STUDENT ACHIEVEMENTS
Two Selected as Poets & Quants 2021 Best & Brightest Business Majors Rohan Parikh ’21 VSB and Kelsea Wong ’21 VSB were selected as Poets & Quants for Undergrads 2021 Best & Brightest Business Majors. Poets & Quants chose 100 students from around the nation who use their skills to impact business in creative ways and who are poised to be the future leaders of the business world. From Marlboro, N.J., Parikh was an Applied Quantitative Finance major with a minor in Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning. The Presidential Scholar served as co-president of the Villanova Finance Group (VFG) and president of SAMOSA, Villanova’s South Asian multicultural organization. Most notably, he aided in developing best practices to educate and train VFG society members, and he is especially proud of his contribution to SAMOSA by creating a fundraising show that highlighted South Asian culture and celebrated diversity at Villanova. He interned with Fidelity Investments and Bank of America and, after graduation, returned to Bank of America as a debt capital markets analyst. Kelsea Wong, of Malvern, Pa., was a Finance & Real Estate major with a minor in Business Law & Corporate Governance. The St. Martin de Porres Scholar was actively involved on campus in a variety of roles, including serving as vice president of the Real Estate Society, a student worker in the VSB Communication & Marketing office, and a VSB Peer Adviser. She interned at XSQ in Singapore, CenterSquare Investment Management and the Blackstone Group. Wong was also one of two 2021 American Real Estate Society (ARES) Alpha Sigma Gamma Students of the Year. The organization recognizes the scholarly achievements of real estate students, faculty and professionals throughout the world. Wong returned to the Blackstone Group as a finance analyst after graduation.
SPRING 2020
The relationships I have formed with peers, professors and professionals in the industry are where I have grown the most.”
–Rohan Parikh ’21 VSB
VSB not only instilled business building blocks, but also the latest emerging components.”
–Kelsea Wong ’21 VSB
Bartley briefCASE Winners VSB’s bi-annual Bartley briefCASE challenge tasks teams of VSB juniors with creating and presenting a solution to real-life business problems which are judged by a panel of VSB faculty and business executives. As part of the Backpack to Briefcase professional development program, the briefCASE challenge allows students to showcase their communication, presentation and leadership skills. Students studied The Daily Table, a nonprofit community grocer dedicated to providing affordable and fresh foods to communities in need. The teams had to address employee compensation issues that surfaced during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as strategically think through options for the chain to grow its mission-driven services. Their solution focused on a three-phase approach that aimed to build financial stability, increase stakeholder engagement and improve the working environment for employees. The winning team (pictured from left to right) was composed of Minh To ’22 VSB, Jameson Parker ’22 VSB, Thomas Itkoff ’22 VSB, Kathleen Rubino ’22 VSB and Julia Revock ’22 VSB.
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