Michael J. Coles College Reveals 2025 Outstanding Students
Michael J. Coles College Reveals 2025 Outstanding Students
KENNESAW, Ga. |
Jun 6, 2025
The Michael J. Coles College of Business recently announced the recipients of the
2023-2024 Outstanding Student awards.
Outstanding Student awards recognize exemplary students in each of the College's academic
programs. Faculty members nominate students, with department chairs selecting the
winners.
Below, you will find details about each of the 19 Outstanding Student award recipients
as well as some information about each.
Here is a listing of each student and their respective programs:
Undergraduate Program Outstanding Students
Accounting: Anthony DeAngelo
Anthony DeAngelo is an exceptional accounting and Journey Honors College student.
As a member of Beta Alpha Psi, Anthony has committed to professional development and
community service during his undergraduate years, often volunteering to go above and
beyond. He previously served as Treasurer on the Beta Alpha Psi Executive Committee.
He is also a member of Beta Gamma Sigma. Anthony will be entering the 亚博官方网站 MAcc program
in Fall 2025 and has already accepted a full-time position with Carr, Riggs, and Ingram
after his MAcc graduation.
Cybersecurity: Saliah Ponteau
In addition to her stellar GPA, Saliah went above and beyond, creating a podcast episode as part of an Honor鈥檚 Contract. She also played on the women's club basketball team at 亚博官方网站.
Economics: Arielle Adiri
Arielle Adiri is a two-time Bagwell Center Undergraduate Research Fellow, where she鈥檚 worked on carbon tax policy using Alaska鈥檚 Permanent Fund Dividend as a model to explore how tax rebates can reduce inequality. Her research blends economics with history and philosophy, showing how economic tools can be used to solve real-world problems. Arielle will continue her studies this fall in the master鈥檚 program in Economics at Boston University.
Entrepreneurship: Shehan Sundrani
Shehan Sundrani has demonstrated an excellent entrepreneurial mindset and skillsets in the Entrepreneurship program. He has been impressive with his desire to become an entrepreneur, created several ideas to pursue, pitched in the Scrappy Pitch Competition, and has a sincere interest in learning all he can to become an entrepreneur and business owner. His attitude for entrepreneurship is infectious. We expect him to develop exciting ventures in the future.
Finance: Duc Nguyen
Duc Nguyen has demonstrated exceptional academic and analytical ability throughout his time in the program. As Chief Investment Officer of the Student Managed Investment Fund, he has led investment research and strategy while representing 亚博官方网站 in top-tier competitions like the CFA Research Challenge and GAME Forum. He also completed a finance internship with HSBC Vietnam, adding global experience to his already strong credentials. Faculty consistently rank him among the most talented finance students they鈥檝e encountered, citing his rigorous analytical work and leadership in SMIF.
Hospitality Management: Kabrie Kyle
Kabrie Kyle exemplifies the qualities of an outstanding student through her exceptional leadership, academic excellence, and dedication to community engagement. As President of the Hospitality Leadership Club, she has demonstrated strong leadership and organizational skills, fostering professional growth among her peers. Her active participation in the College鈥檚 open house showcases her commitment to representing the institution and inspiring future students. Kabrie鈥檚 passion for hospitality, coupled with her academic and extracurricular achievements, make her a deserving recipient of the Outstanding Student Award.
Information Security & Assurance: Josh McLaughlin
Josh McLaughlin had a 4.0 GPA, was active as an officer in the Offensive Security
Research Club, and participated on student teams in the SECCDC, CPTC, NCL, and the
NCAE Cyber Games. Additionally, Josh was a member of a student group that discovered
a data leakage issue in a campus system. I helped them report it in a coordinated
manner, ultimately leading to UITS fixing the problem and closing the leak.
Information Systems: Matai Blain
Matai Blain is the youngest of five siblings and a first-generation college student. He has thrived in his own studies and developed new opportunities for others within 亚博官方网站 and the larger community. In his junior year, he competed in the campus-wide Apps for Wellbeing Hackathon leading a group of teammates from IT, Electrical Engineering, and Computer Engineering disciplines. That same year, he attended a number of industry events, leading to a summer internship and job offer from Synovus. Matai has participated in the inaugural Generative AI Hackathon, helped organize this year鈥檚 Apps for Wellbeing Hackathon, and serves as a mentor and ambassador for the African American Male Initiative.
Management: Victoria Rodriguez
Victoria Rodriguez is set to graduate in Summer 2025 and is already part of the 亚博官方网站 Double Owl Pathway, pursuing her master鈥檚 degree in business administration. Balancing work, leadership, and academics, Victoria has maintained a 4.0 GPA, served on the Coles College Student Advisory Board, and actively participated in several student organizations. Her goal is to pursue a career as a Supply Chain Analyst.
Marketing: Ava Ellis
On paper it's easy to see that Ava Ellis is driven: She has straight A's, is part
of our Sales Team, interned at TKE last summer, competed in the Owl Cup sales competition,
and placed 10th in the speed selling portion of the ICSC competition. She is a member
of Delta Phi Epsilon International Sorority where she led a team that raised awareness
of the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders. She also
works to raise awareness for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and has raised $19,000
in donations. But what you don't see on paper is that Ava has been fully independent
of her parents since starting college and supports herself financially. Ava has already
been offered a sales job at ReliaQuest in Tampa, FL.
Professional Sales: Eddie MacDonald
Eddie MacDonald loves to lead and understands the many hours required behind the scenes to be a leader. As president of the Sales Club, he never missed a single 7am meeting. As an intern with Ryder, he organized and executed the largest Internal Rookie Competition ever. At the same time, Eddie planned a wedding and is now a happily married man. Eddie has taken a study abroad trip, leads an ultimate frisbee team, is interning with Frito-Lay, all while also investing countless hours in the Center for Professional Selling.
Graduate Program Outstanding Students
Evening MBA: Taylor Mason
We are proud to present the Outstanding Student Award to Taylor Mason for her exceptional leadership, academic excellence, and dedication to her MBA classmates. As both a university staff member and a student, Taylor has gone above and beyond to support her classmates, demonstrating remarkable initiative and commitment to the program鈥檚 success.
Master of Accounting: Sydni Farmer
Sydni Farmer is an exceptional student who actively engaged in the MAcc program beyond
the required coursework. She was a key member of the MAcc team that secured first
place in the statewide Institute of Internal Auditors Case Competition and contributed
to a team that drafted a comment letter for the Financial Accounting Standards Board.
Sydni consistently ranked among the top five students in nearly every class she completed
and earned the highest CPA Exam scores, all while serving as a Graduate Assistant