Student News
Darla Moore Fellowships awarded to 22 incoming IMBA students
Twenty-two Darla Moore Fellows recently entered the IMBA degree program at the Moore School of
Business. Each fellowship provides $20,000 to help cover the costs of the two-year program. The
2006 Darla Moore Fellows have an average GPA of 3.3, average GMAT of 649, and average work
experience of four years.
This year's Darla Moore Fellows are:
Elizabeth Arnold, of Blythewood, South Carolina, earned an undergraduate degree in
biosystems engineering from Clemson University in Clemson, South Carolina.
George Burdette III, of Greenville, South Carolina, earned an undergraduate degree
in intercultural studies for business with a minor in French from Wofford College in Spartanburg,
South Carolina.
Jozsef Czukor, of Budapest, Hungary, earned an undergraduate degree in business
administration from McDaniel College in Westminster, Maryland.
Gavin Dean, of Boca Raton, Florida, earned an undergraduate degree with a double
major in politics and Spanish from Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia.
Anandha Kumar Deekaram, of Coimbatore, Tamilnadu, India, earned an undergraduate
degree in engineering from PSG College of Technology, Bharathiyar University, in Tamil Nadu, India.
Hugh Duck, of Greer, South Carolina, earned an undergraduate degree in computer
science from Clemson University in Clemson, South Carolina.
Hernan Figueroa (also the recipient of an IMBA Fellowship), of Lima, Peru, earned
an undergraduate degree in electronics engineering from Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería in Lima,
Peru, and a master's degree in electrical engineering and a doctoral degree in electrical
engineering, both from the University of South Carolina.
Maria Guiulfo, of Lima, Peru, earned an undergraduate degree in computer science
from UNIFE in Lima.
Daniel Houck, of Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina, earned an undergraduate degree in
computer science from North Carolina State University in Raleigh.
Steven Krusinski, of Lexington, South Carolina, earned an undergraduate degree
with a double major in management and marketing from the University of South Carolina.
Tara Loescher, of Williamstown, New Jersey, earned an undergraduate degree in
marketing and finance from the University of South Carolina.
Christopher Martelles, of Makawao, Hawaii, earned an undergraduate degree in
political science from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
Richard Reddick, of Lexington, South Carolina, earned an undergraduate degree in
French from the College of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina.
James Rollins, of Virginia Beach, Virginia, earned an undergraduate degree in
finance from Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.
Christopher Scheidel, of Bristol, Connecticut, earned an undergraduate degree in
computer science from Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York.
Ulrika Speckman, of Battle Creek, Michigan, earned an undergraduate degree in
Spanish from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.
Jason Trimble (also the recipient of a Wachovia Fellowship), of Houston, Texas,
earned an undergraduate degree in industrial engineering with a management concentration and a
master's degree in industrial engineering, both from the University of Miami in Coral Gables,
Florida.
Francisco Villasenor, Guadalajara, Mexico, earned an undergraduate degree in
business administration from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education in Colima,
Mexico.
Neil Weekes, of St. Philip, Barbados, earned an undergraduate degree in economics
and accounting from the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus.
Katherine White, of Loveland, Colorado, earned an undergraduate degree in
sociology from the University of Colorado in Boulder.
Emily Woods, of Signal Mountain, Tennessee, earned an undergraduate degree in
economics from Lake Forest College in Lake Forest, Illinois.
Orlando Yepez, of Lima, Peru, earned an undergraduate degree in mechanical
engineering from Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru.
In addition, nine IMBA Fellows and two Peace Corps Fellows were also awarded funding for
their graduate education. The IMBA scholars are
Benjamin Bach, Jeffrey Dawson, Eric Gropper, Lawrence Johnson, Lindsey Laronge, Kavita
Maheshwari, Nanda Prashad, Adrian Rusu, and
Brent Scott. The Peace Corps scholars are
David Albert and
Joshua Canfield.
Three Profiles of Darla Moore Fellows
Ulrika Speckman is at home on the farm or in the city, and as comfortable
rooted in the Midwest as globetrotting.
