STUDENT LIFE

ACTIVITIES INSIDE AND OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM

REACHING INTO THE MARGINS

BUSINESS STUDENT ELECTED ND STUDENT BODY PRESIDENT

Students sometimes take winding paths to get to Notre Dame, and Allan Njomo’s (BBA ’22) was especially twisty.

Born in Nairobi, Kenya, his mother passed away when he was just 2 months old, leaving his father, Peter Gichanga, to raise an infant and a 4-year-old son, George. Even with the help of his parents — Allan’s grandparents, Wellington and Jane Gichanga — Peter decided for the sake of his sons to move to the U.S.

Then the family’s already hard lives got even harder. They had no support network and spoke little or no English. His dad struggled to find work. The three ended up homeless, living for a time in the Arlington Life Shelter in Arlington, Texas.

Njomo recounted these facts of his life during a recent Zoom interview from his Stanford Hall dorm room against a backdrop of a huge Texas flag and a Spider-Man poster. A junior studying business analytics, he was recently elected as the Notre Dame student body president, running with friend Matthew Bisner as vice president with a platform centered on an action plan for greater diversity and inclusion at the University.

“Traditionally, we’ve thought about diversity as just having a variety of folks present in the room,” he said. “However, I think it is also important to empower those folks to feel like they have a voice and that their insights are valued. What that looks like in Student Government is bringing people together to foster discussion on a host of issues we face on our campus; after the discussion, it is important tangible action is taken. That is the only way to truly value diversity beyond numbers.”

SAFE SEATING

Business professors Scott Nestler and Seth Berry and graduate business student Joe Jenkins (MBA ’21, MSBA ’20) used analytics to help sports venues — including Notre Dame Stadium — plan for physical distancing. Read more at mendoza.nd.edu/news/safe-seating.

EVERYBODY’S BUSINESS

Five women in the Notre Dame MBA program took first place in the Everyone’s Business Global Case Competition sponsored by the USC Marshall School of Business and UBS. The competition allowed student teams to provide strategic consulting on a pressing business issue related to equity in business. The virtual presentation by Emmelina Bales (MBA ’22), Julie Fancher (MBA ’22), Kelly Huapaya (MBA 21), Meghan Kibbe (MBA ’21) and Patrice Miller (MBA ’21) won the $10,000 prize.

P&Q RECOGNITION

Poets & Quants 2020 Best & Brightest Executive MBAs: John Foley (EMBA ’20) and Sydney Storey (EMBA ’20) Poets & Quants for Undergrads 2021 Best & Brightest Business Majors: Tyler Ancona (ACCT ’21) and Megan Whelan (MARK ’21).

CROSSROADS CLASSIC ANALYTICS CHALLENGE

Four Master of Science in Business Analytics students won the inaugural Crossroads Classic Analytics Challenge co-sponsored by Mendoza College of Business. The competition invited business students from four Indiana universities to solve a real-world analytics problem. Bernard Akatu (MSBA ’21, BBA ’03), Claire Kozak (MSBA ’21, ND ’14), Maureen Malloy (MSBA ’21) and Angela Stitsworth (MSBA ’21) won the $7,000 prize in the graduate division. Read more at mendoza.nd.edu/news/inaugural-crossroads-classic-analytics-challenge.

GILMAN SCHOLARSHIP

Alvaro Carrillo, an accountancy and political science double major and member of the Class of 2022, received a Gilman Scholarship from the U.S. State Department to study abroad.

WINTER SESSION

Notre Dame’s Winter Session capitalized on the 2020–21 extended winter break due to the pandemic to provide meaningful engagement opportunities for students. Some, like Reid VonDielingen (FIN ’23), used that time for an internship. He worked as a private equity analyst with Evermore Industries, a holding company founded in 2020 by Justin Vogt (BBA ’15) and Edward Redden (ND ’12).

Nearly a third of Mendoza undergraduates took an online course, such as Investing Case Studies offered through the Notre Dame Institute for Global Investing. Mendoza also offered students career discernment and development opportunities.

GATHER ’ROUND

The College added two fire pits and Adirondack chairs to the atrium courtyard to provide additional options for physical distancing during colder weather. See more photos at mendoza.nd.edu.