
Freshman year can be a real wake up. Everything is faster and heavier – and academics are just part of the transition. For many, the biggest issues involve managing time and money. Sometimes, freshmen just take on too much.
Sven Wollschlaeger probably heard the warnings. That didn’t stop the University of Michigan Business major from co-founding a company as a freshman. Inspired by campus tours he took in high school, he built VenueTourist – which he describes as “a 3D and virtual reality tech company specializing in higher-ed campus tour creation.” Over four years, Wollschlaeger has taken his startup far beyond Ann Arbor – and racked up achievements that’d be the envy of MBA students.

“I am proud that we built and scaled VenueTourist from my dorm room to being deployed at universities all across the U.S. – from campuses like GWU to the University of Miami. We raised <$1M from the co-founder of JetBlue, and pitched to Google Streetview, Bessemer Venture Partners, and A16Z. We were invited to operate out of Dan Gilbert’s Detroit Venture Partners office (2019), and I just recently participated in Y Combinator’s Virtual Startup School. I learned the value of good products, great execution, exceptional teams, and starting!”
100 STUDENT LEADERS FROM TOP 50 BUSINESS SCHOOLS
Wollschlaeger is among the 100 seniors honored in Poets&Quants’ Best & Brightest Business Majors of 2021. Entering its 6th year, the Best & Brightest features seniors who personify the best in business education. To compile this year’s list, P&Q invited each of the Top 50 undergraduate business schools to supply two representatives from their programs. The schools were given the flexibility to choose their students using their own selection criteria and process. However, P&Q encouraged the schools to consider students based on factors like “academic excellence, extracurricular leadership, personal character, innate potential, a striking personal narrative, and overall impact on the program.” Overall, the list includes 54 women and 46 men. In addition, 15 students hail from countries outside the United States, including Turkey, Ethiopia, Romania, Thailand, Haiti, and Ecuador.
Despite a sluggish economy, many Best & Brightest are already ticketed to the world’s top employers. 10 members have already accepted offers from Deloitte, with Bain & Company, Ernst & Young, KPMG, and PwC scooping up 3 students a piece. In addition, you’ll find future consultants, bankers, and client developers at firms like McKinsey, Goldman Sachs, Amazon, Microsoft, and SpaceX among the Best & Brightest. In addition, 9 graduates are returning to campus to earn Master’s and law degrees.

Upasana Barot
Such students include Leah Wren Hardgrove. A legally blind Marketing major from Washington University, Hardgrove will be joining Google in product management after graduation. At the University of North Carolina, Mary Laci Motley built EATS2SEATS, which enables non-profits to operate stadium concession stands to generate financing for their causes. Not only has Motley survived the pandemic, but has expanded her enterprises to seven venues. At Wharton, Cristina Pogorevici entered a war-torn country to study entrepreneurship. Some students even stepped into the role of leadership. Case in point: Upasana Barot. She developed a 6-module peer mentorship curriculum at the College of William & Mary – one that has been adopted campus-wide.
“It always makes my day when mentees reach out about their positive experience with the program,” she tells P&Q.
Who are some of the most promising Business majors from the Class of 2021? Where have they interned and where will they be working after graduation? Which faculty and classmates do they admire the most? And what were the biggest surprises they faced and lessons they gained on the way to graduation? Click on the links below to learn about the next generation of consultants, financiers, c-suite executives, and entrepreneurs.
2021 Best & Brightest Undergraduate Business Majors
Business Student |
Business School |
Hometown |
Post-Graduation Employer |
Giselle Enriquez Durazo |
University of Arizona (Eller) |
Tucson, AZ |
GoDaddy |
Brennen Feder |
University of Arizona (Eller) |
Tucson, AZ |
Procter & Gamble |
James Sorrentino |