She hails from Minnesota and earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Minnesota
in Minneapolis. Her interests are varied - she has been involved in theater and Web design, and has
worked as a language translator. She lived and worked in Spain for a year and maintains friendships
with people there.
But with a dad who is a food scientist and a mom who is a horticulturist (and certified
Master Gardener in four states), it is fitting that Speckman's last job was as Community Program
Assistant with the Minnesota Agricultural Education Leadership Council (MAELC). As such, she
promoted agricultural education throughout the state, created and maintained Web pages, wrote news
for the quarterly newsletter, and served as liaison with legislators, agency heads, and community
leaders.
Speckman hopes to combine her experience in the food science field with her business
education to secure a job in an international food science/agricultural company. She recently
passed the foreign service exam and would like to complete her internship with an organization such
as USAID or an international corporation such as Kellogg or General Mills. "I'm particularly
interested in food production in developing nations," Speckman says.
Though she was offered educational opportunities at other institutions, including the
University of Chicago, Speckman says Moore School appealed to her for its "international
perspective, [which provides] a good foundation from the start..." She likes the size of the
program, the use of case studies, and the way the "internship pulls it all together... real
practice rather than theory alone."
Lt. James Rollins is completing five years of service in the
U.S. Navy at the same time he is beginning his graduate education career.
A native of Virginia Beach, Virginia, Rollins served as a Supply Officer with the Atlantic
Fleet. In that capacity, he negotiated and managed more than $900,000 worth of supply contacts with
husbanding agents in Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. Rollins earned his
undergraduate degree in finance from Virginia Tech, and prior to joining the Navy, was a consultant
in the Office of Government Services with Arthur Andersen in Washington, D.C.
Having worked in Colombia, Panama, and Ecuador while in the Navy and with a "working" command
of Spanish, Rollins thinks the IMBA program is a good fit to round out his business and language
skills. "Supply officers are business managers with experience in finance and logistics," Rollins
says. His focus in IMBA will be on marketing and the Spanish language track. He will begin his
language training in Mexico in January.
Rollins would like to pursue a career in brand management, perhaps launching new products or
managing existing products for U.S. companies doing business in Central and South America. Rollins
says the IMBA program provides a "very good global perspective of how businesses are run," and
adds, "to be chosen as a Darla Moore Fellow is a great opportunity for me...
"It makes me realize the significance of doing well, it's a privilege, really."
In addition to his Darla Moore Fellowship award, Rollins is a National Society of Hispanic MBAs
2006 Scholarship recipient as wellas a National Black MBA Association 2006 Scholarship recipient,
both sponsored by Coca-Cola.
After graduating with honors in electronics engineering from the National University
of Engineering in Lima, Peru, in December 2000,
Hernan Figueroa received a scholarship for intensive,
post-graduate specialization training in business practices, technical details, and legal
regulations of the telecommunications industry in Peru. He was beginning a promising career with
Peru's largest telecommunications firm, Telefonica del Peru (a branch of the Madrid-based
multinational Telefonica), when another irresistible offer came his way: to serve as research
assistant and pursue his master's and doctoral degrees in electrical engineering at the University
of South Carolina.
His doctoral work with the USC Electric Ship Research Group has involved "developing new
computer simulation platforms and leading their commercialization," Figueroa says. He has also
managed to build his managerial skills. "During my years as a Ph.D. student, I managed to take
elective classes at the USC business school and never missed an opportunity to have managerial
experiences in both curricular and extracurricular activities. For instance, in an initiative to
place my academic research activities in a business context, I led the commercialization project of
a simulation platform named VTB-RT and started providing technical support to its users."
From that experience and his research of career opportunities, Figueroa concluded that
pursuing an IMBA degree would help him to fulfill his future goals to "provide business and
technology development consulting services in the area of alternative energy fuels, especially
green energy and electric transportation."
With his combined skills set, who can doubt Figueroa is in the right place at the right time.
September 2006