Business students recognized for academic excellence and leadership

KALAMAZOO, Mich.—Twenty-four students from WMU's Haworth College of Business were recognized as part of the Trailblazer Student Recognition program, and one student was named Trailblazer of the Year.

The Trailblazer program is in its third year and recognizes and honors business students for their commitment to academics, personal and professional development, leadership and community, and campus involvement.

These 24 WMU students were selected as finalists in the Trailblazer Student Recognition program.

"Our students strive to be excellent representatives of not only our college and university but also the community,” says Dr. Satish Deshpande, interim dean of the Haworth College of Business. “The Trailblazers program recognizes students who make a significant impact.”

All students were recognized in a ceremony where the Trailblazer of the Year was also named. Lauren Carroll, a food and consumer package goods marketing and integrated supply management student from Novi, was honored as Trailblazer of the Year. 

Lauren Carroll

Carroll is active as chief operating officer for the WMU student chapter of APICS, a social media director for the Food Marketing Association and a Bronco Force Solutions team lead at Sigma Machine. She has also interned as a category analyst with SC Johnson and is interning at Abbott Nutrition this summer in their retail sales division. Carroll has participated in the Meijer Hack-A-Thon and has been an extern at All-Phase Electric Supply and Western Michigan University's Fetzer Center.

"Representing the Haworth College of Business isn't something that can be turned on or off," says Carroll. "Business students are a constant reflection of the college and their programs of study. Keeping this in mind, I strive to always represent myself in a way that would make my mentors and professors proud."

The Finalists

The program is application-based, and a panel of college faculty and staff chooses the finalists.

The following students were selected as finalists for the 2016-17 academic year:

• Joshua Angles, a human resource management major from Brooklyn.
• Lauren Carroll, a food and consumer package goods marketing and integrated supply management major from Novi.
• Brandon Chidester, a sales and business marketing major from Allen Park.
• Chloe Childs, a marketing and global and international studies major from Jackson.
• Katelin Cornelius, a sales and business marketing major from Rockford.
• Jacob Crowell, a food and consumer package goods marketing major from Portage.
• Meridith Frein, a human resource management major from Spring Lake.
• Taylor Graham, an advertising and promotion major from Livonia.
• Hallie Green, an electronic business marketing major from Caledonia.
• Jeremy Juday, a sales and business marketing major from Dowagiac.
• Katelyn Krulek, an advertising and promotion major from Wyoming.
• Tracy Kuhle, a marketing and Spanish major from Decatur, Illinois.
• Scott Lemons, a master of business administration major from Portage.
• Emmanuel Machena, an economics in business and finance major from Harare, Zimbabwe.
• Kraig McAllister, an advertising and promotion major from Taylor.
• Samantha McGrath, a marketing and food and consumer package goods marketing student from Canton.
• Marissa Mohney, a marketing major from Vandalia.
• Edward Mulford, an integrated supply management major from Freeland.
• Kylee Myer, a sales and business marketing major from Niles.
• Lauren Nowakowski, a management and sales and business marketing major from Granger, Indiana.
• Juliet Sanford, an advertising and promotion and management major from Jackson.
• Erin Sionkowski, an electronic business marketing major from Ferndale.
• Emma Stuba, an integrated supply management major from LaGrange, Illinois.
• Kenady Sykora, a sales and business marketing major from Marshall.

For more information about the program or watch the students' videos, please visit wmich.edu/trailblazers or contact Alyssa Benson, marketing specialist for the Haworth College of Business, at (269) 387-5964 or alyssa.benson@wmich.edu.

For more news, arts and events, visit wmich.edu/news.