Ten Master of Arts in Management Students Earn Corporate Fellowships

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — The Wake Forest University Schools of Business welcomed 10 outstanding students from across the United States as Corporate Fellows for the Master of Arts in Management (MA) Class of 2012. The Corporate Fellowship Program was established in 2009 to reward high-achieving students from underrepresented groups.

“The Corporate Fellowship program matches diverse students with little to no work experience to an organization that believes in diversity and is looking for diverse talent,” said Hansford Johnson, Director of the Master of Arts in Management Program and Graduate Mentorship Programs. “The program also helps students learn how to become advocates for diversity throughout their careers.”

Corporate Fellows in the MA Class of 2012 include:

• Miranda Dean, BA, University of California – Berkeley (Johnson & Johnson)

• Larry Gordon, BS, University of Dayton (Flow Industries)

• Vanessa Pettis, BA, North Carolina State University (PepsiCo.)

• Melenie Mack, BA, Emory University (Reynolds American)

• Nicolas Miller, BA, University of Michigan (Frito-Lay)

• Victoria Osborne, BA, Wofford College (American Express)

• Eric Plummer, BA, Princeton University (Steelcase)

• Meagan Scales, BS, Columbia University (Walmart)

• Gabriella Scarritt, BA, Brown University (Reynolds American)

• Anthony Tuttle, BA, North Carolina State University (Hanesbrands)

Mentors from the sponsoring organizations met their fellows during a reception and dinner at the Graylyn Conference Center on July 19. Nine of the sponsors are returning from the past year.

Bridell Boykin, Key Account Manager, Frito Lay, is in his third year of participating in the program. “I have been impressed with everyone I have been in contact with at Wake Forest,” he said. “We do a lot of recruiting at Wake Forest and we definitely value students who come from this University.”

His fellow, Nick Miller, values the opportunity Frito-Lay is giving him as well. “I have a great appreciation for mentors. Many have helped me along the way. When I heard about the MA program and this fellowship, I thought it would be a great way to further my career and personal growth,” he said.

“These students are some of the best and the brightest that we have had since the inception of the MA program. We expect great things from them,” said Professor Derrick Boone, Academic Director of the Master of Arts in Management program. “We have amongst us some of the future leaders of corporate America.”

Dean of Business Steve Reinemund developed the Corporate Fellowship program to build a student body which represents diversity in the workplace. Reinemund, retired chairman and CEO of PepsiCo., has made it a priority to promote diversity and inclusion throughout the business world, receiving national accolades for those efforts.

“The Corporate Fellowship Program allows us to attract top academic talent from under-represented groups, particularly in graduate education. This represents an amazing opportunity to create a diverse and inclusive learning environment so that all of our students, faculty and staff can benefit from the advantages that stem from having diversity in the workplace” said Melenie Lankau, Senior Associate Dean of Diversity.

Fellows receive full tuition plus living expenses, personal mentoring from a high-level executive at a major corporation, and a Fellowship Practicum, which provides hands-on experience to enhance the classroom education.