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Start Something Spirit Moves to New Building After Graduation

Start Something Spirit Moves to New Building After Graduation
Rucao Wang celebrates graduation at Nebraska commencement.
The last class of University of Nebraska–Lincoln College of Business students to graduate and attend classes exclusively in the old College of Business Administration building received degrees at commencement ceremonies on Saturday, August 12, at Pinnacle Bank Arena. The new Nebraska Business building officially opens its doors when classes begins for the fall 2017 semester, August 21. Graduating seniors displayed the Start Something spirit during their time at Nebraska which provides a common thread linking the old building to the new.

Rucao Wang, from Suzhou, China, graduated with a degree in marketing. Wang transferred to Nebraska for his final two years of college because he wanted the experience of an international Big Ten business school. Not only did he attain that experience at Nebraska Business, but he also traveled to Spain, France, Guyana and Chile as part of three global immersion programs. In addition to studying abroad, he visited about 40 of the 50 states during his two years in Nebraska, driving to places as far away as Seattle and Miami Beach.

“I encourage students to put themselves in places to have new experiences,” said Wang. “You force yourself to plan your time and become independent when you travel abroad. I taught myself to overcome language barriers by throwing myself into situations where I had to meet new people. Some of the places I traveled had no wi-fi or internet but I believe it prepared me to handle difficult situations in my future career.”

Wang participated in the American Marketing Association student organization, the Big Event and worked as a photographer for the Daily Nebraskan during his time at Nebraska. He also ran in both the Lincoln and Chicago Marathons, and worked out regularly to compete in the Husker Strong competition. He intends to use his marketing degree to work in e-commerce and would eventually like to start his own business.

Mentors helped Anne Bachmann create her business Helping Oats.
Mentors helped Anne Bachmann create her business Helping Oats.
Anne Bachman, a management major who specialized in entrepreneurship and innovation, Started Something during her time at the College of Business by creating her business Helping Oats with the assistance of winning $25,000 at the annual Entrepreneuring Days competition. Bachman, who is from Lincoln, Nebraska, believes classes at Nebraska Business help put the pieces together for students looking to build their own start-up company.

“The classes I’ve taken gave me the knowledge to apply to my business,” said Bachmann. “I’ve met incredible mentors through speakers brought into classes and at various events at the Center for Entrepreneurship. After graduation I plan to continue to grow Helping Oats which I started by selling healthy oatmeal varieties at The BAY Coffee Bar. My goal is to eventually get into larger retail stores and take it online.”

Bachmann wants students to know they should not be afraid to ask for what they want no matter how big their dreams. She looks forward to bringing more creativity and fun to her business which people can follow on Twitter @helpingoats.

Dylan Bjerrum hopes to Start Something in the business world before someday going home to the family farm.
Dylan Bjerrum hopes to Start Something in the business world before someday going home to the family farm.
Dylan Bjerrum, a native Nebraskan from Stromsburg, majored in agribusiness and minored in management. Bjerrum worked at Pinnacle Bank in both Lincoln and Osceola, Nebraska, while attending college. He believes his work at Pinnacle in conjunction with coursework at Nebraska Business allow him to ‘Start Something’ as he moves forward after graduation.

“My major gave me a variety of courses and opportunities to prepare me for jobs after graduation,” said Bjerrum. “The classes set me up for success by exposing me to many hands-on opportunities. Ultimately, I would like to go back and run my family farm. Until then, I plan on working in grain-merchandising or continue in the ag-banking industry.”

One hundred business students received undergraduate degrees following the summer semester with another 17 receiving MBA and MPA degrees. Four students received Ph.D.s from the College of Business. 

Doctor of Philosophy

Beth Sharlene Cochran, Lincoln; Survey Research and Methodology—Dissertation: The Impact of Working Memory on Response Order Effects and Question Order Effects in Telephone and Web Surveys. Advised by Professor Robert Belli.
 
Sylvia Mwamba, Lincoln; Economics—Dissertation: Strategic Responses to Taxation and Welfare Effects of Tax Policies. Advised by Professor Matthew Cushing.
 
Shafiun Nahin Shimul, Brahmanbaria, Bangladesh; Economics—Dissertation: Public Policy, Firm Size Distribution and Corruption. Advised by Professor John E. Anderson.
 
Wenjing Li, Shijiazhuang, China; Economics—Dissertation: Essays on Government Finance. Advised by Professor John E. Anderson.

