2021-22 Accomplishments from Saunders Students

At Saunders College of Business, students are always on to something amazing, even before graduating! If you are a student at Saunders College and have exciting news to share, email communications@saunders.rit.edu.

May 2022

Sonakshi Das '25 (business exploration) is interning with Congo Clothing Company, a business that uses fashion as an advocacy tool to raise awareness about sexual violence in Congo. Sonakshi is looking forward to learning about an entrepreneur's different roles, spreading awareness, connecting with professionals, and gaining vital experience.

Thomas Higgins ’18 (global supply chain management), MS ’22 (business analytics) is starting a new role with TELUS International. He is additionally helping Professor Victor Perotti, Ph.D., with research related to business analytics, as the research assistant at Saunders College of Business!

April 2022

Team Baldwin and Team Chester are the winning groups of this year’s Senior Experience: Strategy Capstone Simulation. Professor Hull, Ph.D.,  organized both teams. Team Baldwin consisted of Karl English '21 (management information systems and marketing), James Kayhan '21 (management information systems), Yimin Wu '21 (finance), and Charlie Zong. Team Chester consisted of Benjamin Hare '22 (management information systems and management), Caleb Henlon, Ansel Noe '22 (finance), and Frank Pastore '21 (management information systems). Learn more about the Capsim Capstone Business Simulation.

Bye Bye Bag and Tiger Taxi are the winning groups of this year’s Biz 1+2 business plan competition. The Bye Bye Bag team consisted of Nick Lucarini ’25 (management), Halle Wagner ’25 (supply chain management), Jeremy Heise MS ’26 (accounting), and Parker Hoyt ’26 (accounting). The Tiger Taxi team consisted of Tre’Ahna Gains, Felix-Nadine Herweg, Michael Santoro, and Evan Snyder. Learn more about the Biz 1+2 competition.

Dylan Lebedin MS ’22 (engineering), Melissa Masline ’25 (MBA), and Carlotta Tripodi created an RIT monopoly board to raffle off in support of Ukraine’s Red Cross. The monopoly board was a part of a project for her Leading Teams in Organizations (MGMT-740) class which includes the topics of leadership, motivation, team building, conflict, organizational change, cultures, decision making, and ethical leadership.

Danny Le ’23 (finance and management information systems) won the Alfred L. and Ruby C. Davis Leadership Award for the third year in a row. The award is presented to a student who demonstrated significant effort towards the improvement and quality of the campus.

Congratulations to the following Saunders students who won awards for campus engagement and community involvement:

Community Impact Awards:

• Laylah Vital ’24 (management information systems)
• Danny Le ’23 (finance and management information systems)
• Ndidiamaka Chimah ’23 (hospitality and tourism management)
• Jessie Li ’22 (accounting)
• Kavitha Rajkumar ’23 (accounting)

Frederick Douglas Scholarship:

• Laylah Vital ’24 (management information systems)

Center for Residence Life Outstanding Staff Person

• Justin McFadden ’24 (management information systems)

Excellence in Student Life Awards:

• Jamison Friauf ’22 (management information systems)
• Angel Hristov ’22 (hospitality and tourism management) 
• Landon Nolta ’22 (management)
• Dzejla Suman ‘22 (web and mobile computing)

Legacy Leaders:

• Ann-Katherine Candelori ’22 (management information systems)
• Ezre Ahmeti, a web & mobile computing/management & entrepreneurship major
• Jennifer Schroll ’22 (MBA)

Outstanding Undergraduate Scholars are students who have maintained at least a GPA of 3.85 while also engaging in the RIT community. Congratulations to the 2021-2022 Outstanding Undergraduate Scholars:

