Hunt Leadership Scholars Program Alumni Newsletter: Spring 2021

SPRING 2021

HUNT LEADERSHIP SCHOLARS PROGRAM ALUMNI NEWSLETTER

CONGRATULATIONS, CLASS OF 2021!

Kalkidan Alemu, Joe Bjornsen, Isabel Costian, Kennedy Eaker, Chris Earles, Hallie Fischer, Nick Fontela, Caroline Gutowski, Charlie Hamilton, Christian Hammond, Watson Jackson, Jake Johnston, Cooper Matthews, Logan McElroy, Graham McGee, Matt Melcher, Avery Mercurio, Paxton Murphy, Zainab Noshahi, Molly Patrick, Ben Pearson, Van Pittman, Priyanka Pohar, Zac Scornavacco, Emma Siegel, Sammy Waken, Jake Waldman, RyanCole Weldon-Carroll, Peyton Whitehead

THAT'S A WRAP ON 20-21!

Spring 2021 brought a great deal of hope to the SMU campus. As restrictions began to loosen and as the beautiful Dallas spring emerged from an extra nasty winter, the improved mood all across the Hilltop was evident.

I hope you will enjoy seeing how the Hunt Leadership Scholars (students and alumni!) continued to thrive this semester and how they look forward to the future.

Thank you for your continued support of the Hunt Leadership Scholars Program, and Pony Up! Dr. Lindsay Davis, Hunt Leadership Scholars Program Director

CLASS OF 2025 AT A GLANCE Total Scholars: 21 66% female, 34% male 57% Texans, 43% out-of-state States Represented: California, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, Ohio, Texas, Washington Leadership Positions: Student Body/Senior Class President (9), Eagle Scout/Girl Scout Gold Award (1), Editor-in-Chief of Yearbook or Newspaper (2), Community Youth Council (1), Founder of Nonprofit Initiative (2), School Board Representative (3), Other (3)

CLASS ROSTER Aguer Atem (Wylie, TX); Emma Clarke (Manhattan Beach. CA); Claire Fitzgerald (Bellevue, WA); Amber Franklin (Lagrange, GA); Caroline Hall (Nichols Hills, OK); Kendyl Kirtley (Tampa, FL); Elisabeth Lendal (Avon Lake, OH); Tulsi Lohani (Euless, TX); Jude Lugo (Flower Mound, TX); Krish Madhura (Las Vegas, NV); Gabriel Mongaras (Round Rock, TX); Kennedi Montague (McKinney, TX); Yousuf Nadir (Plano, TX); Nise Olawale (McKinney, TX); Phoebe Omonira (Euless, TX); Tamal Pilla (Carrollton, TX); Michael Ramenofsky (Las Vegas, NV); Ally Rayer (La Canada Flintridge, CA); Megan Riebe (San Antonio, TX); Alyssa Scott (Lancaster, TX); Pareeni Shah (Allen, TX)

LEADERSHIP HIGHLIGHTS Two Hunt Leadership Scholars were honored as recipients of National Fellowships this year: Kalkidan Alemu '21 was named a Fulbright Scholar and Austin Hickle '22 was named a Truman Scholar.

We are so proud of these students' incredible accomplishments!

Eliana Abraham '22 and Luckett Robinson '22 will both be serving as Student Representatives to the Board of Trustees for 20212022: Eliana on the Buildings & Grounds Committee and Luckett on the Development & External Affairs Committee.

During this year's Hilltop Excellence Awards, Christian Hammond '21 was honored with the Kenneth Pye Outstanding Greek Leader Award.

Nick Fontela '21, Molly Patrick '21, and Chris Earles '21 were recognized as recipients of the M Award.

Congratulations to these graduating seaniors!

HUNT SCHOLARS TAKE SENATE The 108th SMU Student Senate is stacked with Hunt Leadership Scholars! Austin Hickle '22 will be serving as Student Body President, Wade Glover '23 as Student Body Vice President, Sydney Ramenofsky '23 as Student Body Secretary, and Rhys Prosser '23 as Student Body Treasurer. These students recognize they have a unique opportunity to help SMU and the student body transition back into a more normal campus experience for the 2021-2022 year, and we all look forward to seeing what they will accomplish!

FEATURED ALUMNUS JIMMY TRAN Class of 2003 Undergraduate Majors: Triple major in Economics, Political Science and Public Policy Hometown: I grew up in Pasadena, a town on the Southeast edge of Houston.

Current Location: Dallas, TX Where did you live when you lived on campus?

Virginia-Snider Commons for Freshman Year. My sophomore year, I lived abroad in Denmark and Australia (thank you Ray and Nancy!). My junior and senior year, I lived in a Habitat for Humanity house SMU owned and operated off Lowest Greenville.

Tell me a little bit about what you are doing now.

