Hannah Ahluwalia
Two Broad College of Business students were named in Poets & Quants’ “Best and Brightest Business Majors – Class of 2019” list.
This year’s honorees are Hannah Ahluwalia, who will be in the M.S. in accounting program at Michigan State University upon graduation, and Yoodong Hwang, a finance major who will be working with Ernst & Young as a People Advisory Services (PAS) staff consultant after graduation.
“Business is about connections and relationships. It is about growth and opportunity,” said Jeff Schmitt, writer for Poets & Quants. “Business is a daily challenge and a daily choice to work harder, be smarter and improve who you and your company were the day before.”
Ahluwalia, the Troy, Michigan native, is the current president and former publicity chair of the Women in Business Students’ Association, the Student Allocations Board financial manager of the Associated Students of Michigan State University (ASMSU), in the honors college and a KPMG Accounting Scholarship recipient. Over the course of her college career, she has interned with DTE Energy as its Intramural Research Program (IRP) and Modeling intern and with Ernst & Young as an assurance intern and global student experience intern.
“The biggest lesson I gained from studying business was how to turn a rejection into a learning opportunity. It can be very discouraging when you face rejection as a business student,” said Ahluwalia. “Anytime this happens, it is important to focus on how you can advance yourself for the next opportunity and learn how to grow from your experiences. A rejection will only make you more prepared for that yes.”
In her time at MSU, Ahluwalia credits her greatest accomplishment to be founding the Empowerment Closet at MSU. Her project provides a closet full of professional attire for undergraduates to rent for 48 hours in order to have an equal chance in attending professional events and interviews.
Yoodong Hwang
Hwang hails from Midland, Michigan. He is the president of the Broad Student Senate, director of the President’s Council for the Broad College, director of Business Development at Spectrum Consulting Group and the founder of the Broad College of Business Mentorship Program.
He also held three internship positions during his years at MSU. Hwang was a procurement services-delivery consultant intern with IBM, worked with Meijer as a general merchandise inbound logistics intern and was an NPI development materials planning intern at GE Aviation.
Hwang’s position on the Broad Student Senate is his most proud of achievement because of the work he put in to get it. He took building his image and getting his ideas out there for others before he was given this opportunity.
“Albus Dumbledore from the critically acclaimed Harry Potter books once told Harry Potter, ‘Help always comes to those who ask.’ The same applies to those studying business,” said Hwang. “Whether it is with your homework, connecting you to people who work in industries you want to work in or even supporting you to find an internship. People are always willing to help you if you ask them to support you.”
This year’s “Best and Brightest” list was compiled by submissions from 48 of the top 50 undergraduate business schools. Each school submitted two students to represent them for their outstanding achievements academically, in extracurriculars and for their personal character in the world of business.
Read more about the “Best and Brightest Business Majors of 2019” and in-depth interviews with the Broad students, Hannah Ahluwalia and Yoodong Hwang.
