Michael J. Coles College Reveals 2022 Outstanding Students

She is one of the best all-around students we have ever had come through the Accounting program at KSU. Dr. Hermanson has worked closely with Gillian on her Honors Capstone project, which involves Gillian conducting interviews of auditors about the impact of remote work on auditors’ fraud-related audit procedures. Gillian also currently is serving as the Beta Alpha Psi President and has served other roles inside of BAP. Among her many achievements was earning a 4.0 GPA, being named KSU's Outstanding Student Representative at the 2022 Reagent's Academic Recognition Day, serving as an Honors College Ambassador, completing the Coles Scholars Program, tutoring students accounting, and playing for the KSU Marching Owls.

Carson is fully engaged in the entrepreneurial process and seeks out information to make his entrepreneurial journey more successful. I have no doubt that he will enact all of teaching from the entrepreneurship program to create his own future.

Elise has complemented her high academic performance with leadership and extracurricular activities that have benefited the Coles College and the newly launched hospitality management program. She was the founding President of the Hospitality Leadership Club and has represented the College at external events including the annual Asian American Hotel Owners’ Association (AAHOA) conference and trade show. She has also assisted in promotional activities for the hospitality management program. Her efforts have undoubtedly helped in the growth of the hospitality management program. Elise has been a true ambassador for the Coles College and the hospitality management program, and will continue in this role as the program’s first graduate. Elise is an ideal example of a “well-balanced” student who excels at both her academic endeavors as well as her value-enhancing extracurricular activities.

Shota Yasuda is not only a top student in Information Systems and Japanese, he is a leader and mentor. During the pandemic, he led the IS Club and not only maintained its level of activities, but expanding to include more company visits. He rebranded the organization to become the Business Technology Club, he opened and developed resources for the new 3D/MAD lab facility, and taught 3D printing and Japanese language. His warm smile and committed reliability to get things done has enabled the IS community to grow and thrive, helping many of his colleagues to concentrate on learning even through stressful times. On the side, he has also developed an automated gardening project, and he is leading a team selected to present at the Association of Information Systems student clubs conference. Shota accepted an offer to join EY as a Technology Consultant post graduation.

Tim Bledsoe graduated with a 3.9 GPA, and was able to maintain such a strong academic record while working at Publix Supermarket for most of his college career. Tim was also president of KSU's chapter of the Society of Human Resource Management and completed an internship at Dale Carnegie. After graduation, Tim will begin his professional career at UHY Consulting where he will assume the role of junior recruiter.

AJ is a leader on the sales team and a constant positive influence on everyone she encounters whether it be a student, faculty or partner. AJ embodies all an outstanding student should!

Andres graduated with a 4.0 GPA from the Evening MBA program this past summer.  Andres came into our program as a Supervisor and Senior Pricing Strategy Analyst at UPS and accepted a new position and promotion as a Pricing Strategy Specialist at Delta Airlines toward the end of his program. While in the MGT 8040 Managing the Value Chain course, Andres placed 2nd out of 80 students in the operations simulation which required integrated decision making across all aspects of the business, including purchasing, production, distribution, sales and human resources. Since graduating, Andres has remained involved with the KSU MBA program serving as a panelist on information sessions to prospective students. He often shares his appreciation of the perspective he gained from being in the classroom with classmates from a variety of industries.  We are proud to call Andres Martinez this year's Outstanding Student for the Evening MBA Program.

Curt Jarrell, is not only a leader in the classroom, he is a leader in the community and his company, Newco Industrial Services, where he serves as President. Curt runs the Erin Foundation which he started to supply high tech learning tools for special needs and under-privileged children, works with men in his community through an organization called Wingmen South Atlanta, and leads weekly bible studies, all while running a company and maintaining a 4.0 GPA. 

An MD by training, Neelam exemplifies excellence in academic performance with a 4.0 GPA and completion of four industry recognized certifications with one more under progress. She is a co-founder of the start-up AI Opthalytics, which works to prevent blindness in resource-strapped regions of the world. Her start-up completed the development on its first product and acquired its first customer in Asia to evaluate it. Now the team is working to have the product FDA approved in the USA. Their goal is to democratize Diabetic Retinopathy exams thoughout the nation.

Vijaya has maintained a 4.0 GPA through the WebMBA program and is on track to graduate in Summer 2022. She serves as a Manager for Supply Chain Analytics at Home Depot, which was a promotion received during her time in the program. She credits that promotion in part due to the new knowledge gained through the WebMBA coursework and her ability to apply what she was learning in her role. One of her faculty members noted that Vijaya was “an excellent student – very conscientious and thorough in her assignment work.” We are honored to present Vijaya Singh as KSU’s Outstanding Student for the WebMBA program.