moves” to cultivate strong ties among the NUS MBA students, alumni, other business schools “Energy Clubs” and industry experts; E-nnovation – Promote energy innovation (‘e-nnovation’) and foster an entrepreneurial mindset among energy industry enthusiasts via organization of the first regional CleanTech chapter in Singapore and; Equality – Advocate for diversity and inclusion in the energy industry, which has motivated more female MBA students to look for opportunities in the energy sector.

2019 Award Winners

Symone Williams & Harrison Jobe from Cornell SC Johnson College of Business and Vanessa Matos Tudela from University of Toronto Rotman School of Management

“Cohort System”

Symone Williams & Harrison Jobe from Cornell SC Johnson College of Business were presented with the GBF 2019 Student Leadership Award for their vision and achievements in developing a cohort system for the entire Cornell MBA program aimed at creating stronger bonds between students of diverse backgrounds. They divided the MBA program students into 6 cohorts through an intentionally diverse matching process that has led to a strengthened sense of community and has created a more inclusive community for all students.

Symone and Harrison attended last year conference GBC 2018 in Copenhagen where they were able to network with schools which have successfully implemented cohort systems and learn more about the topic, back at Cornell they kept in contact with their GBC2018 network and managed to interview several student leaders, perform analysis and benchmarking which were used to influence students and faculty and build the Cohort System from the ground up with proven strategies and insights.

Sustainability as a Core Pillar of the MBA program

MBA student Vanessa Matos Tudela from University of Toronto Rotman School of Management received the GBF 2019 Responsible Leadership Award for her vision and leadership establishing sustainability as a core pillar within the Rotman MBA.

In a program that is typically heavily oriented towards Finance and Consulting, Vanessa saw the growing need to embed sustainability, not only as a standalone practice, but as a deep-rooted philosophy within the core MBA program. As a result of her strong leadership, she and her team were able to fundamentally change the landscape at Rotman with respect to sustainability with the following three initiatives. The team organized the inaugural Rotman Sustainability Conference. Secondly, for the first time in its history, Rotman introduced an elective course focused on Impact Investing and Responsible Finance and a full-term course titled “Social Value and Impact Investing”. Last but not least, Rotman organized its first time Impact Investing case competition.

2018 Award Winners

Marshall Jen from The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK)

“Outstanding Leadership” 

MBA Student Marshall Jen from The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), was awarded the GBF 2018 Student Leadership Award for outstanding achievements as President of the MBA Student Council of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK).

Marshall coordinated several significant programs to unify members of the full-time and part-time MBA classes at CUHK. In addition, he led the organisation and execution of a 2,000-guest Hong Kong-wide conference on ‘The Power of New Retail’ in collaboration with Alibaba.

Next to these considerable achievements Marshall also implemented a scheme for CUHK to raise funds for child education in Africa. Overall school leadership and peers commended his superior communication and networking skills and empowerment of fellow students to pursue individual excellence.

2017 Award Winners

Shyam Nambiar from Indian School of Business, the CEIBS CSR Club from China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) and Zia ul Haq Siddiqui  from the Chinese University of Hong Kong Business School’

“One School Two Campuses”

MBA student Shyam Nambiar from Indian School of Business was presented with the GBF 2017 Student Leadership Award for his vision and achievements to lead the largest ever MBA class at ISB an coordinate activities between Hyderabad and Mohali campuses. Shyam not only led his student graduate business association as elected President, but he and his team also successfully made a reality the ISB “One School Two Campuses” ethos based on a common agenda through publishing common newsletters and organizing cross campus events. He conceptualized the “Student Brand Ambassadors” on ISB website, featuring 50 students from both campuses, establishing a long-term system for better connection and mentorship of aspiring admits, and increasing applications. Using his military background and skills, he set up and coordinated efforts of three Task Forces evolving recommendations for improvements in intra-Campus departmental synergies, student life and efficient knowledge transfer.

“Social Innovation Unconference”

The CEIBS CSR Club represented by MBA student Clinton Wong from CEIBS received the  GBF 2017 Responsible Leadership Award for their vision and achievements to promote greater awareness of social innovation to the student body at CEIBS. Under Clinton’s leadership, the first Social Innovation Unconference, themed around Social Entrepreneurship and Impact Investing was successfully launched in March 2017. Clinton’s team noted that social Innovation is often mistaken as Corporate Social Responsibility and CSR Club managed to convince CEIBS community to pioneer a shift in mind-set and stop considering corporations exist solely for the purpose of profit maximization, but to also create social value for the community in which they operate. CEIBS Social Innovation Unconference also helps existing incubators by creating a bridge between academic institutions with industry practitioners who want to tap into a pool of top-notch professors and MBA students.