• Nadeen Amin ’22 (marketing)
• Patrick Blackall ’22 (Finance)
• Marija Brkić 
• Tala Haddad ’22 (supply chain management)
• Jennifer Hill ’22 (new media marketing)
• Angel Hristov ’22 (hospitality and tourism management)
• Jingdi Liu ’22 (management information systems)
• Jordan O’Brien ’22 (management information systems)
• Amanda Olesky ’22 (management information systems and new media marketing)
• Nathan Parker ’22 (management information systems)
• Kavitha Rajkumar ’23 (accounting)
• Tamara Radulović ’22 (hospitality and tourism management)
• Filip Staniŝić ’22 (hospitality and tourism management)
• Storm Theobald ’23 (international business)
• Xiaotong Zhu ’22 (management information systems)

March 2022 

Belle Nguyen ’22 (MBA) is TechRochester's Student Board Representative for Spring 2022. TechRochester is a non-profit organization that focuses on bringing technology professionals together within the community.

Danny Le ’23 (finance and management information systems) was awarded a scholarship from Financial Executive International’s Rochester chapter. The organization seeks to enhance member professional development through peer networking, career management services, conferences, research, and publications.

Lindsay Behrens ’23 (digital humanities and marketing) will be interning with Packages from Home in Glendale, AZ, in their marketing department. Behrens hopes to gain valuable experience in marketing that will help her after graduation next spring.

Ali Kayer ’22 (advertising photography) received the Outstanding Undergraduate Scholar Award. This award celebrates the top 1% of undergraduate students who achieve academic excellence while also giving back to the community through civic or volunteer work by conducting research or being engaged in a co-op or work in their field of study.

Miranda Cody ’23 (communications) recently declared a minor in marketing, highlighting how minors in business can help add and enhance your college major.

December 2021

The finance club organized a first-of-its-kind trading tournament using the STOCKTRAK platform from October 20 to December 5. 22 teams across RIT’s New York, Dubai, and Croatia campuses traded in stocks, bonds, EFTs, options, Forex, and Crypto currencies.

Freshman Experience: Biz 1+2 students Jacob Statman, Michael Tracey, and Norman Hayward placed in the top ten of this years’ Mike’s Bike’s business simulation at the beginning of the month. The worldwide simulation, which all Business 1+2 students participate in, puts students in charge of real-world business decisions with the goal of generating profit.

Madison Schoenfeld ’22 (MBA) and Julia Abbonizio ’21 (advertising photography) coordinated the Vignelli Center’s inaugural Beyond Fashion event. The fashion show took place in RIT’s MAGIC center and showcased garments and accessories from local designers.

November 2021

17 Saunders students in the Traveling Tigers program and five faculty members had the opportunity to travel to Buffalo, NY, to Delaware North's global headquarters to learn more about the company and potential career opportunities. Gifts to Saunders' general fund allow students to gain educational experiences beyond the classroom.

Saunders hospitality students Garett Silva ’22 (hospitality and tourism management), Lauren Cybul ’21 (hospitality and tourism management and management), Maddie Reim ’23 (hospitality and tourism management), Jordan Brown ’23 (hospitality and tourism management), Bri Medina ’21 (hospitality and tourism management), Manahel Alottaibi ‘22 (MS) and Abeer Alsalmi ’22 (MS) along with hospitality faculty participated and volunteered at the Rochester Hotel Association’s fundraiser for its scholarships for RIT and MCC hospitality students.

October 2021

RIT's Epsilon Lambda chapter of Delta Sigma Pi, the professional business fraternity, won the regional award for Outstanding Financial Operations for a Collegiate Chapter at this year's virtual 2021 award ceremony. The award is presented on an annual basis to the collegiate chapter that plans and implements the most effective and comprehensive program of fundraising and financial management. Paige Siganowich, a fourth-year finance and management information systems double major from Phelps, N.Y., was the chapter's VP of Finance.

Ndidi Chimah ’23 (hospitality and tourism management), Lauren Cybul ’22 (hospitality and tourism management and supply chain management), and Garrett Silva ’23 (hospitality and tourism management) attended the Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition & Conference (HITEC) as volunteers along with Muhammet Kesgin, Ph.D. , associate professor of hospitality and tourism management.

