Tag: Undergraduate

Washington University in St. Louis and Olin Business School got more good news this week about their entrepreneurship education programs, this time from The Princeton Review‘s 16th annual ranking of undergraduate and graduate schools for entrepreneurship studies.

Nationally, the school’s undergraduate program placed seventh in the ranking, up two spots from last year’s #9 ranking. The graduate program notched a 13th-place showing, also up year-over-year from 15th. The publication also ranked schools regionally; in the Midwest, Olin ranked first for its undergraduate program and fourth for its graduate program.

The Princeton Review‘s ranking comes on the heels of the third annual ranking of MBA entrepreneurship programs by Poets & Quants, which placed WashU Olin in first place for the third consecutive year.

“At WashU, entrepreneurship is highly experiential and collaborative. We encourage our students to connect with the St. Louis community and beyond, thus expanding their network. Most notably, the majority of entrepreneurial opportunities at WashU are open to ALL undergrad and grad students, faculty, staff, postdocs, and alumni”, said II Luscri, assistant vice provost for innovation and entrepreneurship and managing director of the Skandalaris Center for Interdisciplinary Innovation and Entrepreneurship. “It is this blend of curricular and co-curricular; campus and community; creativity and entrepreneurship; not bound to discipline or school, that distinguishes our entrepreneurial offerings.”

Support of WashU student entrepreneurs has been crucial for venture success. In the last 10 years, 279 companies founded by undergraduate students have engaged with the Skandalaris Center and gone on to raise a combined $5.2 billion. Of those companies, 62% are still in business today.

On the graduate side, in the last 10 years, 240 companies started by WashU graduate students have engaged with the Skandalaris Center and eventually raised a combined total of nearly $288 million. Of those, 55% are still in business today.

“Since the mid-2000s when we first reported these ranking lists, student interest in entrepreneurship has grown dramatically, as has the commitment to entrepreneurship studies within higher education,” Rob Franek, The Princeton Review‘s editor-in-chief, said in a written statement. “We heartily recommend the fine schools that made our entrepreneurship studies ranking lists this year. Their faculties are outstanding. Their programs have robust experiential components, and their students receive awesome mentoring and networking support that will serve them for years to come.”

The Princeton Review‘s ranking is based on the results of a 60-question survey, which collects data on the percentage of faculty, students, and alumni actively and successfully involved in entrepreneurial endeavors; the number and reach of mentorship programs; scholarships and grants for entrepreneurial studies; and the level of support for school-sponsored business plan competitions.

Read more here about The Princeton Review’s entrepreneurship ranking.

This coming semester will be the first spring Olin will send students abroad since 2020. They’ll immerse themselves in other cultures for the entire semester in Chile, Ireland, Italy and Spain.

We asked five of our soon-to-travel BSBA students, all Class of 2023, about their plans and hopes as they go abroad. After all, this is International Education Week, celebrating the benefits of international education and exchange worldwide. Closer to home, of course, Olin is globally oriented. It’s one of our four pillars of excellence.

“I haven’t spent much time out of the US, so this will be an entirely new experience for me,” Emma Guarnero said. She’s heading to Santiago, Chile, and is looking forward to mastering Spanish and learning about the indigenous culture there.

“I’m also looking forward to living with a host family and, hopefully, developing a strong relationship with them,” she said. Overall, she said, she’s hoping to gain a more global perspective “and begin to understand the world outside of my bubble in the US.”

Eventually, Guarnero intends to work in Latin America. “I’m planning on working as an international human rights attorney or in Latin American economic development. I’m hopeful that this experience will give me clarity into which career path I want to pursue.”

‘An expanded mindset’

Originally, Brock Mullen was bound for Singapore, but that program was canceled. So, he’s heading to Dublin.

“In high school, I had some wonderful opportunities to travel abroad with my church and my school,” he said. “I have been to Italy, Switzerland, Greece, Germany and Turkey with my high school, and I participated in a service trip in Jamaica.”

He’s counting on his semester in Ireland to help him deepen his appreciation of other cultures. “By having an expanded mindset, I’ll be able to make more well-rounded and thorough decisions in my career. Adding a global perspective will make me a more valuable asset for my future employers.” 

Mullen said he hopes to one day join the ranks of upper management for a successful company. After he graduates, he’s bound for Microsoft’s finance rotation program, which is its leadership development pipeline.

Jaya Tewari already has traveled to 13 countries and heads to Madrid this spring. “I’m most excited to meet other students from around the world and experience a new culture.”

She intends to work in the sports industry, and she said she is curious to learn if experiencing European soccer culture will confirm her desire to work internationally.

Ireland has fascinated Andrew Weiss since high school, when he studied European history and Irish English literature. “I’ve always wanted to study abroad, and I am very excited to visit Ireland for the first time.”

