The College of Business congratulates and extends best wishes to each of the ten undergraduate honorees of the graduating Class of 2015.
Each year the department's top performers are selected by the college's academic departments from its graduating seniors. These students receive special recognition from the university during commencement week.
In addition, Daniel Taylor Souza is the college's undergraduate hood recipient, to be recognized at Commencement.
The ten undergraduate honors recipients with links to read more about these remarkable graduates:
- Daniel Taylor Souza, 2015 College of Business Hood Recipient and Department of Finance Undergraduate Honoree
- Amy Schroth, Accounting
- Michael Randall, Decision Sciences
- Jonathan White, Economics
- Lamia Ramadan, Hospitality and Tourism Management
- Tarun Giduturi, Information Systems
- Eileen Tongur, International Business
- Joshua Harris, Labor and Employment Studies
- Monique Domingo, Management
- Lindsey Leong, Marketing
Daniel Taylor Souza
2015 College of Business Hood Recipient
Department of Finance Undergraduate Honoree
Daniel Souza entered San Francisco State University as a freshman, pursuing his love of both baseball and finance. As a Gator Scholar-Athlete, Danny has been named to the prestigious California Collegiate All-Academic Team, the Capital One Academic All-District Baseball Team and the Dean’s List during his tenure at San Francisco State. In addition to his excellence in the classroom and on the field, Danny’s service to his teammates, the College and the University has been exemplary from his first year on campus, when he organized a fundraiser to help an injured teammate cover unexpected medical expenses. In subsequent years as a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, Danny served as Treasurer, and helped organize, promote and manage campus community service events, including the annual food drive, and a dodge ball tournament to raise funds for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. In the summer, Danny has coached youth sports camps in his hometown, and volunteered at the 2014 Buster Posey Pro Camp in San Francisco. In spite of his demanding schedule, Danny has also worked part-time for the University Athletic Department tutoring fellow athletes, a tradition he began in high school, and as a Teaching Assistant in the College of Business. As a Senior Captain, he has mentored fellow athletes, encouraging a balanced commitment to school and sports. After graduation, Danny plans to work in finance and earn an MBA. His goal is to become the CFO of a professional sports team, and to use his financial expertise to create and support youth sports programs.
Amy Schroth
Department of Accounting
Amy Schroth was born and raised in Lima, Peru, then moved to San Francisco in 2008. For 2 years, she worked at a coffee shop before she decided to go back to school. She enrolled half time at City College of San Francisco, cut back her hours at the coffee shop, and took a whole array of classes, such as Oceanography, Piano, Algebra, History, and others, to see what would call to her. She found herself really enjoying her math related classes and one subject in particular: Accounting. Her Intro to Accounting class led her to Financial Accounting, and then to Managerial Accounting. When Amy realized how excited she was to do her Accounting work, she quit her job and applied to San Francisco State. Once at the University, she was in heaven, enjoying all her classes and the faculty members’ willingness to help. Her enthusiasm was reflected in her grades. Amy has been awarded the Osher Re-Entry Scholarship twice, the University Scholarship, and the CalCPA student scholarship during her 5 semesters at SF State. She is now a CPA candidate and is studying hard to pass the Exam before she starts her full time job at a renowned Accounting firm in October.
Michael Randall
Department of Decision Sciences
Michael Randall was born and raised in a small town in Pennsylvania, and from a young age, he demonstrated a natural talent for numbers and logical reasoning. Upon entering SF State’s College of Business, Michael held interest in all functional areas of business, but once he took Operations Management with Professor Roeder, he realized the value potential of his predisposition for Decision Sciences. While at SF State, Michael has pursued and successfully completed concentrations in both Decision Sciences and Marketing. His performance in both departments has been quite exceptional. Michael has achieved high marks across both areas of study, achieving the highest overall score in several of his classes. Michael gives back to SF State’s College of Business by offering his academic skills, in the form of tutoring, to his friends and peers. Though he does so unofficially, Michael’s tutoring has helped multiple students pass difficult classes in Decision Sciences, Finance, and Marketing. Michael is also an official intern with the Marketing Department at SF State, where he has contributed to the department’s website and to other departmental efforts as needed. While at SF State, Michael has worked as an e-commerce manager for a small San Francisco tableware company, as well a data-entry specialist for a tech start-up. This experience in the digital sector, along with his Marketing and Decision Science backgrounds, has inspired Michael to pursue a position in data analytics or market research. He feels that either of these positions will allow him to combine his analytical Decision Science skills with his Marketing disciplines in order to gain valuable, quantified insights into consumer behavior, perception, and motivation.