Rachel Romaine ’22 (international business and management information systems) received the Award for Excellence in Business Commentary from The Executive Leadership Council. This $10,000 scholarship is awarded to high-achieving Black students attending a four-year college or university and is sponsored by the Coca-Cola Foundation. Learn more about Rachel in this Q&A.

September 2021

Charlie King ’21 (management information systems) is a member of RIT’s Autonomous Vehicle team that will join partner universities as finalists in the inaugural Indy Autonomous Challenge. Learn more about the challenge as one team has the chance to take home a $1.5 million prize.

Mariam Sharangia MS ’21 (technology innovation management and entrepreneurship) was featured in RIT’s student-run online Reporter Magazine covering the positive impacts that masters’ degrees have on students’ careers.

August 2021

Ndidi Chimah ’23 (hospitality & tourism management and international business) has been awarded a Statler Scholarship of Excellence from the Statler Foundation. Awarded to exceptional students in the field of hospitality and tourism management, this scholarship carries an award of $25,000. Learn more about the scholarship.

Alec Waight-Morabito ’22 (business administration) worked with Jesse Redlo, adjunct faculty for marketing, to publish a chapter in “The Proper Role of Higher Education in a Democratic Society,” published by IGI Global. Their chapter is titled, “Student Activism via Shared Governance in Higher Education.”

July 2021

Madeline Reim ’22 (hospitality and tourism management) co-produced a research project with Jerrie Hseih, Ph.D., associate professor of hospitality and tourism management, about the return of customers to restaurant dining following the COVID-19 pandemic. Professor Hseih and Reim will present their findings during RIT’s Undergraduate Research Symposium.

June 2021

Four Saunders students made podium finishes in the 2021 Saunders Business Analytics Student Contest. These students successfully completed a host of analytical business problems, earning themselves a cash prize:

1st Place - $1,000

• Ansel Amanna ’21 (management information systems), MS ’22 (supply chain management)
• Anna Loso ’21 (management information systems)
• Nathan Parker ’22 (management information systems)

2nd Place - $500

• Fardin Ahsan ’22 (electrical engineering)
• Harshit Kumar ’21 (computer and information systems)
• Dren Gara ’24 (applied arts and science)

3rd Place - $250

• Spencer Tani ’21 (management information systems)
• Jordan Kiel ‘ 22 (computational mathematics)

Hannah Schultz ’21 (hospitality and tourism management) was awarded the Drew Montecuollo Memorial Award. Schultz was nominated for her creativity, high standards, and achievements in the hospitality field in addition to her service to the School of Hospitality and Service Management. Read more about her accomplishment in our Global Blog.

Brendan Green MS ’22 (supply chain management) & Steven Carnovale, Ph.D., program director and assistant professor of supply chain management, are working with University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) on managing their personal protection equipment (PPE) supply chain. Read about Green’s supply chain challenges and Carnovale’s teaching style on page 4 of the RIT University Magazine.

Students belonging to Eta Sigma Delta and RIT’s two hospitality clubs, the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA) and the Hospitality, Finance, and Technology Professionals (HFTP), used their recharge days to bake and deliver cookies for Rochester First Responders. Read how students productively used their recharge days on page 8 of the RIT University Magazine.

May 2021

Four Saunders students have received 2021 Student Life Awards:

• Ndidi Chimah ‘23 (hospitality and service management) – Community Impact Award
• Danny Le ‘23 (finance & management information systems) – Community Impact Award
• Jessika Quijada ’23 (supply chain management) – Community Impact Award
• Rachel Romaine ‘22 (international business & management information systems) – Frederick Douglass Scholarship

Twelve Saunders students have ranked in the top 1% of participants in the 2020/2021 Capsim Capstone simulation. Read more about their achievement in our Global Blog:

