Olin welcomes hundreds more alumni to the fold

May 20, 2019
By Kurt Greenbaum
9 minute read

Under skies sparkling of blue and shining with golden sunlight, more than 200 BSBAs and more than 500 graduate students celebrated their commencement from WashU Olin Business School.

“I want to remind you that while you’re going away, you’re not going far,” Dean Mark P. Taylor reminded the graduates during Friday’s recognition ceremonies. “With your graduation, you expand your global network to include nearly 30,000 Olin alumni.”

The two ceremonies—morning for BSBAs and afternoon for MBAs, SMPs and PMBAs—followed the WashU main campus graduation featuring Chancellor Mark Wrighton at his last commencement and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg as the keynote speaker, who called on WashU graduates to “reclaim our civic dialogue.”

The ceremonies recognized professors with teaching awards and students with a variety of special recognitions (see below). Both ceremonies featured keynote speakers from among Olin’s alumni ranks.

“I have been on a journey since my Olin BSBA journey,” said Atima Lui, founder and CEO of Nudest and a 2012 graduate. “When I was in your shoes seven years ago, I thought success meant I had to look a certain way, make a certain amount of money. I thought success was a zero sum game."

The most successful version of you is the real you—seriously.

Atima Lui

The you with all your quirks and imperfections, the you that defines yourself by your own standards. The you that experiences fear and anxiety, yet bravely moves forward toward your goals.”

Lori Lee, who earned her BSBA and MBA back-to-back in 1988 and 1989, spoke to the graduate students about the vital need to embrace change throughout their careers. As an Olin graduate, she fully expected to spend her career working in accounting, where she started. Little did she expect the path that led her to become CEO for AT&T Latin America and AT&T’s global marketing officer.

“My journey took unexpected turns,” said Lee, who was named an Olin Distinguished Alumna in 2016. “They were twisted and winding and full of surprises. They weren’t easy, but they made me better.”

The two students speakers—one at each ceremony, selected by their peers—focused on the contacts they made and the environment of teamwork and opportunity Olin fostered throughout their time.

“Failure is hard, failure does not feel good, but failure is not permanent,” said Matt Savage, BSBA ’19. “Olin provided a safe place to fail, only on a bigger stage. We most certainly will continue to fail and fail often. But that doesn’t mean you’re a failure as a student, an employee or as a friend. It was only after I faced my failures that I realized you don’t actually learn anything from failing, but by picking yourself up and facing your challenges.”

“I put off getting my MBA for a really long time,” said Ariel Washington, MBA ’19. “But it turns out I got it at the exact time, at the exact place and with the exactly right people I should have gotten it with. I could not be more proud of us and I could not be more proud to be a member of this class.”

Undergraduate Honors and Awards

Jeffrey Ethan Bail Delta Sigma Pi Scholarship Key

Awarded to the graduate with the highest academic average. The award is given by Delta Sigma Pi, America’s foremost professional fraternity for men and women pursuing careers in business.

Ryan Cole Beyer Undergraduate Marketing Award

Awarded by the faculty to a graduate for outstanding achievement in the field of marketing.

Lauren Elizabeth Dumas Dean’s Special Service Award

Awarded by the dean to recognize students who have rendered extraordinary service to Olin.

Joseph W. Towle Prize

Awarded to the graduate with the strongest academic achievement and the most potential in the area of organizational leadership. This award is named in honor of Joseph W. Towle, who was a tenured Olin management professor from 1954 to 1975 and a leader among faculty. Well known in his field, an author and president of the Academy of Management, he established this prize to encourage excellence in the classroom.

Loeb Prize in Leadership

Awarded to a graduate who has shown leadership in undergraduate activities related to Olin Business School and who maintains excellence in scholastic achievement, as judged by his or her classmates. This award is named in honor of Isidor Loeb, who was dean of Washington University’s School of Business and Public Administration (now known as Olin Business School) from 1925 to 1940.

Clebert Gleaton Etheredge Powell Niland Prize

Awarded to the graduate with the strongest academic achievement in the areas of operations and manufacturing management. This award is named in honor of Powell Niland, who was a tenured Olin operations and manufacturing management professor from 1957 to 1989 and an Olin professor emeritus from 1989 until 2009.

Emma Rose Greenwood John W. Bowyer Award in Finance

Awarded to the graduate who is considered to have the greatest potential for success in a career in finance, as judged by the finance faculty. The award is named in honor of the late John W. Bowyer, who was a legendary teacher of finance at Olin from 1951 to 1987.

