Nearly 100 business students receive their degrees at a combined University of Nebraska–Lincoln Summer Commencement ceremony at 9 a.m., Saturday, August 12, in Pinnacle Bank Arena. Chancellor Rodney Bennett will preside over the Commencement ceremony, in which doctoral, master's, juris doctorate and bachelor's degrees will be awarded.

“I am thrilled to congratulate each and every graduate and celebrate all the class of 2023 accomplished during their time with the College of Business. Our August graduates represent 21 states and seven countries. As alumni, we know they will continue to drive discovery, create opportunity and lead the future of business wherever they go next — in Nebraska or around the world,” said Kathy Farrell, James Jr. and Susan Stuart Endowed Dean and professor of finance.

Among those receiving their degrees, Anna McLain, an accounting major from Lincoln, Nebraska, feels confident in her abilities to thrive professionally after completing multiple internships, including one through the School of Accountancy split-semester internship program. In this program, she spent the first part of the semester taking accelerated accounting courses so she could intern full-time at FORVIS to experience tax season.

“It’s all about learning how to be resilient, ask the right questions and develop new skill sets to succeed. I’ll be applying this experience in my career going forward, and I don't know if I would necessarily have that mindset had I not had these internships,” she said. “I think I would have been surprised starting as a full-time associate if I couldn't see that on a smaller scale during my undergrad degree, so I can be better prepared when I start my career.”

Devan Buescher, an international business and Clifton Builders management major from Lincoln, also took advantage of a program unique to Nebraska Business called Clifton Builders. The program helps students develop their leadership and entrepreneurial skills so they can build new businesses, teams or communities. He got involved within the college, serving as a student ambassador, senior lead strengths coach for the Clifton Strengths Institute, peer career coach for the Business Career Center and a member of Delta Sigma Pi business fraternity.

"Participating in the consulting project in the Clifton Builders Program showed me that I'm interested in consulting and building a future career around it," he said. "This program helped shape my college career into one that has impacted me and those around me. I was thrilled to work in positions that allowed me to mentor others. I hope to have left a legacy of helping others, impacting first-generation students and welcoming prospective students to campus." 

That focus on peer-to-peer experiences stood out to Rashad Woods, a finance and management major from Lincoln. He said, "To my peers, thank you for making this an unforgettable experience. The best thing about being a Husker is the community."

Woods served as the Huskers student basketball manager and a member of Beta Theta Pi fraternity. This summer, he studied abroad in the Nebraska at Oxford program, the university's longest-running study abroad program offered in partnership with Oxford University in England. After graduation, he will work as a fund administrator at CLA in Minneapolis.

Recent graduates can also take advantage of a new program that aims to help remove possible financial barriers to those seeking to enhance their skills and employability.

"We recently launched the Nebraska Graduate Advantage Program (GAP) to save 15% in graduate tuition in our online Master of Science in Business Analytics and Supply Chain Management programs. The special savings are available to those who earned their bachelor's degree from UNK, UNO and UNL in the last five years with a GPA of 3.2 or higher," said Farrell. "This opportunity helps meet the workforce needs in Nebraska and nationwide for workers with these in-demand, relevant technical skills."

The ceremony will be available to watch online at the Commencement website. For more information about the event or to watch it live, visit: https://commencement.unl.edu.

2023 AUGUST BUSINESS GRADUATES:

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
Loc Tan Bui, Selinsgrove, PA; Business—Dissertation: Essays in Fixed-Income Securities. Advised by Stanislava (Stas) Nikolova, Alice M. Dittman Chair of Banking and Finance and professor of finance.
Izuchukwu E. Mbaraonye, Lekki, Nigeria; Business—Dissertation: Three Essays on the Evaluation and Consequence of Corporate Wrongdoing. Advised by Varkey Titus Jr., Amy and J. E. Van Horne Jr Chair and associate professor of management.

MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
Nathan Ronald Bennion, Colorado Springs, CO
Shelby Ann Blair, McNeil, AR
Dirk Benedict Burken, Houston, TX
Mary Evelyn Cope, Homer, NY
Bruce Benjamin Daniels, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Kathryn Anne Davis, White Sands, NM
Daksh Derek Tirath Dhadwal, Calgary, Canada
Jered Ray Easley, Lee's Summit, MO
Eva English, Ottawa, Canada
MiKayla Renee Ford, Port Orchard, WA
Hugo Baird Gomez, Omaha
Jacob Daniel Harris, St. Louis, MO
Jasmine Harris, Colorado Springs, CO
Michael David Hightower, Woodbridge, VA
Karin Whitney Klemencic, Richmond, CA
Robert William Leddy, Omaha
Kelsey Moore, Waverly
David Neff, Bismarck, ND
Jonathan Pfeifer, Lincoln
Colby Steven Shreffler, Carmel, IN
Christopher Andrew Tryfonos, Melrose, MA
Noah Gregory Woodruff, Atlanta, GA

MASTER OF PROFESSIONAL ACCOUNTANCY
Anna Marie Morrill, Creighton
Nicholas Gerald Wallenburg, Lenexa, KS

MASTER OF SCIENCE IN BUSINESS ANALYTICS
Michael Thomas Claytor, Palmyra, VA
Joseph Platten, Omaha
Surendar Ganesh Swaminathan, Chennai, India

MASTER OF SCIENCE IN FINANCE
Shelby Ann Blair, McNeil, AR
Fyiad Constantine, Henrico, VA
Haley Kampschnieder, Omaha
Diane Marie Keeton, Omaha
Pinal Patel, Bartlett, IL
Drew Riley Schmidt, Tekamah
Benjamin Tsai, Walnut Creek, CA

MASTER OF SCIENCE IN SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT
Chris Kim, San Pedro, CA

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
Abdullah Nedhal Al-Musharfi, Khobar, Saudi Arabia
Phuong Uyen Bach, Lincoln
Jackson Scott Bartling, Omaha
Anthony Michael Beavers, Shickley
Devin Scott Beckner, Lincoln
Brooke Irene Berens, Lincoln
Sophie Jaie Brandt, Holbrook
Devan Jordan Donald Buescher, Lincoln
Justin Quoc-Bao Bui, Lincoln
Nathan Ross Caniglia, Omaha
Cheyenne Covarrubias, Grand Island
Joshua Joseph Cox, Omaha
Austin James Dickey, Omaha
Dylan Lee Doerr, Overland Park, KS
Ali Khalil Eljamal II, Omaha
Jacob Trevor Everts, Lincoln, with distinction
Oliver Ronin Fairfield, Omaha
Ramiro Alexander Ferrer III, Warrenville, IL
Colin Frederick Gaynor, Odessa, FL
Andrew Louis Grinbergs, Omaha
Braden Alexander Grindstaff, Lee's Summit, MO
Christopher Gene Hobelman, Lincoln
Zakary Nicholas Jourdeans, Roberts, WI
Jayden Logan Knudsen, Roca
Jaden Timothy Lewandowski, Ravenna
Martin Little, Lincoln
Yiming Liu, Jinan, China
Matthew Lysholm, Elkhorn
Enrique Martinez, Lincoln
Maxwell Robert McIntosh, North Platte
Anna Grace McLain, Lincoln
Elizabeth Marina Molnar, Hastings
Moritz Müller, Bad Nauheim, Germany, with high distinction
Katie Ann Nelsen, Lincoln
Nicolas John Noun, Mound, MN
Hunter Michael Olson, Lincoln
Ryan Gage Onstott, Potter
Summer Rose Ottemann, Lincoln
Christopher Michael Palazzo, Williamstown, NJ
Nikita Panfilov, Elkhorn
Braden David Pugel, Elkhorn
Andrew Stevens Quick, Papillion
Werner E. Rangel, Jr., Omaha
Nicole Catherine Schmunk, Bridgeport
Jayson Scott Schuchardt, Omaha
Dylan Thomas Schweer, Clay Center
Abigail Ann Sewing, Omaha
Scott Lewis Sherman, Springfield
Garrett J. Smith, Blair
Paige Olivia Stobbe, Omaha
Trevor Dillon Thelander, Omaha
Brandon Thompson, Omaha
Benjamin Joseph Willnerd, Grand Island
Taylor Jean Wiser, Holdrege
Cameron Thomas Wood, Omaha
Rashad R. Woods, Lincoln
Dylan Marshall Young, Burbank, CA
Mariah Kiele Zvolanek, Lincoln