“Singapore Career Trek”

Runner up and finalist Zia ul Haq Siddiqui, a student from CUHK Business School’s MBA program, was recognised for his outstanding leadership and new approach on organizing Career Treks. Zia organized a team who took an innovative idea to organize a Career Trek to Singapore: “Company Champions” who were in charge of research companies and preparing relevant questions for the visit, this created an increased interest from students to know more about the company and potential opportunities. Moreover, Zia’s team was able to secure funds from the school’s MBA office and Career Management Centre to sponsor part of the travel costs and utilize the alumni networking to arrange company visits. The new approach made the Singapore Career Trek a success with visits to seven companies, and obtaining on-campus recruiting in Hong Kong from two Singapore based companies.

2016 Award Winners

Vaibhav Agarwal and Jason Burchard from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and Abby Schwartz from Georgetown University McDonough School of Business.

“The Student Ambassador Programme”

Vaibhav Agarwal and Jason Burchard from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) were presented the GBF 2016 Student Leadership Award for their vision and achievements increasing networking opportunities and community building between current students, prospective candidates and alumni of their program.

Vaibhav and Jason founded the “Student Ambassador Programme” to communicate the aims and culture of LSE to prospective students by matching candidates to an ambassador based on nationality, background and work experience; this initiative helped reach over 150 LSE offer holders and generated 10% more applications despite a decreasing trend.

They secured a commitment of school-level funding to organize the program going forward each year. In addition, the team instituted an annual student conference for LSE students together with Oxford and Cambridge.

eadership Awards Commemorative Banquet and Gala 2016

Jim Deveau, GBF Founder; Prof. Dr. Kuno Schedler, VP Research & Faculty University of St.Gallen; Rocio Perez Jimenez, VP GBF Leadership Awards; Dr. oec. Jurgen Brucker, Dean External Relations University of St.Gallen; Rohit Gupta, GBF Leadership Awards Finalist 2016, CUHK, The Chinese University of Hong Kong; Prof. Simon Evenett, Dean of the MBA Program, University of St.Gallen; Abby Schwartz, GBF Responsible Leadership Award Winner 2016, Georgetown University McDonough School of Business; Dr. Sascha Spoun, President of Leuphana Universität Lüneburg; Vaibhav Agarwal and Jason Burchard, GBF Student Leadership Award Winners 2016, London School of Economics and Political Science; John Plender, Senior Editor of Financial Times and Columnist for The Economist; Wieteke Dupain, GBF CEO; Corey Dortch, Director MBA Program Emory University Goizueta Business School; Stephan Chambers, Director of International Strategy at Oxford and Chair of the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship; Niall O'Hea, GBF Chairman

“Successfully integrating Diversity & Inclusion”

Abby Schwartz from Georgetown University McDonough School of Business received the GBF 2016 Responsible Leadership Award for successfully spearheading diversity and inclusion (D&I) initiatives at McDonough. Abby identified the need to make D&I a priority in the MBA program and worked together with the Dean, students, administration, admissions department and faculty to create consciousness about the subject and gain support.

She influenced the Student Government Association to create a new Vice President for D&I position and achieveda 400% increase in women leadership positions in the newly elected student government. In addition, she created a D&I workshop for students and staff, influenced admissions to consciously reflect on D&I in the admissions process, to increase the number of women in the program from 31 to 40% in the next few years, to add questions in end-of-year surveys to measure inclusiveness in the school culture and to even create a lactation room for students and staff who are also parents.

2015 Award Winners

Alexander Brown from Tepper School of Business, Julian Ragragio from National University of Singapore and David Pepper from Cambridge Judge Business School.

The 2015 leadership Awards Banquet and Gala took place at the new CEIBS Shanghai Campus, were Alexander Brown from Tepper School of Business was awarded with the 2015 GBF Student Leadership Award, and Julian Ragragio from National University of Singapore was bestowed with the 2015 GBF Responsible Leadership Award. The Guest of Honor Ms. Celina Chew, President of Bayer Greater China Group along with Dean of CEIBS Hellmut Schütte, GBF Founder Jim Deveau and President of GBF Wieteke Dupain; presented the Awards to the winners and also recognized the finalist David Pepper from Cambridge Judge School of Business.