At University College Dublin, he plans to combine his passions of European history and business. He also said he hopes to meet new, lifelong friends and develop a deeper understanding of Irish culture.

“I’m very excited to build a business network abroad,” he said.  “I have learned so much about the value of networking at WashU.” 

When his time in Ireland is over, he’ll be off to New York City for an investment banking internship at DC Advisory. “I am very open minded to what the future may hold, but I believe I have narrowed it down to banking or private equity as the space I am most interested in.” 

Jason Jin said he’s not yet sure where he wants to go with his career. For now, he’s taking it a semester at a time and excited about the next one, which he’ll spend in Milan.

“I’m hoping to broaden my worldview and expand my appreciation for the Italian culture,” said Jin, who has visited Russia, Spain, England and China. “I think this experience abroad may allow me to be more open to potentially working abroad as well.”

Pictured from left top row: Emma Guarnero, Jason Jin, Brock Mullen, Jaya Tewari and Andrew Weiss.

Various Olin students contributed to this post.

Earlier this summer, we shared the stories of six MBA ’22 students and how their Olin education set up them up for success. Today, we’re back with three MBA ’22 students and one BSBA ’22 student. Whether they’re working in marketing, finance or logistics, the foundational skills they learned at Olin have prepared them for the job ahead.

How did your Olin education prepare you for your internship?

“At Schnucks, I work with the Communications team. Our team has a hand in every single department and the dissemination of information both internally and externally. Coming from a background in journalism, Olin offers me many brand-new learning opportunities. Within my internship, I’m enjoying building on the solid foundation of the FTMBA program. Having the first-year core classes at Olin has prepared me to communicate and strategize more effectively with departments such as Accounting, Finance, Merchandising and Operations at Schnucks and become a more well-rounded businesswoman.”

-Lucy Reis, MBA ’22, communications intern at Schnuck Markets

“I use Olin’s’ value-based and data-driven approaches every day of my internship. At Amazon I’m encouraged to dig deep into data sets to gather insights and invent new creative solutions to solve customers’ problems. Olin’s education prepared me for my internship at Amazon by teaching me qualitative and quantitative analysis frameworks that allow me to deconstruct and analyze business problems in an organized manner. In my current role, I’m using the managerial insights I mainly learned in my operations and strategy courses. [They] allow me to complete my work and to communicate effectively with high-ranking, experienced technical and nontechnical professionals with over 20 years of experience that are even outside of my own area of expertise.”

-Antonio Rivera-Martínez, MBA ’22, senior manager program intern at Amazon

How/what are you taking what you learned at Olin and applying it to your current role?

“The most valuable thing I have applied from my time at Olin to my current role is communication and teamwork. Olin’s curriculum emphasizes team projects, which simulate real work environments that cultivate problem solving and concise communication. Throughout my time at Olin, I’ve had the opportunity to work with different teams, either in extracurriculars or classes. I come out of each team project learning more about working with different people with diverse backgrounds to achieve the best outcome.”

-Daphne Liu, BSBA ’22, business analyst intern at McKinsey & Company

“Building a competitive and marketing strategy with a unique value proposition for a product, building relationships with different stakeholders, and understanding customer problems first and then providing them a solution are some of the things which I learned and apply in my current role.”

-Vaibhav Dabas, MBA ’22, product manager intern at VMWare

To stay up to date with summer internship features, follow along on our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages.

Established by former Olin professor Cliff Holekamp, the Holekamp Seed Fund provides $1,000 in funding to student entrepreneurs. The award helps students kickstart their business ventures without financial obligation.

Fund directors—Holekamp, Elise Miller Hoffman, BA ’11 and MBA ’16, and Doug Villard, Olin’s academic director for entrepreneurship—select deserving students. Applicants are accepted on a rolling basis until the funds run out.

This year’s awardees

Lloyd Yates, MBA ’22, founded Tylmen, a direct-to-consumer line of accessories includes ties, belts, scarves and even face masks that double as pocket squares.

Greenlight, co-founded by Evan O’Connor, BSBA ’20, is an online shopping extension that grades sustainability of brands and offers alternatives.

Arron Zheng, BSBA ‘22, co-founded EDUrain. EDUrain is an app that simplifies college financials by bringing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), scholarships and housing fees together in one place.

Made by BLU creates gourmet nut butters using natural, high-quality and traditional ingredients in the base product then adding exciting mix-ins. It was created by Fiona Blumin, BSBA ’21.

Elijah Olasunkanmi, BS ‘22, is the operating officer at Innovative Apollo Media. The service, RaiseMeFunds, is similar to GoFundMe, but is accessible to people in West African countries.

FreeEats, founded by Trey Rudolph, BSBA ‘23, seeks to reduce food waste. The mobile app provides information on leftover free food produced on college campuses.

Founded by Laife Fulk, MBA ‘21, Sherpa combines data and technology to guide event staff with real-time information.