Binghamton University School of Management |
Oyster Bay, NY |
Citigroup |
Rene Vorilas |
Binghamton University School of Management |
West Islip, NY |
Protiviti |
Veronica Escobar-Mesa |
Boston University (Questrom) |
Medellin, Colombia |
The Barthwell Group |
Frances Smyth |
Boston University (Questrom) |
Alexandria, VA |
Microsoft |
Spencer Russell Call |
Brigham Young University (Marriott) |
Omaha, NE |
Home Depot |
Ashtynne Wade |
Brigham Young University (Marriott) |
Lindon, UT |
Boston Consulting Group |
Nathan Feyrer |
Bucknell University (Freeman) |
Breinigsville, PA |
Goldman Sachs |
Amy Yowell |
Bucknell University (Freeman) |
Betterton, MD |
Bank of America |
Aditya Darshan Gandhi |
Carnegie Mellon (Tepper) |
Mumbai, India |
Wolfe Research |
Shiwani Pathak |
Carnegie Mellon (Tepper) |
Edison, NJ |
Morgan Stanley |
Sarah Brice |
Cornell University (Dyson) |
New York City, NY |
SC Johnson |
Carol Wang |
Cornell University (School of Hotel Administration) |
Vancouver, Canada |
Sculptor Capital Management |
Eva Chaffin |
University of Denver (Daniels) |
Littleton, CO |
Ernst & Young |
Milena Rogers |
University of Denver (Daniels) |
Portland, OR |
Goldman Sachs |
Meghan Murray |
Elon University (Love) |
Bel Air, MD |
Ernst & Young |
Alexandra Pirsos |
Elon University (Love) |
Upper Saddle River, NJ |
N.C. State (Grad School) |
Drew Bullock |
Emory University (Goizueta) |
Durham, NC |
FTI Consulting |
Lori Steffel |
Emory University (Goizueta) |
Glenview, IL |
Truist Securities |
Zackary Hajjar |
Fordham University (Gabelli) |
Brooklyn, NY |
JPMorgan Chase |
Sekai Kaminski |
Fordham University (Gabelli) |
Garnet Valley, PA |
IBM |
Michael DuTot |
Georgetown University (McDonough) |
Berwyn, PA |
Anheuser-Busch |
Alexandra Hornick |
Georgetown University (McDonough) |
New York City, NY |
HiredScore |
Amanda Arboleda |
University of Georgia (Terry) |
Dacula, GA |
Ernst & Young |
Zakiyya Ellington |
University of Georgia (Terry) |
Allen, TX |
McKinsey |
Jake DiBenedetto |
Georgia Tech (Scheller) |
Johns Creek, GA |
Credit Suisse |
Devika Dutt |
Georgia Tech (Scheller) |
Douglasville, GA |
Deloitte |
Salman Al-Luqman |
University of Houston (Bauer) |
Houston, TX |
American Express |
Micah Olsen |
University of Houston (Bauer) |
Swampscott, MA |
Vivint Smart Home |
Jessica Lozano Schmitt |
Hult International Business School |
Madrid, Spain |
Electric Potential |
Tumelo Seemule |
Hult International Business School |
Francistown, Botswana |
Hult International Business School (Grad Student) |
Bethany Antuna |
University of Illinois (Gies) |
Wheaton, IL |
Google |
Markos Christoforou |
University of Illinois (Gies) |
Elk Grove Village, IL |
Deloitte |
Brianna Jordan |
University of Illinois (Gies) |
Naperville, IL |
Law School (Undecided) |
Sydney Dixon |
Indiana University (Kelley) |
Houston, TX |
Deloitte |
Blake Nolan Bradley |
Indiana University (Kelley) |
Bourbonnais, IL |
SpaceX |
Andrew Fedun |
Lehigh University |
Yardley, PA |
Citigroup |
Jenny Lin |
Lehigh University |
Nesquehoning, PA |
KPMG |
Anton Berry |
Marian University (Byrum) |
Clarksville, TN |
Undecided |
Rachel Kassing |
Marian University (Byrum) |
Maryville, IL |
Undecided |
Alannah Scardino |
University of Massachusetts-Amherst (Isenberg) |
Rochester, NY |
Undecided |
Matthew Kassler |
University of Massachusetts-Amherst (Isenberg) |
Mansfield, MA |
PwC |
Maddie Krueger |
Miami University (Farmer) |
Dublin, OH |
West Monroe Partners |
Grant Stierwalt |
Miami University (Farmer) |
Bowling Green, OH |
Bain & Company |
Olivia Dubi |
University of Miami (FL) |
Dix Hills, NY |
Morgan Stanley |
Ryan Rebholz |
University of Miami (FL) |
Bloomington, IL |
Boyne Capital |
Priyanka Khetarpal |
University of Michigan (Ross) |
Saginaw, MI |
BlackRock |
Sven Wollschlaeger |
University of Michigan (Ross) |
Monroe, MI |
Insight Venture Partners |
Noah Henry Skrok |
Michigan State University (Broad) |
Sterling Heights, MI |
Undecided |
|
Business School |
Hometown |
Post-Graduation Employer |
Lydia Whipple |
Michigan State University (Broad) |
Mason, MI |
Cisco Systems |
Kayla Fixel |
University of Minnesota (Carlson) |
Germantown, WI |
Deloitte |
Nate Taye |
University of Minnesota (Carlson) |
St. Paul, MN |
Deloitte |
Dimitri Pun |