• Param Anand ’22 (MBA in marketing)
• Patrick DeMay
• Michael Freeman MS ’22 (accounting)
• Jeremy Herrington ’21 (marketing)
• Marcus Gonzalez ’22 (accounting)
• Peter Jarvis ’21 (supply chain management)
• Peijin Li ’21 (finance)
• Anna Loso ’21 (management information systems)
• Lauryn Mattoon ’20 (marketing)
• Aaron Sowinski ’22 (management information systems)
• Kyle Tanzi ’21 (finance)
• Lukas Wiedemann ’21 (management information systems)

Three RIT Croatia hospitality and tourism management students competed against 155 students in the 2021 ICHRIE Hotel Challenge, with all three finishing in the top 10. Angel Hristov ’22, Tamara Radulović ’22, and Filip Stanišić ‘22 are all members of Eta Sigma Delta and currently hold GPAs of 3.85 and above. Read more about the ICHRIE Hotel Challenge and see interviews with our high-ranking student participants in the RIT News.

Congratulations to Patrick Blackall ’22 (finance) and Danny Keirsbilck ’21 (finance) for being awarded Financial Executives International (FEI) scholarships for 2021 and 2020, respectively. These students have shown great character and high potential to be a future business leader through academic achievement in coursework and extra-curricular involvement.

Congratulations to Jada Jennings ’24 (management information systems) and Justin McFadden ’24 (business administration and management) from Professor McGowan’s class as they created B Straws, an alternative to plastic and paper straws, for The Freshman Experience: Biz 1+2. Banana leaves are used instead for B Straws! The team did outstanding research on their sourcing and manufacturing processes and costs and even made a prototype. Learn more about B Straws.

Congratulations to Ayushi Patel ’24 (marketing), Jessica Klein ’24 (supply chain management), and Seth Russo ’24 (business administration and management) from Professor Ward’s class as they created EZ Waste for The Freshman Experience: Biz 1+2. The first product of PGD LLC committed to helping environmentally friendly consumers reduce waste with ease. EZ Waste is a collapsible container with refillable, biodegradable bags to store waste when you are on the go. Learn more about EZ Waste.

April 2021

12 Saunders students have been inducted into the Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society. Phi Kappa Phi is an honor society for students from all areas of study that recognize and encourage superior scholarship:

• Vanny Chao ’21 (human-computer interaction)
• Nuo Dong ’21 (finance)
• Claudia A. Freeman ’21 (MBA)
• Nikol Jamnic ’21 (international business)
• Li Jiayu '21 (management information systems)
• David Lindberg ’21 (management information systems)
• Stephen A. Lynch ’21 (management information systems)
• Linda L. Ochieng ’22 (accounting)
• Anja Pankretic '21 (international business)
• Nicholas Ricci '22 (accounting)
• Filip Turcic MS ’21 (service leadership and innovation)
• Clark S. Young ’21 (business administration)

Five Saunders students have been inducted into the Eta Sigma Delta International Hospitality Management Society. Eta Sigma Delta is a national honor society that recognizes exceptional students studying in the fields of hospitality, tourism, and the culinary arts:

• Briana Medina ‘22 (hospitality and tourism management)
• Madeline Reim ’23 (hospitality and tourism management)
• Ndidi Chimah ’23 (hospitality and tourism management and international business)
• Manee Souphavanh ’23 (hospitality and tourism management)
• Lauren Cybul ’22 (business management and hospitality and tourism management)

Students from Saunders’ MBA program assembled and delivered personal hygiene kits to the Willow Domestic Violence shelter. Emi Moriuchi, Ph.D., assistant professor of marketing, instructed her class to assemble and distribute 100 kits to market a product while promoting a social cause. Read more about the project on 13WHAM and see behind the scenes photos on RIT News.

March 2021

Jessie Li ’22 (accounting), Hannah Springer ’23 (accounting), and April Otucan ’22 (MBA in accounting) brought home the gold in the 2021 Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) trivia event. This marks the seventh time in a row that Saunders students have placed first in this event. Read more about their victory in the Saunders Global Blog.