Lumière is a streaming platform designed for short films aimed to revolutionize the way that short films are consumed worldwide. Trey Checkett, BSBA ‘22, is the founder.

Amanda Foley, MBA ’21, and Tom Dart, MBA ‘21 are co-founders of DRIPTEK. DRIPTEK automatically lubricates wires for cranes and elevators significantly reducing downtime.

Applications for the fund are open to current Washington University juniors, seniors and graduate students. Students must be US citizens or permanent residents. You must have at least 25 percent ownership of your startup venture. To apply, visit the Holekamp Seed Fund website. 

In March, Chinese students gathered in Beijing and Shanghai for two weeklong residency programs. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the residencies were the first time many of the students met in person.

Members of the Weston Career Center team in both the US and China designed the programs, and undergraduate, MBA and specialized masters students attended.

Each day’s activities centered on one of Olin’s pillars of excellence: values-based, data-driven decision making; global experiences; entrepreneurial spirit; and experiential learning. The week culminated with an experiential learning project to solve a real-world business problem for the athletic footwear company New Balance.

Throughout the week, students interacted with classmates, engaged with alumni, listened to industry leaders and met with their career coaches.

The human connection

The opportunity to meet her peers face to face stood out to Ruxin (Andrea) Zeng, MSBA ’22. She’d met her cohort through Zoom, but the residency gave her opportunities to interact with her peers in a casual environment.

Learning from industry leaders

Wenxin (Hugo) Xue, MSCA ’22, enjoyed the opportunity to listen to industry leaders. As a business analytics student, he was excited to learn more about the future of big data and how it could affect his career.

Endless opportunities in business

Similarly, Yang Shen, MSBA ’22, found it helpful to learn more about different opportunities in business, whether he networked with employers or listened to various distinguished alumni.

The WCC team planned excursions for students to enjoy during breaks from their coursework. The Beijing students took a day trip to the Great Wall of China, while the Shanghai students took a night cruise down the Huangpu River.

Christina Xue, BSBA ’21, was the student speaker at the virtual undergraduate programs graduation recognition ceremony on May 21, 2021, selected by her peers. Here is what she had to say to her fellow graduates.

Thank you, Dean Taylor, for the kind introduction. Students, faculty, family and friends: I am incredibly honored to be the student speaker for our graduating class of 2021 and to share a bit of my story and reflections with all of you.

When I first came to WashU— I was definitely apprehensive. Being born and raised in New Jersey, I was convinced I wanted to stay in my Northeast bubble forever. Coming to the Midwest, which seemed like the great unknown, had never been part of my life plans. I honestly couldn’t even place Missouri or St. Louis on a map. But—I learned to adapt, as we all did.

Now, after reflecting upon the past four years at WashU, I’m glad that I left comfort zone. This university has taught me a multitude of lessons, but one of the most important ones is to expect and embrace change. Change can be big or small. For example, change is realizing that College Hall is now called Risa Commons. Change is declaring a history minor and realizing I have to do hundreds of pages of reading every week. Change is when, at the age of 4, my mom told me I would be a big sister and I didn’t quite understand what that meant. Change is watching my older sister get married this past year. Change is immigrating to a new country, as my parents did when they were only a few years older than I am now. Change is graduating.

‘The vitality of my support network’

People often say that one’s college years are some of the formative in their life, a platitude I find to hold true. I think it’s fair to say that we’ve all evolved in some regard during the past few years— in the way we think, our beliefs and values, the knowledge we hold. For some of us, our sense of fashion and hairstyles have definitely changed for the better.

And of course, this past year alone has been the most transformative that our generation has and probably will ever, witness during our lifetimes. In a time where the unthinkable became reality, I realized the vitality of my support network during these moments of change and unpredictability. My family, roommates, and close friends have served not only as a pillar of stability, but as a motivating force in encouraging me to pursue my dreams and having the courage to step outside my comfort zone. They are the ones I laugh with about nothing and everything, the ones I cry to when a MEC exam didn’t go too well, and the ones I go to when I need brutally honest advice.

I hope that you all have found your support network during these past four years, and that you have a deeper appreciation for those people after the tragedies and hardships this past year has brought us. I hope that this support network follows you after we graduate, because while the grades and assignments we have may fade in our memories, the experiences and relationships we’ve made can be everlasting.

‘Resilience, courage and strength’

As we graduate and begin our journey as real adults, I hope that change takes us in exciting directions, be it grad school, jobs, or new locations. I also know, that after this past year, we are uniquely equipped to handle change however it may manifest itself. We have shown resilience, displayed courage, and have become stronger as a WashU community through the hardships and pandemic that have plagued our country and world at large.

Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts.” As this new dawn approaches, I hope that WashU has prepared you with the strength and intellectual curiosity you need to embrace change and leave your own mark on the world. I hope that life is full of change for you in the best ways possible.

Thank you.