Jonathan White
Department of Economics
Jonathan White was raised in San Diego, California, but chose San Francisco State University for two reasons. One reason was for the social diversity of San Francisco that has offered him various communities in which to freely explore his individuality. The second reason is that he received a SF State Presidential Scholarship. He is tremendously grateful for this opportunity. Jonathan chose to study economics because it applies mathematics and statistics to the study of social problems and interactions. His senior project examined the impact that different country’s maternity and paternity leave policies had on closing the gender wage gap. Professors in the department have all noted his skills and abilities, typically ranking him as either the best or top 2 of the class. As a music minor, he also hopes that he can use his passion for music as a means of inviting and catalyzing social change and critical thinking. He is a contributor to the campus community with his work as a Business, Economics, and Math tutor to SF State students in CARP (Campus Academic Resource Program). In addition, he spent a year working as a head member and planner for one of SF State’s Queer Alliance groups. His interest in economics and social problems contributes to his long-term career plan. He wants to attend graduate school in public policy so he can continue to both study and develop social policy. In the near future, he plans to work in the private or non-profit sector developing low to moderate-income housing.
Lamia Ramadan
Department of Hospitality & Tourism Management
Lamia Ramadan grew up in Egypt where she attended the German Evangelic School in Cairo. She credits this background with “setting her up” to become a hard worker. While planning and organizing the annual school wide carnival and senior prom, she realized that she wanted to become an event planner. Not surprisingly, moving 7000 miles away to attend San Francisco State, while being immersed in a diverse, yet unfamiliar culture, was a struggle during her Freshman year. Thankfully, the continuous and loving support from family and friends made the transition easier. Lamia has been very active in both the academic and social sides of life at SF State. She set high standards for herself and wished to become the best that she could be. She joined several different organizations, including the Hospitality Management Society, the HTM Celebration Committee and Taste of the Bay. By attending a number of networking and social events, Lamia also benefitted from joining the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) where she became competent in the art of networking and by enhancing her professional development. In addition to studying and taking part in these many different social functions, Lamia has been working as a full-time employee in the hospitality industry as a greeter at The Westin San Francisco Airport’s Grill and Vine Restaurant. She has a great “can do” attitude and has worked diligently to overcome all obstacles. Lamia is proud to say that she has made great friendships and relationships here at San Francisco State.
Tarun Giduturi
Department of Information Systems
Tarun Giduturi is an international student who came from India solely to pursue his undergraduate education in Information Systems at San Francisco State University. After graduating from SF State, he will be the first person in his family to complete an undergraduate degree in the United States. The people behind his success are his brother, sister and parents. Tarun would like to specifically thank his brother who brought him to the U.S. for his undergraduate studies and has supported him along his career path. Without his brother, Tarun would not be here at SF State today, privileged to be an Information Systems Honoree. Tarun has successfully completed his degree in 4 years, where he has been placed on the Deans’ list all 7 semesters. One of his most commendable characteristics is his curiosity to learn and think out of the box, which initiated completion of certifications, such as SQL Expert and Certified Associate from Oracle Corporation. He is also currently working in an SF State internship as a Junior Analyst. Tarun has worked as the Director of Public Relations for the Information Management Systems Association and was eventually elected as president for the academic year 2014-15. He maintains memberships in Honor Societies Beta Gamma Sigma and National Society of Collegiate Scholars, which offer membership to fewer than 10% of students from a college. In addition, he is a member of the College of Business Fellows Program and is planning to acquire more knowledge by pursuing his Master’s Degree in Information Systems.
