Congratulations to the Michigan Ross Class of 2021! At the commencement ceremony last week, the Sanger Leadership Center was proud to award six students with the Michigan Ross Outstanding Leadership Award. The award recognizes graduating students who have made impactful contributions and demonstrated outstanding achievement within the Master of Management, Master of Supply Chain Management, Master of Accounting, Global MBA, Evening MBA, or Weekend MBA programs.
Meet the recipients below, now proud U-M alumni!
Nicole Allen, MBA ’21
Nicole is a double Wolverine, obtaining a BS in psychology in 2013 and an MBA in 2021. During her tenure at Michigan Ross, Nicole has worked in human resources for multiple departments at the university. She has served as a co-president of the Human Capital Club as well as the PTMBA Association Board evening student representative. She is currently serving as a CDO peer coach, Data Analytics Consulting Club team member, and a nonprofit board fellow. Nicole will pursue a career in human capital consulting and is joining PwC’s people & organization practice in Chicago after graduation.
Sabrina Archer, MSCM/MEng ’22
Sabrina is a current dual-degree student working toward her Master of Supply Chain Management and Master of Engineering Degree in Space Engineering. Before coming to Michigan Ross, she completed her bachelor’s degree at Michigan, studying biomolecular science. Shortly after graduation, she served in the Peace Corps, teaching English to K-8 students in Kosovo. Sabrina is very passionate about aerospace and hopes to work in aerospace consulting or as a systems engineer for an aerospace company.
Mike Dobmeier, MBA ’21
Mike is thrilled to receive the Weekend MBA Student Leadership Award. The University of Michigan holds a dear place in his heart – a native of Buffalo, New York, he moved to Ann Arbor in 2006 as an undergraduate engineering student and still calls the city home 15 years later. During that time, he has been fortunate to develop meaningful relationships that have helped him grow personally and professionally. He’d like to thank his wife, family, friends, classmates, and teachers for their love and support.
Alexandra C. Lorenz, MAcc ’21
Raised in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, Alexandra completed her four years of undergrad at the Ross School of Business. She could not stand to leave Ann Arbor, so she decided to stay for a fifth year and was accepted into the MAcc Program. As well as serving as the president of the MAcc Student Association, she works as a research assistant with efforts surrounding sustainable, scalable enterprises. Post-graduation, Alexandra will be starting her career at KPMG in their deal advisory practice in Chicago.
Jun Takasuka, MBA ’21
Born and raised in Japan, Jun is completing his MBA with irreplaceable experiences. As the class president of the Global MBA Program, he has shown his leadership during this unprecedented pandemic, especially when the program was suspended in week one. The faculty at Michigan Ross have broadened his academic views; many challenges he has gone through with his classmates have taught him the importance of community, and the people he has met during his time in the U.S. have shown him the power of people. With these lessons, he is now confident in facing VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity) situations making a positive difference.
Katherine Esther Higgins Ward, MM ’21
Katherine graduated from the University of Michigan in 2018 with a BFA in musical theatre. She moved to New York City, where she performed in musicals and served as a lead singer on the Queen Elizabeth cruise ship. After the pandemic hit, Katherine decided to pursue a different passion: business. Over the past 10 months, she fell in love with marketing by combining her creative storytelling skills with her new business degree. This summer, she will perform on Cape Cod, eventually moving back to New York City in September to pursue a career in social media marketing. She would like to thank her mom for keeping the MM letter after she graduated in 2018. She would not be here without her!