“Achieving Cross-campus & Interdisciplinary Cooperation”

Alexander Brown from the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) was presented with the GBF 2015 Student Leadership Award for his vision and achievements to increase cross-campus and interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation. During his tenure as President of the Tepper Graduate Business Association, his team developed two initiatives called CMU Idea Market Place and CMU Idea Space.  The first initiative consisted of developing a series of informational events throughout the year where student body and faculty present subject matters to the whole student organizations (grads and undergrads) at CMU. The second crusade was to develop a campus-wide competition that brought together graduate students interdisciplinary teams to compete by developing socially-motivated solutions to emerging societal issues. Alexander Brown and his team showed that cross-collaboration is possible in a top University like CMU, created a more enriching experience for MBA students who now can learn to form successful multidisciplinary teams and help to transform ideas into reality.

“Successful MBA Consulting to Solar Water Pump NGO SIBAT”

Julian Ragragio in representation of his team members: Marco Alfonso Ordonez, Ashima Chadhary Wadhawan and Adrian Moses Albano from the National University of Singapore (NUS) MBA Social Impact Club; received the GBF 2015 Responsible Leadership Award for their efforts to provide access to clean water through solar water pumps. The NUS team has successfully applied their business skills, their backgrounds, and their passion to support SIBAT, a local NGO in the Philippines, in functions like marketing and fundraising in order to provide the residents of Tolosa community, in the Philippines, access to clean water from a reliable resource: sunlight. The team managed to pitch their project to different panels and competitions to help raise funds. The NUS MBA Social Impact Club found a winning formula to partner enthusiastic and dedicated MBA students with an NGO in order to develop in conjunction a social project where they can use their knowledge and skills to make a difference and give back to society.

“Bringing Aiducation Further”

Runner up and finalist David Pepper from the Cambridge Judge Business School was recognised for his outstanding leadership in making Aiducation the charity of choice (official MBA charity) for not only his MBA cohort, but also faculty, MBAs, MFINs and Mphils and creating synergies and links at the executive level of the Business School and with the University in support of this charity. This renewed and focused approach has been resulting in increased and strong support from Cambridge to Aiducation; an educational charity that awards high school scholarships to bright and motivated young people in developing countries so that they can drive their countries forward.

 2013 Award Winners

Ashvini Jakhar from ISB,  Xiaoli Li and Liwen Qian from CEIBS, Reginaldo Markus Arredondo from the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), Xiaoli Li and Liwen Qian from CEIBS and Harita Vinakotta from ISB.  

During the annual Commemorative Awards Banquet and Gala at the Westin Hyderabad, Guest of Honour Ram Kumar Ramamoorthy, Senior Vice President at Cognizant and GBF Founder Jim Deveau presented the prestigious 2013 GBF Student Leadership Award to Ashvini Jakhar from ISB; the 2013 GBF Responsible Leadership Award was bestowed upon Xiaoli Li and Liwen Qian from CEIBS. Wieteke Dupain, GBF Vice President presented three Responsible Leadership Fund grants to Reginaldo Markus Arredondo from the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), Xiaoli Li and Liwen Qian from CEIBS and Harita Vinakotta from ISB.

Ashvini Jakhar, President of the Graduate Student Body at the Mohali Campus of Indian School of Business (ISB) was presented with the GBF 2013 Student Leadership Award. His vision and leadership ensured the inaugural class at the new ISB campus in Mohali could experience their MBA with a similar high standard of excellence in management education, career service and student life as experienced at Hyderabad campus, despite this being the first year of the new campus. Ashvini co-created with ISB faculty, administration, staff, alumni and students a common vision and sustainable long term initiatives for a “one school-two campuses” model.

Xiaoli (Lily) Li and Liwen (Idoia) Qian from the China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) received the GBF 2013 Responsible Leadership Award for their leadership in successfully activating the MBA and EMBA community to give back to the community. Xiaoli and Liwen led a team of 40 CEIBS student and alumni volunteers to carry out a weekly migrant school teaching program helping students improve English. On top, they co-initiated and led CEDAR, a charitable organization established by CEIBS EMBA alumni, COIN club and the CSR club, to provide university students from remote areas career advice and philological counsel; currently engaging 150+ CEIBS MBA and EMBA volunteers and providing support to 170 university students. On top, Xiaoli is the 2013 Chair of the Being Globally Responsible Conference (BGRC); one of Asia’s largest CSR Conferences.

