Alexia Ayuk ’23: An Advocate And Changemaker

For undergrad Alexia Ayuk ’23, advocating for the less fortunate and serving as a changemaker have always been top priorities. The Maryland Smith junior, studying operations management and business analytics, is president of the Smith Undergraduate Student Association. She helped launch Smith’s Inclusion, Accountability and Oversight Coalition, which holds school leaders to the practices of diversity and inclusion.

Studying for her MBA, Eying a Career in Impact-Driven Consulting

Lee-Ellen Myles believes businesses are ideally positioned to leverage their influence to make impactful change. It’s a belief that has been validated in her coursework at UMD and Maryland Smith, and during her 2021 summer internship with Council Fire, a consulting firm that works to help purpose-driven organizations thrive by creating lasting economic, social and environmental value.

After the Marines, Finding a Passion in Marketing

Octavia Davis couldn’t picture herself going to college right after high school. She hadn’t yet decided what she wanted to do with her life, with her career. Joining the military, she thought, would give her time to decide what she wanted, while giving her a rich, worldly experience.

Finding Smith, And the Plus 1 Program

Gelila Aderaye ’21 always knew graduate school was in her future but didn’t know exactly what her plans were – that is, until she attended Maryland Smith. Initially starting her undergraduate career at Montgomery College, Aderaye came to Smith with a penchant for accounting.

How One Year Can Help Shape a Career

As a criminology and criminal justice major at the University of Maryland, Eleanna Weissman dreams of having a career in federal law enforcement. Now, she’s taking classes at Maryland Smith to achieve that goal. In 2022, she will graduate with a combined bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in accounting from the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business. Weissman says her aspirations of entering the law enforcement field developed gradually throughout high school and college.

Twinning and Winning Together on a Career Path

As twins, Camila, ’21, and Valeria Arrieta Palacio, ’21, have lived their lives at each other’s side. Now, even as they graduate from the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, that continues. They are taking their first steps into the workforce together, accepting positions at Freddie Mac as capital market analysts. It’s just another part of their journey. The pair immigrated from Colombia six years ago and, overcoming language barriers, enrolled at Maryland Smith as finance and marketing majors.

Turning a Passion into a Brand

As she graduates from the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business this spring, you can trust that Goodness Ihekweme will wear something special. She says she wouldn’t have it any other way. Ihekweme is graduating with a marketing major and technology entrepreneurship minor – and with an apparel e-commerce business she launched on her own, called GStyles.

Preparing to Make Big Impacts

Lakshmi Shyamakrishnan ’20 is looking forward to making big impacts for employees at top companies. The double Smith Terp, currently earning her master’s degree in marketing analytics, has her sights set on a role in human resources, eventually in a C-suite position. “Being a chief diversity officer is absolutely my dream job,” says Shyamakrishnan. “Diversity and inclusion is something that I’ve been passionate about for a while and something that I can speak to with my experiences, in terms of what we can do better and how we can become more inclusive.”

Saying ‘Oui!’ To Amazon in Paris

Blanka Thibaud was ready for a change. She’d been working as an economist, but had an eye on a career in commercial real estate development. In 2016, she enrolled in Maryland Smith’s Part-Time MBA program (now called the Flex MBA), loading her schedule with real estate courses that would give her in-depth knowledge of the development process. While a part time student, she worked for a real estate developer in Washington, D.C., and then was hired at Freddie Mac as a real estate asset manager.

Reading Between the Data Points

Sahitya Angara took an analytical approach when selecting a master's program. We’d expect nothing less from her – Angara was, in fact, a data analyst prior to arriving in Maryland from her former job in Chennai, India. She’s always enjoyed “reading between the data points.”