Dominick Crisci ’21 (management information systems) has been chosen as the 2020-21 Norman A. Miles Award recipient. Crisci chose Sean Hansen, Ph.D., department chair of management information systems, marketing and digital business, as his faculty pick for the award. This award is given to the senior with the highest grade point average across all majors. That student then selects the faculty member who contributed most to their success at RIT. The student gets a full scholarship towards their last year of tuition, while the faculty member gets funding for academic activities and supplies.

JayShaud Potter '21 (MS city sciences / MS business administration) has recently completed his second master's degree at Saunders. This comes after the completion of a BS in applied arts and Sciences and an MS in city sciences during his studies at RIT Dubai. Potter spoke of his experiences and future plans in entrepreneurship in a recent interview with RIT News.

Saunders students in RIT’s hospitality and tourism management clubs baked 1,000 cookies for first responders at Rochester’s Strong Memorial Hospital and Unity Hospital. This was done in place of their annual Valentine’s Day fundraiser, which had to be canceled due to COVID-19 restrictions. You can read more about their act of kindness in feature stories produced by 13WHAM, WHEC, and HFTP News.

The Following Saunders students have been recognized as Outstanding Undergraduate Scholars for the 2020 / 2021 school year: 

• Bandar Alhaqbani '22 (finance)
• Jelena Benić '21 (international hospitality and service management)
• Yahan Cheng '21 (management information systems)
• Lauren Cybul '22 (business management)
• Mirko Dukic '21 (service management)
• Jillian Fioravanti '21 (management information systems)
• Jamison Friauf '23 (management information systems)
• Lei Huang '21 (management information systems)
• Nikol Jamnić '21 (international business)
• Martina Krčmar '21 (international business)
• Dejana Kusic '21 (hospitality and tourism management)
• Li Jiayu '21 (management information systems)
• Anja Pankretić '21 (international business)
• Nicholas Ricci '22 (accounting)
• Alexander Rohring '21 (new media marketing)
• Nicolas Stagnitta '21 (business administration)

February 2021

Sethunya “Sam” Masebe ‘21, a Fulbright Scholar from Botswana studying in Saunders’ MBA program, has been selected as the Graduate Student Delegate for the 2021 Commencement Ceremony. Masebe earned her BA in project and logistics management from the University of Botswana and earned positions for Stanbic Bank and Brand Engage; both businesses located in Gaborone, Botswana.

Jolene Rose Alu ‘21 (management) has been selected as the Undergraduate Student Delegate for the 2021 Commencement Ceremony. Alu plans to remain at RIT to complete her MBA in finance.

Madeline Tremblay ’21 (new media marketing), was crowned as Delta Sigma Pi’s 2021 Northeastern Provincial Collegian of the Year. Tremblay had held internship positions with IBM, VanEck, and Dynarex Corp. and is currently working for Saunders as a marketing assistant.

January 2021

Kyle Tanzi (supply chain management), Peter Jarvis (supply chain management), Lukas Wiedemann (management information systems), and Lauryn Mattoon (marketing) worked with Clyde Hull, Ph.D. on the CAPSIM Capstone Business Simulation (MGMT-560) and finished in the Top 1%! Stephen Luxmore, Ph.D., and Zeke Leo, Ph.D., additionally lead these capstone classes.

December 2020

Will Calverley ’22 (business administration and management) was recognized as the Atlantic Hockey Player of the Week.

November 2020

Saunders student, Nupur Dogra MS ‘20 (business analytics), won at the 2020 RIT Graduate Education Week Showcase for her presentation on “Integrated resort food image and its impact on visitors’ revisit intention.” Last summer, Nupur worked under the advisement of Dr. Jerrie Hsieh on this research as part of the Saunders Student-Faculty Summer Research grants.

October 2020

RIT’s Delta Sigma PI’s Epsilon Lambda Chapter received awards in the Niagara Region and the Northeastern Province. In the Niagara Region, the chapter won the regional award for the R. Nelson Mitchell Outstanding Collegiate Chapter Award. The recognition is for the best-representing aims and ideals of Delta Sigma Pi. Out of 78 chapters, RIT was the Northeastern Province winner of the Outstanding Alumni Relations Award. This award was for thoroughly integrating an aspect of alumni relations into the overall operations.

The Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP) Student Chapter at RIT received the HFTP Rising Chapter Award. This award recognizes an up-and-coming chapter that displayed enthusiasm and energy for HFTP programs, services and networking during their annual business meeting and awards ceremony (presented at 17:45). Take an inside look at the hospitality field from RIT students perspective.

September 2020

Saunders Beta Gamma Sigma (BGS) has earned recognition as an Honors Chapter from Global Headquarters. The Saunders chapter received this acknowledgment for its chapter officers who work diligently to enhance the stature of BGS on campus.

Daniel Keirsbilck '21 (finance) received the highest honor Rochester Chapter of Financial Executives International (FEI) scholarship.

Sam Oribamise ’20 (finance), Namaqua Mills ’20 (management information systems), and Adama Cisse ’20 (management information systems) pitched their idea of Scentablez, an innovative air care product, to the RIT Student Accelerator in 2019. Shortly after, the three won the Concept award at the NY Statewide Business Model Competition and second place at RIT's Business Model Competition. The three launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund their first large production run, where customers can pre-order the product in desired quantities.

June 2020

Delta Sigma Pi Professional Business Fraternity recently recognized Epsilon Lambda Chapter for two awards; RIT’s Justin Allen as the 2020 Niagara Regional Collegian of the Year (COY) and RIT’s Chapter for the Niagara Region R. Nelson Mitchell Outstanding Collegiate Chapter Award (Regional Recipient). The COY program is the highest Fraternity honor bestowed upon a collegiate member in Delta Sigma Pi that best exemplifies the values and ideals of the Fraternity. The R. Nelson Mitchell Outstanding Collegiate Chapter award is presented to a chapter that best promotes the aims and ideals stated in the Purpose of the Fraternity through its actions and activities.

RIT’s Herbert W. Vanden Brul Student Entrepreneurial Award recognizes three outstanding undergraduate or graduate students across all RIT Colleges, who have demonstrated the potential to become successful entrepreneurs. The 2020 Herbert W. Vanden Brul Student Entrepreneurial Award first-place winner is Hansel Leal ’22 (computing and information technologies). Congratulations to Elise King ’20 (mechanical engineering) and Andrea Gonzalez-Esteche MFA ’20 (industrial design), our second and third place award winners.

The American Hotel and Lodging Association Foundation (AHLAF) helps people build their careers in the lodging industry through multi-faceted programs. Three students in our International Hospitality and Service Innovation Department received a scholarship to help with the fall and spring semester of the 2020-2021 academic year. Congratulations to Ndidi Chimah ’23 (hotel/motel administration/management), Joseph Caggiano, and Amanda Sengdara ’21 (hospitality and tourism management).

February 2020

The below students are the 2020 Outstanding Undergraduate Scholars from Saunders College! Each student has a minimum GPA of 3.85 as well as other extracurricular activities that complement their academic achievements.

Rochester Campus:

• Benjamin Frenett '20 (accounting and finance, mathematics)
• Emily Gray '20 (finance)
• Danny Keirsbilck '21 (finance)
• Andrew Voss '20 (finance and management information systems)
• Ansel Amanna '21 (management information systems)
• Peter Bilzerian '20 (management information systems)
• Jarod Farchione '19 (information systems)
• Adrianna Wellin '20 (new media marketing)
• Belma Sokolovic '20 (international hospitality and service innovation)

BJTU Campus:

• Baisong Li (management information systems)
• Fan Sun (management information systems)
• Yuncong Wang (management information systems)
• Zixiang Yin (management information systems)

Dubai Campus:

• Vyshali Sanjeev '20 (finance)

Croatia Campus:

• Pamina Bencic (hospitality and tourism management)
• Ivan Kolembus '19 (international business)
• Nikola Saladic (international business)