A $1500 Responsible Leadership Fund grant was presented to Responsible Leadership Award category finalists Reginaldo Markus Arredondo from the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) and a $1000 grant to Harita Vinnakota from ISB and her team comprising of Akshat Narain, Divya Francis, Gesu Priyadarshini, Gururaja Baipadithaya, Prateek Maheshwari and Yash Karnik.

Reginaldo was awarded the GBF grant for his leadership and relentless work to professionalize the CUHK CSR committee, annual flagship conference and development of key new programs. The grant will support successful delivery of a new CSR case competition serving best practice sharing in the Asia area and beyond. Harita and her team were awarded the GBF grant for their innovative and impactful ‘Sahayak Workshops’ initiative. The initiative and associated projects created awareness of energy consumption and delivered initial savings of around $130,000 to the School.

2012 Award Winners

Varun Mittal from National University of Singapore, Santosh Mohanram of the Indian School of Business, Angela Behnken from Georgia Tech

At the 2012 Leadership Awards banquet and gala GBF VP Wieteke Dupain, GBF founder Jim Deveau and Simon School of Business Dean Mark Zupan honoured three student leaders and one company for their exceptional leadership, innovation and achievements within the global MBA community.

Varun Mittal from the National University of Singapore received the GBF 2012 Student Leadership Award for his ability to implement his vision for an integrated IT platform which allows NUS MBA’s to overcome the challenges of communication and continuity both during and after the MBA.

Santosh Mohanram from the Indian School of Business also received the GBF 2012 Student Leadership Award to recognize his selfless contribution to classmates and the schools’ quality of education for setting up a peer to peer teaching initiative which enabled increased development, collaboration and learning.

The GBF 2012 Responsible Leader Award was bestowed upon a team of 4 student leaders, Angela Behnken, Shilpa Arya, Carter Posey and Chris Chandler from the Georgia Institute of Technology, for establishing the Georgia Tech MBA Community Fund. As a result of three life changing events within Georgia Tech’s MBA community, this student led initiative recognizes the value of support and community during times of crisis. Constellation Brands received the 2012 Business Leadership award for their contributions to the Simon School of Business, strong support for education and the community at large.

2011 Award Winners

Robert Seiler, Eric Seidner and Alex Song from CEIBS
Hannah Dupes and Cara O’Connor from the S.C. Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University

“100% Carbon Neutral Business School”

Robert Seiler, Eric Seidner and Alex Song from China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) were presented with the GBF 2011 Responsible Leadership Award and a Cisco and Thomson Reuters sponsored $2000 grant for their vision and delivery of a strategy and five year business plan to make CEIBS the first 100% carbon neutral business school in the world.Their plan estimates that at the CEIBS campus in Shanghai they can deliver a positive net present value of 18 million RMB (2,74 million USD/ 1,95 million EURO) and a reduction of 4,000 tons CO(2)e annually; approximately equivalent to CO(2)e absorption of approximately 16,000 trees, driving a car 500 times around the world, or flying the complete CEIBS MBA class in a Boeing 737 2,5 times around the world.

“Transforming the Student Leadership Program”

Hannah Dupes and Cara O’Connor from the S.C. Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University received the GBF 2011 Student Leadership Award and a Cisco and Thomson Reuters sponsored $2250 grant as a result of their work to transform the student leadership program. As the President and VP of the Cornell Student Council, they put forward a proposal to restructure and introduce a fresh take on the student leadership development program. Initially unpopular, due to a reduction in the number of leadership positions and student clubs, they were able to gain the respect and support of the MBA student body and university administration through their highly consultative and data-driven approach to the program redesign.
sla-2011

2010 Award Winners

Justin Parisi from Carnegie Mellon University and Peter Costa Delis from CEIBS

For the first time in 20 years the GBF handed out 2 Student Leadership Awards during the annual Graduate Business Conference.

The prestigious Awards were won by Justin Parisi from Carnegie Mellon Univerity – Tepper School of Business and Peter Costa Delis from CEIBS.

Peter Costa Delis from CEIBS founded the philanthropy network C.O.I.N. in China and connected MBA, EMBA and the larger community to actively volunteer and support fundraising activities leading to substantial funds of more than a million dollars to invest in charitable causes. In addition, he established partnerships with a local migrant school, local orphanage, and a local NGO to promote activities for fellow students and if that was not enough also committed time to garner media attention for Asia’s largest student-run CSR conference as Global Media Director.

