Smith Profiles

Alumni Profile
Motivating the Next Generation of Women In Tech
Kendall Holbrook, MBA ’01
As an African American woman CEO and working mother – in information technology, an area heavily dominated by men - Holbrook understands the weight of her words. One thing she’s learned is that “companies and clients are really all about people.”

Student Profile
A Return to Smith to Broaden Horizons
Alejandro Smith ’18, MBA ’23
For Alejandro Smith ’18, MBA ’23, broadening his horizons has always been at the core of his decisions.

Student Profile
Listening to Fellow Students’ Needs
Ayelette Halbfinger ’23
It was September 2021 and Ayelette Halbfinger ’23, was struggling.

Student Profile
Torn Between Two Countries at War With Each Other, While Earning a Master’s at Smith
Ksenia Popovich, MS in Quantitative Finance ’23
“I feel like for a human being, it’s really hard to be in the middle.” That’s what Ksenia Popovich says about being a Russian citizen of Ukrainian descent, as a war between the two countries continues.

Student Profile
Smith Undergrad is Racing to Success on Social Media
Oscar Casasola ’24
Oscar Casasola ’24 is working toward obtaining his finance, marketing and management degrees, but his career as a social media influencer is already off to the races.

Alumni Profile
Lifting Others up and Going Viral on Social Media
Ava Cyruli ’22
Ava Cyruli ’22 needed an outlet to fill the void left by stepping away from her dancing career, so she turned to weightlifting. Now, she’s sharing what she’s learned along the way with thousands of people online.

Student Profile
It Began in High School and Continues at Smith: Changing the Game for Millions of Children
Sara Blau, Class of 2024
I wanted to be at Smith since it’s a hardworking, collaborative environment where all students and faculty are committed to the success of one another.

Alumni Profile
Turning Pandemic Related Uncertainty Into a Career Advantage
Alexis Hogarth, MS in Business and Management ’22
The Master of Science in Business and Management program felt like the best foundation for me to gain more business knowledge, while also easing back into talking to people face to face in a professional way again. I would have been too nervous about doing that if I’d chosen to work right after getting my bachelor’s degree.

Alumni Profile
Learning and Teaching at the Smith School Helped to Advance A Storied Career
Richard O’Neill, MBA ’69
“I let things happen and the jobs came to me. I did not seek them,” that’s what Richard O’Neill says about his path to success.

Alumni Profile
Still a Long Road Ahead: Leading One of the World’s Top High-Tech Firms and Aiming to Take it to Even Higher Heights
Long Jiang, PhD Strategic Management ’06
Most successful people wake up no later than 6 a.m. and Long Jiang is no exception. He usually wakes up at 5:30, works out for 45 minutes then heads to his office. Jiang is CEO of Goertek, one of the largest China based companies in the world that designs and manufactures smart devices.