Business Fellows Class of 2021 receive medallions

The Martha and Spencer Love School of Business recognized the Business Fellows Class of 2021 during a medallion ceremony held May 11 in the LaRose Digital Theatre.

The ceremony included remarks from Tina Das, Lincoln Financial Professor of Economics and Business Fellows director; Raghu Tadepalli, dean of the Love School of Business; and members of the graduating class.

Student speakers reflected on the past four years, highlighting the fellows cohort’s experiences taking classes together, studying abroad in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and traveling to New York to visit a variety of organizations, including Credit Suisse, Google and Bloomberg.

They also presented overviews of the fellows capstone projects – managing a portfolio of Elon University’s endowment and consulting for the Love School of Business graduate programs.

The portfolio management group, under the mentorship of Professor Raj Gupta, gained experience with the investment management decision-making process.

“For four years here at Elon, we had all learned about the various quantitative methods used to value stocks such as discounted cash flow models or dividend discount models,” Ben Mulholland ’21 shared. “This class was our opportunity to take those skills learned and apply them to an actual portfolio and also go through the process of discussing our pitches together, and learn how to reason and defend our decisions to each other.”

The consulting group learned about the world of management consulting from Dean Tadepalli, Irene Birbeck, partner at Clarkston Consulting, and several alumni who work in the field. The group’s project involved advising the Love School of Business on ways to expand its graduate programs.

Annabel Lindh ’21 noted the group learned how to communicate, understand and present information to a client. “From all of our research, interviews and our visioning workshop, we learned how to compile information and categorize it appropriately into recommendations,” she said.

The fellows also noted the strong sense of community in the cohort. “In addition to gaining skills during class,” Amy Rodriguez ’21 shared, “we gained an instant support system of people who we knew would be there for encouragement when we needed it. We banded together to overcome challenges and to push each other to be the best versions of ourselves inside and outside the classroom. This program hasn’t just given us study partners and LinkedIn connections, it’s given us memories, roommates and best friends.”

“No matter what the future holds, I know that each and every cohort member will find their own success because individually and as a group we have done so time and time again over the past four years,” Alexandra Pirsos ’21 added. “It didn’t matter what obstacle was thrown in our way. We always found a way to come out on the other side.”

Steve DeLoach, Martha and Spencer Love Professor of Economics, presented the medallions, which the fellows will wear during the upcoming commencement ceremony.

“We all came here today to celebrate your achievements,” he said, “but it’s not your achievements that got you to this point. You are here because of your struggles, the risks you took, the challenges you faced, and yes, your failures. Not in spite of your challenges. Because of.”

Business Fellows Class of 2021

Caleb Axworthy
Marketing and Business Analytics

Claire Babey
Finance and Policy Studies
Peace Corps

Molly Chapin
Finance
Financial analyst, Tiger Capital Group

Iris Cheong
Business Analytics
M.S. in Analytics, NC State University

Matthew D’Ambrosia
Finance
ESG research consultant, 3EDGE Asset Management

Dylan Graybill
Accounting
Assurance associate, PwC

Stephen Hawthorne
Finance and Entrepreneurship
Financial advisor, Allied Wealth Partners

Rani Hecht
Marketing

Gillian Hook
Accounting and Finance
Financial services audit associate, KPMG

Zachary Irons
Finance
Strategy analyst, Deloitte Consulting

Alyssa Keller
Accounting and Human Resource Management
Audit associate, Baker Tilly

Thida Kim
Project Management and Human Service Studies
High school adviser, Australia-Pacific International School

Kara Kimberl
Economic Consulting
Technical solutions engineer, Epic Systems

Annabel Lindh
Finance and International Business
FSO consultant, EY

Charles Lindsey
Finance
Analyst services analyst, Solovis, Inc.

Sean Lytle
Finance
Control and risk management analyst, Wells Fargo

Julia Madden
Finance and French
Advisor Development Rotational Program, Bank of America

Alexander Mancoll
Finance
Post-baccalaureate premedical program

Sydney Melet
Marketing and Spanish
Sales development representative, Qualtrics

Robert Miley
Finance and Mathematics
Business consultant, EY

Evan Mooney
Accounting
Investment management tax associate, PwC

Ben Mulholland
Finance
Associate, Pareto Health

Kaitlyn O’Donnell
Finance
FSO business consultant, EY

Valerie Pacheco
Business Analytics
Master in Strategy and Management of International Business, ESSEC Business School, France

Tara Petrillo
Marketing
Business analyst, Live Oak Bank

Alexandra Pirsos
Marketing Analytics
M.S. in Analytics, NC State University

Amy Rodriguez
Economic Consulting
Technology consultant, EY

Madeline Skaife
Accounting
Audit associate, KPMG

Brian Tannenbaum
Marketing and Data Analytics

Jamie Tarantiles
Finance
Financial analyst, BAE Systems

Andrew Veilleux
Finance and Business Analytics
Risk & financial advisory analyst, Deloitte

Thea Vunk
Finance
Rotational banking analyst, Oppenheimer & Co.