Master of Business Administration
 
Clinton James Bartek, Lincoln—Business
Jon Robert Beck, Fruit Heights, UT—Business
Brayden Riley Carlson, Brookings, SD—Business
Justin Andrew Carr, Barrington, RI—Business
Jacob David Dudley, Fort Leavenworth, KS—Business
Allison J. Gibler, Onawa, IA—Business
Jill Suzanne Hull, Lincoln—Business
Peng Li, Papillion—Business
Pedro Londono, Houston, TX—Business
Yashwant Pulumati, Lincoln—Business
Gaurav Sadhir, Lexington, KY—Business
Andrew Johnson Stalk, Plymouth, MI—Business
Kai Hong Yeung, Sidney—Business

Master of Professional Accountancy

Stewart Allen Montgomery, Des Moines, IA—Accountancy
Tan Quoc The Ngo, Lincoln—Accountancy
Ross Edward Reynolds, Lincoln—Accountancy
Nicole Elizabeth Wojtalewicz, Omaha—Accountancy

Bachelor of Science in Business Administration

Fabiana Antelo, Lincoln
Cole Daniel Ashby, Aurora
Shai-ann Rae Augustine, Omaha
Anne Bachmann, Lincoln
Amirul Faidhi Bakhtiar, Cheras, Malaysia
Dylan Bjerrum, Bradshaw
Kyle Daniel Bockmann, Grand Island
Yuxi Cai, Lincoln
Maxwell Guy Cameron, Omaha
FeiYang Chen, La Jolla, CA
Linting Chen, Xi’an, China
Maxwell Robert Clausen, Plymouth, MN
Anna Elizabeth Conway, Omaha
Levi Matthew Dixon, Garland
Seth Paul Duryea, Omaha
Kristin Leamarie Embury, Plattsmouth
Haowen Fang, Xi’an, China
Nathan Thomas Funk, Madison
Zachary Jacob Geist, Omaha
Mengting He, Lincoln
Nicholas James Hempel, Elkhorn
Andrew Jon Hoeven, Lincoln
Bowen Hou, Xi’an, China
Jessica Ann Hughes, Grand Island
Justin Charles Jennings, Amarillo, TX
Dan Jia, Xi’an, China
Jin Jiang, Xu Chang, China
Harrison L. Jordan, Omaha
Austin Lawrence Joslin, Lincoln
Ian Alexander Jurek, Lincoln
Lucas Daniel Kahnk, Tecumseh
        (With High Distinction)
Cory Joseph Keegan, Omaha
Matthew Thomas Kerkman, La Vista
Austin Michael Kester, Lincoln
Nicholas Edward Kirklin, Omaha
Minhui Kong, Hangzhou, China
Nathan Francis Kovar, Omaha
Dylan James Krings, Lincoln
Hao Li, Zhengzhou, China
Yifei Li, Dalian, China
Cassandra Marie Lien, Lincoln
Guannan Liu, Hohhot City, China
Xuanting Liu, Xi’an, China
Carson James Long, Harrisburg, SD
Ryan Nicholas Lunn, Valley
Yuguang Luo, Houston, TX
Trang Kieu Mai, Lincoln
Paige Lauren Marsden, Norfolk
Eric John McCarthy, Omaha
Walter Scott McGrew III, Lincoln
Songzhu Mei, Taizhou, China
Ingo Veiga Behling Miranda, Lakewood, CO
Patrick Daniel Murphy, Lone Tree, CO
Mildred Namulindwa, Lincoln
Nicholas Lee Neisius, Lincoln
Huong Hoai Nguyen, Lincoln
Derek William Odell, Alliance
Ryan Thomas Ossell, Eagan, MN
Nikita Pankins, Lincoln
Saidurga Pravallika Pavuluri, Omaha
Hannah Linn Paxton, Wakefield
      (With Highest Distinction)
Andrew Joseph Plamann, Lincoln
Taylor Lee Poland, Lincoln
Jacob Michael Potthoff, Lincoln
Danielle Elizabeth Proskovec, David City
Evan Michael Ramsey, Omaha
Zachary Taylor Ross, Gretna
Alec Owen Rotert, Elkhorn
Daniel James Rousseau, Lincoln
Samantha Lexi Sandquist, Lincoln
Michaela Lynn Schneider, Springfield, MO
Ruijin She, Xi’an, China
Ashish Pal Singh, Lincoln
Regen Nicole Smith, Kearney
James Stuart IV, Lincoln
Sin Lin Tan, Kluang, Malaysia
Siminjie Tang, Hangzhou, China
Parviz M. Temurov, Lincoln
Lisa Catherine Tupper, Omaha
Austin Reed Ulch, Elkhorn
Chao Wang, Xi’an, China
Rucao Wang, Lincoln
Robyn Denise Werner, Lincoln
Joel Dolton West, Omaha
Benjamin Burnell Witt, Omaha
Coleman Steven Wurzer, Fargo, ND
Yan Xia, Lincoln
Hongjie Xiong, Lincoln
Qianyi Xu, Shijiazhuang, China
Yingying Yan, Wuxi, China
Wen Yang, Xi’an, China
Kean Yao, Xi’an, China
Ming Ying, Lincoln
Li Zhang, Xi’an, China
Zihe Zhang, Lincoln
Yifa Zhou, Nanjing, China
Canghao Zhu, Xi’an, China
Guanqun Zhu, Hangzhou, China
        (With High Distinction)
Rong Zou, Suzhou, China
Published: August 15, 2017