Justin Parisi became a true resource and driving force at Carnegie Mellon University, its community, professors, students, the UN and Net Impact to increase environmentally sustainable behaviour and awareness. Amongst others Justin build an extensive database with sustainability information valuable to students and administration, led the School in securing LEED green building certification points for Posner Hall (Tepper’s building), became a respected Net Impact conference speaker and was selected to attend the Copenhagen Climate talks of the UN.Jim Deveau, Founder of the GBF, said: “We had a very difficult time as Judging Panel. The achievements of some of the student leaders nominated this year are beyond measures and a true inspiration for the global MBA community”. Justin and Peter are role models for global business schools and communities on how leadership vision, tenacity and creativity in approach can make a real difference and leave a lasting legacy to the benefit of all involved.

2009 Award Winners

Christopher Petersen and David Chonowski University of Illinois

“MBA Veterans Association and inspirational work on the Mid-Western MBA Veterans Career Conference”

David and Chris, founders and co-presidents of the Illinois MBA Veterans Association, were honored for leading last fall’s Mid-Western MBA Veterans Career Conference, which connected job recruiters and veterans who are studying at 10 Midwest colleges with MBA programs ranked in the top tier nationally.After learning that nearly half of the U. of I. MBA program’s corporate partners had cancelled or postponed campus recruiting events as a result of the economic downturn, the team organized the conference from its inception to delivery, in 6 weeks. More than 70 percent said they were contacted about career opportunities by at least one of the 10 firms that participated, according to a post-event survey.The GBF judges were very impressed with the selflessness that was displayed by the team and their collaborative approach. In addition, the contribution to the Wounded Warriors Project went above and beyond the standard approach.

2008 Award Winner

Luke Meehan from Melbourne Business School

“Transforming Student Council Success”

Meehan of Melbourne Business School became President of his student body 3 months after it had collapsed in disarray with many students and academics questioning its relevance at the school. By the end of his tenure the student council had once again been established as a worthwhile body achieving notable successes on the way.Transforming stakeholder management into the more valuable art of relationship building, nurturing ideas but also managing their successful execution, encouraging feedback to ensure progress became a learning experience, are but some of Luke’s notable attributes. Luke would be the first to say the student council’s success was a team effort; however, Melbourne’s Dean is quoted to have said in his 20 years he has never seen a more effective leader of a student group.

2007 Award Winner

Colin Raney from Tepper School of Business, Carnegie Mellon University

“Tepper Prepper Program”

Colin Raney of Tepper School of Business, Carnegie Mellon University broke the mold of the traditional winner of the SLA by being primarily recognized for inspiring others to achieve. Colin was the elected President of the student body at Tepper but it was very evident that Colin’s contribution was to ensure others benefited and took leading roles in the various Tepper initiatives. Colin’s vision was simple: leave the program better than when we arrived and he challenged the other officers in the GBA to come up with “Impact Initiatives”.A particular high point for Colin was the delivery of the ‘Tepper Prepper’ programme in which 1st year students were coached by 2nd year students in the art of finding an internship. The programme not only strengthened ties between the two classes but also made a significant impact on internship success rates. Colin’s contribution can be summed up be a colleague who said ‘Colin’s selflessness was contagious within our student government and created a collegial environment that led to several major contributions to the Tepper program’. Colin efforts have not gone unnoticed at Carnegie Mellon and he was named the William G. McGowan Scholar for the 2006-2007 academic year.

 2006 Award Winner

Wieteke Dupain from RSM Erasmus University

 “Launching CEMS Student Private Zone and Knowledge Sharing on CEMS.org”

Dupain of RSM Erasmus University was recognized for her outstanding contributions to the CEMS Community of European Management Schools and International Companies. Whilst being President of the CEMS pan-European Student Board and representing over 700 Students towards 21 business schools and over 50 multinationals, Dupain led a successful effort to develop and launch a CEMS intranet and a web-based knowledge management portal as much-needed student resources.She successfully convinced the European Executive Board to provide substantial financial resources. In addition she inspired her team to contribute considerable time and energy in developing these services. Today this intranet provides CEMS stakeholders across the leading 17 Graduate Business Schools in Europe information on personal student profiles, grades, courses from home- and host schools. In addition, subscriptions can be managed and activity calendars throughout the world can be up-dated and coordinated on-line. CEMS Club Presidents are also provided with a best-practices resource and file archive, which helps drive student leadership collaboration and continuity.

