MBA students honored by their peers
"Incredible leader."
"Willingness to go above and beyond the call of duty."
"Set the bar high for incoming students."
These are some of the words used to describe the winners of the first-ever MBA awards.
The idea for the awards was conceived by current first and second year MBA students who wanted to honor their peers for success outside of the classroom. This is the first year that MBA Awards were given. Winners were decided by the students and embodied the Mason School of Business Value Statement:
As a global citizen and member of the Mason community, I embrace the following values:
Respect and responsibility for self and others A spirit of generosity
A life dedicated to inquisitive learning and development
My words, actions, and relationships will demonstrate my commitment to these values within the program and throughout my life.
Emily Smith MBA ‘10 was the big winner, taking home both the "Mason Blaze the Path Leadership Award," and sharing the "Mason Outstanding Mentorship Award" with Cate Bach ‘10.
Those who nominated Emily cited her management skills as the reason she received the award. One student wrote, "Emily is an incredible leader. She is professional, approachable and works extremely well with others."
Second Year Award Winners
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Emily Smith, "Mason Blaze the Path Leadership Award." This award recognizes the individual who has exemplified excellence in leadership while at Mason. | |
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Brittany Scopa, "Mason Community Contributor Award." Recognizes an individual who works to build the Mason community through his or her attitude, time, support, ideas and effort. Speaking of Brittany, a fellow student remarked, "She is willing to go above and beyond the call of duty to not only help the school ... but build relationships with her fellow classmates." | |
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Jonathan Pittman, "Mason Outstanding Service Award." This honor is giving to the student who dedicated numerous hours to the community. "Jon has done tremendous things for the Community Service Committee," said a nominating student. "He has organized new, never-before-held events and kept past successful events going." | |
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Michael Antony Raj and Chandra Meenaga, "Mason Gold Standard Award." This achievement recognizes people who unselfishly contribute to someone else's development. "Both Chandra and Michael are very intelligent people, who are willing to assist others that are having difficulty with their work," said a fellow student. |
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Cate Bach and Emily Smith, "Most Outstanding Mentorship Award." This recognizes second year students who have contributed the greatest to a first year student's overall experience. First year MBA students cited Emily's professionalism and Cate's role as a graduate assistant as reasons for the award. |
First Year Award Winners
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Brian Lane and Kim Johnson, "Mason Blaze the Path Leadership Award." This award recognizes the individuals who have exemplified excellence in leadership while at Mason. Said of Brian and Kim, "they make sure everybody has a sense of belongingness in Mason." |
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Brittney Mitchell, "Mason Community Contributor Award." This award recognizes an individual who works to build the Mason community through his or her attitude, time, support, ideas and effort. "Brittney is very proactive in improving the program," said a nominating student. "She consistently goes out of her way to do things to better the class." | |
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Trisha Rajshekhar, "Mason Outstanding Service Award." This achievement recognizes the student who dedicated numerous hours to the community and has rallied others to contribute. Her fellow students referenced her dedication to the greater community as the reason for this honor. | |
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Jeff Taylor, "Mason Gold Standard Award." This award recognizes an individual who unselfishly contributes to another's development. "Jeff always offers his time outside of class to help his classmates," remarked a fellow student. | |
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Veena Rao Anavatti, Jim Welsch and John Frankenhoff, "Distinguished Community Leadership Awards for Module 3." (John Frankenhoff not pictured) |
The members of the MBA Awards Committee were: Amanda Carter MBA ‘11, Lesley Donelson MBA ‘10, Abideen Onigbanjo MBA ‘11, Emily Smith MBA ‘10, Julie Hummel, MBA Program Coordinator, Michele Mitchell-Moffit, Associate Director of the MBA Program, Jim Olver, Assistant Dean for MBA Programs and Carlane Pittman, Director of MBA Programs.