Michael Alan Kaushansky Kay Roh Memorial Award

Awarded to a graduate in recognition of his or her contributions to Washington University and/or the St. Louis community through extracurricular or volunteer activities, as judged by his or her classmates. Named to honor Kay Roh, who was awarded her BSBA posthumously in 1991, the award is made possible through the generosity of her parents, Min and Jae Roh, and grandparents, Ginger and Jack Woods.

Bryan Hao-Jie Lee Arthur M. Seltzer Accounting Award

Awarded to recognize an outstanding senior in the area of accounting. Established by Richard Wise, JD ’83, to honor his mentor, Arthur M. Seltzer, BSBA ’62, a successful accountant and financial adviser in St. Louis.

Heidi Andria Nassos Outstanding Student Athlete Award

Awarded to a graduate who exhibits strong leadership ability and sportsmanlike conduct.

Elizabeth Brooke Smith Taylor Outstanding Service Award

Awarded to graduate(s) who delivered the highest level of impact to the St. Louis local nonprofit community through the Center for Experiential Learning’s Taylor Community Consulting program. Awardees distinguished themselves with exceptional effort and leadership that resulted in demonstrated advancement of the mission and objectives of the organizations and communities with whom they engaged.

Madison Leigh Stoecker International Business Student Award

Awarded to the graduate who shows the greatest potential for a career in international business.

Loeb Prize in Leadership

Graduate Programs Honors and Awards

Camden Guilford Civello Center for Experiential Learning Impact Award

Recognizes graduating students who have delivered the highest level of impact to the business and nonprofit communities through The Center for Experiential Learning (CEL) and other Olin-sponsored experiential programs and activities. Awardees distinguished themselves with exceptional effort and leadership that advanced the missions and objectives of the organizations and individuals with which they engaged.

Janell Andrea Cleare Paul Cuffe MBA Award for Outstanding Leadership

Awarded to a graduating African-American MBA student for outstanding leadership, academic excellence and involvement in Olin extracurricular activities. This award is named in honor of Paul Cuffe, who was one of the most financially successful black Americans at the end of the 18th century. A builder and maritime merchant in New England, Cuffe became a successful blockade runner during the Revolutionary War and an entrepreneur during the early years of American independence.

Katherine Hooper DeWulf Peer Recognition Award

Awarded to the graduating Professional MBA student who, in the opinion of his or her fellow students, best exemplifies the qualities of character, leadership and service and also enjoys the respect, admiration and affection of his or her classmates.

Gheremey Delan Edwards Milford Bohm Prize in Marketing

Awarded to the graduating MBA student who, in the judgment of the faculty, exhibits the strongest academic achievement and the most potential in the field of marketing. This award was established in honor of Milford Bohm―founder, chairman and CEO of CPI (formerly Rembrandt Studio) from 1942 to 1973―by his wife, Lee Bohm, and their children, Mimi (MBA ’79), David (LA ’78/JD ’84), Rob (MBA ’90) and the late Vicki (EN ’84/SI ’85).

Theodore Ross Farrell Powell Niland Prize

Awarded to the graduating MBA student with the strongest academic achievement in the areas of operations and manufacturing management. This award is named in honor of Powell Niland, who was a tenured Olin operations and manufacturing management professor from 1957 to 1989 and an Olin professor emeritus from 1989 until 2009.

Tyler D. Hadzinsky Professional Achievement Award

Awarded to the graduating Professional MBA student who best exemplifies the qualities of integrity, loyalty, intelligence and high moral character as judged by the faculty.

Elizabeth Bunn Hailand John Wayne Latchum Memorial Award

Recognizes the graduating MBA student who best exemplifies the qualities of integrity, loyalty to friends and country, courage intelligence and high standards of personal conduct as judged by the faculty. This award is named in memory of John Wayne Latchum, a business student who died in 1971 while he was a senior at Washington University. It is made possible through the generosity of his parents.

Elisa M. Hastings Center for Experiential Learning Impact Award

Angela Lu Hubert C. Moog Prize

Awarded to the graduating MBA student who, in the opinion of his or her fellow students, best exemplifies the qualities of character, leadership and service and also enjoys the respect, admiration and affection of his or her classmates. This award is named in honor of Hub Moog, who as chairman and president of Moog Automotive, transformed his family’s St. Louis-based business into a world-renowned corporation. He served on the Washington University Board of Trustees and the Olin Task Force in 1980 and 1981. He and his wife, Dorothy R. Moog, were strong supporters of Washington University.

Sharon Kapembwa Mazimba Dean’s Special Service Award