I do a little bit of everything so sometimes it can be difficult to explain but to simplify, I tell people that I split my time between: Being a full-time dad to three young kids aged 9, 7, and 5 Investing in real estate Owning and operating a coding business for kids called Code Ninjas Engaging in my community through local civic and nonprofit causes What inspired you to open Code Ninjas Preston Hollow I have always wanted to start, own, and operate a small business. Education has been a huge focus for me over the years, and I have experienced education from various angles, including through service on the Advisory Board of the SMU Simmons School of Education and as a Board Member of a national nonprofit called AVANCE. Having young kids, I also wanted to be involved in something that would be relevant and meaningful to them. Once I found Code Ninjas, I knew it was exactly the thing I was looking for. Now, my 3 kids are members at Code Ninjas and come out at least twice a week for coding and STEM lessons.

FEATURED ALUMNUS How have you seen the startup space change during the COVID-19 pandemic?

I would say that our industry hasn't been affected in big ways, other than people needing to take what was in-person programming and bring it online. That being said, the need to support entrepreneurs and help people build businesses has only grown as people are trying to navigate changes and workforce demands. Right now there's an even bigger emphasis on how communities around the world can support local entrepreneurs so that they don't have to move somewhere else to grow their company; so they can really contribute to the local economy.

Which lesson learned at SMU has been the most impactful for your continued success?

At SMU, I learned that even as a young person with limited access and resources, you can make a difference in your school and campus community by getting involved and engaging in various activities. That is a powerful lesson which I carry with me to this day. It’s never too small.

Relatedly, how have you continued to grow as a leader since your time at SMU? I have been very fortunate to continue to grow as a leader over the past nearly 20 years. In graduate school, I was a George Family Foundation fellow (endowed by former Medtronic CEO Bill George).

After graduate school, I have participated in multiple leadership development programs including Leadership Dallas, Leadership ISD and the Mayor’s Star Council (I am in the current cohort). I am also a member of the Dallas Assembly. It is a privilege to be involved in these groups and I continue to learn and grow in my leadership journey.

Do you have a particular quote that inspires you?

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our Light, not our Darkness, that most frightens us." -Marianne Williamson

FEATURED ALUMNUS What is your favorite SMU memory?

It is post-SMU, but I will always remember getting married at Perkins Chapel to Lisa (SMU 2002) on the SMU campus. On our wedding day, the campus was on lock-down because that very day, President George W. Bush was visiting campus to tour a potential location for his new Presidential Library. It was odd to see Secret Service stationed throughout the Boulevard, but the advantage was that our guests were shuttled in those infamous SMU golf carts. On a side note, I am so glad President Bush selected SMU for his library!

You are obviously incredibly busy, but what do you most enjoy doing in your free time? What are you passionate about?

Locally, I enjoy real estate and exploring new neighborhoods by going to events, restaurants, and parks. Family is a huge area of focus for me, so I try to spend as much time as possible with them, exploring all the great things Dallas has to offer. We also try to travel and have taken numerous road trips (including one with an RV!) to see various National Parks throughout the U.S. Last, I enjoy a nice leisurely jog along the Katy Trail several times a week.

If you had a single sentence for Ray and Nancy Ann Hunt right now, what would it be?

I read a lot of books, primarily around emotional intelligence and building strong relationships. We appreciate your kindness and generosity – I will forever identify with being a Hunt Scholar at SMU!

Thank you, Jimmy, for your time, and for allowing us to see Code Ninjas Preston Hollow in action! It is wonderful to see how leadership, service, and community engagement continue to play such a strong role in your professional life, and to hear how being a Hunt Scholar is a life-long identity for you.

ALUMNI UPDATES THANK YOU, ALUMNI MENTORS! We have just concluded the second year of the Hunt Scholars Alumni mentor program. A huge thank you to the 19 mentors who made this year a great success: Christian Bohmfalk, Marcus Brown, Chris Carrillo, Amy Chiconas, Katie Cottingim, Scott Finholm, Courtney Geiger, Rob Hayden, Derek Hubbard, Marlee Klein, Nive Manohar, Elisabeth McHugh, Mary Anna O'Neil, Christopher Robertson, Chris Schwegmann, Luke Seeker, Lucy Smith, Casey Thompson, and Astrud Villarreal.

NOW, WE NEED MORE HELP! The 23 students in the Class of 2023 are the next group that is eager to receive your guidance and wisdom. Mentors and mentees meet once every six weeks (in person or virtually, so you can be anywhere in the world!), and we will have a mentor kick-off meeting (hopefully with the option to attend in person or virtually) in early September. All you need to serve as a mentor is a passion for helping the junior Hunt Scholars grow as young professionals. If you're interested in helping out, please complete this Alumni Mentor Commitment Form by July 6.

Please reach out to Lindsay Davis with any questions at all! (lrdavis@smu.edu)

STAY CONNECTED Big move? New job? Working on a cool project you'd like to share? Please reach out! We are always looking for alumni to feature and stories to share. We're continuing to monitor health and safety before planning any big events, but hope we will be in a situation to share information about Homecoming 2021 over the summer. In the meantime, please join the Hunt Leadership Scholars Program group on LinkedIn and follow the Hunt Leadership Scholars Program on Instagram.

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