2005 Award Winners

Prakash David and Mark Healy from University Western Ontario Ivey School of Business

“Ivey Builds Home and Conference on Social Responsibility”

David and Healy collaborated to bring a profound sense of community to the University Western Ontario Ivey School of Business campus. Inspired by an onsite visit to Detroit-based Focus Hope at the 2004 Graduate Business Conference, the duo created Ivey Builds, raised $150,000, and recruited 300 students, faculty, and administrators to design, project manage, and build a home for a deserving family in the London, Ontario community.This effort alone would have been deserving of award honors, but David and Healy extended themselves to create an annual Ivey Builds Conference on Social Responsibility. This achievement ensured the duo would inspire hundreds of graduate students throughout North America. Ralph Nader served as the first keynote, and former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani opened the second Ivey Builds Conference in the spring of 2006.

2004 Award Winner

John Owens from Owen School of Management at Vanderbilt University

“2×1 Summer Internship Program”

Owens recognized a disconcerting trend in his first year – a major decline in summer internships. A strategic thinker, problem solver, and disciplined implementer, Owens conceived and implemented the Owen 2×1 Summer Internship Program. Participating students were matched with two mentors (students, alumni, faculty, staff, or administration) who supported their internship search. In return for participation, all students shared job leads with the community.John also helped the Owen IT staff design and implement a Career Profiles database that could be accessed via their intranet. 99.5% of first-year Owen students secured summer internships in 2003, an increase in over 20 internships during a downward trend. This program has become an important part of the Owen community.

2003 Award Winner

Holly Goodrich from University of Texas McCombs School of Business

“Hedge Fund Symposium”

A born leader and energetic self-starter, Goodrich brought lasting innovation to her school. With several years of entrepreneurial success and financial services experience at Bear Stearns & Co., Holly came to UT interested in Hedge Fund management. Undaunted by a lack of formal curriculum or a student club, Holly founded the Hedge Fund Club and hosted an extraordinarily successful Hedge Fund Symposium in her first year.The fully sponsored event was the first of its kind nationwide, and received accolades from industry participants, alumni, and other MBA programs. Symposium sponsors have expanded support in the years hence, and the event has become a hallmark of the McCombs program.

2002 Award Winner

Kristina Alkire from Indiana University Kelley School of Business

“Orientation Program”

Alkire served as vice president for professional development of the Kelley School’s MBA Association, where she created a manual and orientation program for the professional development of all Kelley School first-year MBA students.The program covered everything from resume writing and interviewing to corporate etiquette and information for the assessment process in Kelley’s Leadership Development Institute. She also spearheaded “Kelley Kick-Off,” an event that hosted 15 recruiters who conducted mock interviews with 200 students.

 2001 Award Winner

Kelly Nelson from Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland

“eNGAGE and Internship Edge Recruiting Programs”

The 2001 Student Leadership award celebrated the selfless efforts of Kelly Nelson, Consulting Club President at the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland. Kelly created the eNGAGE and Internship Edge recruiting programs to sharpen student’s interview performance and improve her school’s image in the eyes of the world’s most selective recruiters.She developed her vision, secured funding and attracted sponsors, and executed each program with increasing success, beginning with second year aspiring management consultants and ultimately incorporating the majority of the first year class. Smith students are now better-prepared and enjoy an expanding list of premier recruiters and involved alumni.

 2000 Award Winner

Drew Tulchin from University of Washington

“Peers Teaching Peers”

The turn of the century was commemorated with the 10th Student Leadership Award, presented to Drew Tulchin from the University of Washington. He was recognized for bringing a student-led addition to the academic curriculum – Peers Teaching Peers (PTP), and connecting the MBA Program with other graduate programs at the University.PTP provided a venue for students to learn directly from their colleagues and from other disciplines. Despite initial reservations on the part of the administration, Drew galvanized student support, fostered a sense of community, and brought positive change to the learning experience for years to come.

1999 Award Winner

Courtney Naismith from University of Texas at Austin

“Graduate Business Conference Excellence”

The 1999 Student Leadership award was presented for the first time to a Graduate Business Conference student organizer. Courtney Naismith of the University of Texas at Austin was honored for her outstanding contributions to Conference development, organization, and to the long-term viability of the Graduate Business Foundation.Naismith led a team of over 50 student volunteers to bring the conference back to UT Austin for a second showing…the first school to host the Conference a second time in its history. Her leadership brought a new level to fundraising efforts, enabled a forward gift to the Foundation, and set a standard for the future of the Conference. In addition to this significant accomplishment, Naismith also led a major development effort in conjunction with the Fine Arts department at UT to help support a campus dance troupe.