New York University (Stern) |
Port-au-Prince, Haiti |
Twitter |
Jessica Wang |
New York University (Stern) |
Collegeville, PA |
PwC |
Gino Esposito |
University of North Carolina (Kenan-Flagler) |
Milford, CT |
University of North Carolina (Graduate School) |
Mary Laci Motley |
University of North Carolina (Kenan-Flagler) |
Asheville, NC |
EATS2SEATS |
Karan Kishorepuria |
Northeastern University (D’Amore McKim) |
Kolkata, India |
Undecided |
Abigale Purvis |
Northeastern University (D’Amore McKim) |
Woodinville, WA |
Undecided |
Tyler Ancona |
University of Notre Dame (Mendoza) |
East Setauket, NY |
KPMG |
Megan Whelan |
University of Notre Dame (Mendoza) |
Munster, IN |
University of Notre Dame |
Abenezer Mechale |
University of Pennsylvania (Wharton School) |
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia |
Bain & Company |
Cristina Pogorevici |
University of Pennsylvania (Wharton School) |
Bucharest, Romania |
Bain & Company |
Rohil Chada |
University of Pittsburgh |
Hillsborough, NJ |
Deloitte |
Katie Gerber |
University of Pittsburgh |
Fairview, PA |
Deloitte |
Mateo Godoy |
Providence College |
North Providence, RI |
PwC |
Anna Russo |
Providence College |
Huntington Station, NY |
New York University (Graduate School) |
Chloe Jenkins |
Purdue University (Krannert) |
Zionsville, IN |
Amazon |
Ariana Loor |
Purdue University (Krannert) |
Quito, Ecuador |
Graduate School (Undecided) |
Rachel Perry |
University of Richmond (Robins) |
Chiang Mai, Thailand |
Undecided |
Lizzie Reedy |
University of Richmond (Robins) |
Marietta, GA |
Perella Weinberg Partners |
Ankita Kodali |
Rutgers Business School (New Brunswick) |
Union, NJ |
Deloitte |
Kurt Vogl |
Rutgers Business School (New Brunswick) |
Middlesex, NJ |
Microsoft |
Ross Meldrum |
University of San Diego |
Chelmsford, UK |
Graduate School (Undecided) |
Caroline Murray |
University of San Diego |
Dallas, TX |
Undecided |
Aysegul Ates |
Southern Methodist University (Cox) |
Izmir, Turkey |
Jefferies |
Cameron Police |
Southern Methodist University (Cox) |
Frisco, TX |
PJT Partners |
Scott Mueller |
Syracuse University (Whitman) |
Ogdensburg, NJ |
Deloitte |
Ruth Yehyun Bang |
Syracuse University (Whitman) |
Parkland, FL |
Undecided |
Samantha Bryant |
University of Texas (McCombs) |
Austin, TX |
Undecided |
RJ Finley |
Texas Christian University (Neeley) |
Tustin, CA |
JPMorgan Chase |
Ashley Servais |
Texas Christian University (Neeley) |
Medina, MN |
Dell Technologies |
Alanna Austin |
Tulane University (Freeman) |
New Orleans, LA |
Law School (Undecided) |
Matthew Shernicoff |
Tulane University (Freeman) |
Freehold, NJ |
Sterling Associates |
Rohan Parikh |
Villanova University |
Marlboro, NJ |
Bank of America |
Kelsea Wong |
Villanova University |
Malvern, PA |
Blackstone Group |
Jeannie Patrice Hirsch |
University of Virginia (McIntire) |
Rochester, NY |
Warburg Pincus LLC |
Samuel R. Lisner |
University of Virginia (McIntire) |
Virginia Beach, VA |
Deloitte |
Anabel Cordano |
Wake Forest University |
Ridgefield, CT |
Wake Forest (Grad Student) |
Jeremy Greer |
Wake Forest University |
Suffield, CT |
Truist Financial |
Sharae Ratliff |
University of Washington (Foster) |
Spanaway WA |
Undecided |
Noah Reyna |
University of Washington (Foster) |
Bellevue, WA |
Andersen |
Lucas Dionisopoulos |
Washington University (Olin) |
Lincoln, NE |
Financial Technology Partners |
Leah Wren Hardgrove |
Washington University (Olin) |
Orlando, FL |
Google |
Upasana Barot |
College of William & Mary (Mason) |
Suffolk, VA |
KPMG |
William Ryu |
College of William & Mary (Mason) |
Seoul, South Korea |
Accenture |
Jessica Anton |
University of Wisconsin |
Sussex, WI |
Undecided |
Jake Shenkenberg |
University of Wisconsin |
Bloomfield Hills, MI |
Accenture |
Berkan Delareyna |
Worcester Polytechnic Institute (Foisie) |
Istanbul, Turkey |
Undecided |
Matthew Iaconis |
Worcester Polytechnic Institute (Foisie) |
North Attleboro, MA |
TJX Companies |
DON’T MISS:
BEST & BRIGHTEST BUSINESS MAJORS: CLASS OF 2020
BEST & BRIGHTEST BUSINESS MAJORS: CLASS OF 2019
BEST & BRIGHTEST BUSINESS MAJORS: CLASS OF 2018
BEST & BRIGHTEST BUSINESS MAJORS: CLASS OF 2017
BEST & BRIGHTEST BUSINESS MAJORS: CLASS OF 2016
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