Eileen Tongur
Department of International Business
Education is very important to Eileen as she is the first in her family to graduate with an upper division degree. She started working full time after graduating high school and had to study part time, whether it was at night, online, or on the weekends over the course of many years so she could attain her goal. During that time, Eileen went through several life experiences, including graduating from junior college with three Associates of Arts degrees (in Liberal Arts, Spanish, and Business Administration), travelling the world, and marrying the love of her life. Throughout all of the changes in her life, her passion for learning remained consistent. Eileen’s passion for education, learning new languages, meeting people from different cultures, thirst for knowledge, and love of travel unified all the elements for a successful career in International Business. She is currently a Channel Marketing Manager for a major headset manufacturer where she has been able to apply theory and practice into her daily accomplishments. SF State empowered Eileen with a comprehensive understanding of the world, its cultures, and the varied ways that people conduct business. She attributes much of her success to the studies and guidance of her professors, one of whom said that her focus, intelligence, and maturity stand out among other students. She has overcome a number of obstacles but has managed to stay positive and energized..
Joshua Harris
Labor & Employment Studies Program
In May, Joshua Harris will graduate with a double major in Labor and Employment Studies and Political Science. Josh grew up in a predominantly African-American neighborhood in East Oakland. He is the youngest of three children and was raised in a single-mother household. Josh almost missed out on the opportunity to attend college due to financial hardship. The year before he graduated from high school Josh’s mother lost her job after the company at which she had worked for two decades closed down. She then developed serious kidney problems, making it impossible to return to paid work. Josh’s family could not afford college tuition, and he was able to attend San Francisco State only because of generous state and federal financial aid and grants. After graduation, Josh will start work as a labor-management consultant for Davillier-Sloan, Inc., one of California’s leading construction management firms, which supervises project labor agreements (PLAs) involving large public workers projects. President and CEO, Jake Sloan, is a SF State graduate and an active supporter of the Labor and Employment Studies program. Jake completed a thesis on “Blacks in the Building Trades” at SF State, and has become a leader in promoting diversity in the trades and championing local hire agreements in California. At Davillier-Sloan, Josh will learn about PLA negotiations and Labor Compliance Programs – which ensure that major projects follow legal requirements concerning prevailing wages, fringe benefits, and notice-posting -- and about many other critical labor and employment issues.
Monique Domingo
Department of Management
The Management Department was proud to select Monique Domingo as its honoree as she has performed outstanding work across the Management Concentration. One faculty member noted that she “participated outstandingly in the team and the class discussions” and another wrote that she was “extremely impressed with Monique's maturity, poise, communication skills, and her career ambition.” Spotted for her intelligence, impressive communication skills, and ability to lead and mentor her peers, Monique has subsequently served as a Teaching Assistant in two classes. Said another colleague, “Her grasp of organizational theory was really impressive and the way she mentored students was wonderful. I heard from several students that they would not have done well on an assignment, or increased their quiz scores, if not for “Monique’s help.” Another commented that Monique is “really bright, hard-working, smart, dedicated -- everything one could ever hope for in a student.” Monique really represents what the College of Business and SF State are all about. She is the daughter of immigrants and learned English to perfection as a second language. Though she spent one year out of school recovering from spinal surgery, Monique successfully graduated from a large public high school and is the first in her family to attend college. She works full-time to pay for tuition and has always taken a full load of classes. Despite all these potential roadblocks, she has thrived in her classes, shined above her peers, and now has the goal to pursue a life in academia. She truly represents the San Francisco State University vision.
Lindsey Leong
Department of Marketing
Lindsey Leong ’s interest in marketing began during high school while interning at Popchips, a San Francisco based company. Under the mentorship of their Vice President of Marketing, she realized the excitement and creativity of a marketing career and was inspired to pursue a marketing degree at San Francisco State University. With each rigorous College of Business class, Lindsey found the course material to be relevant, engaging and was able to make the Dean’s list consistently with a near perfect academic record. Lindsey cultivated strong leadership and interpersonal skills as she continued through the path of her education. Spurred by socioeconomic, parental health issues, and the tools gained at SF State, Lindsey was driven to fund the final three years of her undergraduate education. She landed an internship with a woman and minority owned start-up which later turned into a role as their Marketing Coordinator. Taking the communication and team-based skills garnered from her coursework and internship experiences, Lindsey obtained an internship at Google in the summer of 2014 as part of their BOLD Internship Program. In addition to the focus on her marketing degree, Lindsey furthered her SF State educational experience by serving as a Teacher’s Assistant for two semesters, and was a member of SF State International Education Exchange Council which shaped her interest in broadening her marketing experience globally. Upon graduation, Lindsey has a received a full time job offer from Google and will return to work in their Mountain View campus to begin a career in Sales and Marketing.