1998 Award Winner

Valerie Gregory from University of Notre Dame Graduate School of Business

“South African Small Business Community Outreach Program”

1998 Student Leadership award recipient Valerie Gregory displayed enormous presence of mind during her first year at the University of Notre Dame Graduate School of Business when she asked her fellow students to help overcome the challenge of economic apartheid. Gregory conceived and executed a South African Small Business Community Outreach Program that brought motivated Notre Dame summer interns to South Africa, established faculty mentorships at the University of Cape Town, and ultimately helped foster small business development and entrepreneurship in black and colored townships. Her conviction to this program was clearly demonstrated when she declined an inaugural internship so that a fellow classmate could make the journey in her place.

 1997 Award Winner

Michael Carrel from Wharton

“Wharton Community”

As President of the Wharton Graduate Association, 1997 Student Leadership Award recipient Michael Carrel synthesized a 30-page vision document that addressed the future of the Wharton Community. Leveraging community feedback, inspiration, and personal motivation, Carrel executed his vision with extraordinary results. Funding for Wharton and greater community initiatives was increased by $150,000. Community service programs were expanded and the volunteer ranks grew from 15 to 200 students. Information services and meeting facilities were expanded, and all Wharton students received lifetime “@Wharton” personalized e-mail addresses.

 1996 Award Winner

Jody Handler from Owen School of Management

“100% Owen”

1996 Student Leadership award winner Jody Handler instilled a profound sense of community and purpose at the Owen School of Management. Her “100% Owen” vision inspired the school to think differently about volunteerism and to participate actively throughout the year versus on a designated date. Over 40 service opportunities were coordinated throughout 1996, and the entire Owen community (students, faculty, and administration) became involved. Over half of the student body ventured into the greater community in 1996 to participate in this novel program.

 1995 Award Winner

John Mann from Olin School of Business at Washington University

“West End Community Center”

Mann of the Olin School of Business at Washington University was honored in 1995 for an outstanding project that led to the creation of the West End Community Center in St. Louis.Mann foresaw the need for a place where people could gather, stage events, enjoy recreational activities, and be educated. Mann inspired a team of students, community residents, and town planners and successfully led a $1.9 Million capital campaign to make this vision a reality. He has also served as President of the West End Restoration Corporation since its inception.

 1994 Award Winner

Joaquim Weidemanis from Stockholm School of Economics

“Exchange and Education in the Baltics”

1994 Student Leadership Award recipient Joaquim Weidemanis of the Stockholm School of Economics created a unique exchange program in Stockholm for students from the Baltic republics. This program featured internships throughout Stockholm and included a corporate-funded endowment to cover travel and living expenses for the inaugural student contingent.Weidemanis also helped found a satellite school of management in Riga, Latvia and served as the principle emissary for the Stockholm School of Economics.

 1993 Award Winner

Marc Weinsweig from Carnegie Mellon

“Pittsburgh Community Service Dare to Care”

Weinsweig conceived and executed a unique Pittsburgh-wide service initiative. The City of  Pittsburgh issued a resolution honoring Weinsweig’s “Dare to Care” Day and students capped a weeklong public service effort with a 10,000-can food drive. This effort galvanized student bodies across three major graduate business schools; a feat never executed previously for any purpose.

 1992 Award Winner

Jeff Paquette from Berkeley

“Haas Serve-A-Thon and Non-Profit Internship Program”

Paquette developed and implemented the Haas Serve-A-Thon. This student public service day involved nearly half of the student body and featured 14 major volunteer projects in the Bay area. Donations from faculty and administration also helped provide a grant to support the Haas non-profit summer internship program.

 1991 Award Winner

Scott Hellofs from Western Ontario

“Educational Partnership with Russia”

Hollofs conceived and executed a unique educational partnership with the then-evolving Soviet-Union. This initiative featured a 25-member student teaching mission with casework in marketing, finance and management behavior.Student lecturers remained in the Soviet-Union as summer interns in various Western-backed joint ventures. All program elements, including a textbook drive, curriculum and a cultural indoctrination program were developed primarily by students.