Costello College of Business News

Never one to back down from a challenge, Alaleh Jenkins, BS Accounting ’97, immigrated to the United States as a teenager without speaking any English. As a student at George Mason University, she enrolled in basic English classes and quickly became fluent in English while also excelling in her other courses. Focused on academics as well as adjusting to and succeeding in a new country, she took advantage of Mason’s job fairs, landing a job at a major CPA firm after graduation.  “I got a lot of tough love at my first job and I will be forever grateful to my employer for pushing me out of my comfort zone,” Jenkins says.

“The foundation for the success that I’m experiencing today came from my Mason education,” says Jason Chesky, BS Finance ’12. To help current George Mason University finance students build foundations of their own, he established the Jason M. Chesky Endowed Scholarship. Knowing full-well how challenging the cost of higher education can be to some, and the barriers it can create, Chesky wanted to make things a little easier for students and allow them the opportunity to  focus on their education.

One of the realities of job searching in a digital age is the importance of having a professional presence online. With digital platforms such as LinkedIn becoming increasingly integrated into the way professionals network with each other, it is essential that you make a good impression when someone finds your profile.

It’s 9 am. Do you know where your team members are? Before Covid, the answer was simple: They were – or were expected to be – in the office. The pandemic erased that certainty and accelerated the pace toward work-place flexibility. As we move forward in our post-covid work environment, employees are strongly indicating their preference for flexibility and self-determination regarding their working environment. A portion of the workforce will desire to stay at home with high flexibility, whereas others will return to the office by choice.

Despite living and working in the Atlanta metropolitan area, Michael VanPatten, MBA ’90, never lost touch with Mason. Immediately receptive to post-graduation calls from the alumni relations team, he was eager to connect with alumni and assist students in attaining an MBA. The positive experience he had at Mason, with instructors who had working knowledge in the areas they were teaching, encouraged his continued engagement.

Reflecting on his career path in the three decades following his graduation from George Mason University, George Cabalu, BA Economics ’92, is grateful that he chose the green and gold. In fact, with the university rapidly climbing ranks across the board, his degree has never been more valuable. Cabalu, who is now a Managing Director at Wells Fargo Advisors, is extending a helping hand to students by establishing the Cabalu Scholarship Endowment, geared toward School of Business students of Asian descent and from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds.

In her quest to gain a better understanding of people, the mechanisms of the world around her, and advances in science and technology, Prachi Vakharia has taken on many roles simultaneously. Presently, she is a transportation and innovation specialist at Amazon, associate partner at European boutique investment bank ImprovedCF, and co-founder of Womanium. She does all this while also serving on several advisory boards, including as chairperson of the Business for a Better World Center (B4BW) Advisory Board at George Mason University’s School of Business. 

Data-based decisions drive businesses, and those who know how to analyze data help make their organizations more successful. George Mason University’s Costello College of Business, conveniently located in the Washington, D.C. metro area, offers two programs to help individuals effectively analyze big data through the hands-on use of modeling and other techniques with popular software tools.

With the daytime dedicated to her nine-to-five job and evenings occupied with coursework, the financial support that Kaylene Green, BS Accounting & Legal Studies ’87, received from her employer was integral to her success. Now the president and CEO of Flagship Government Relations, Inc., she makes sure to return the favor, supporting the business students of her alma mater.

For most drivers in the U.S., obeying a stop sign upon approaching an intersection is an unavoidable annoyance. But for Mason finance professor Jiasun Li, it’s a problem waiting to be solved. His recent working paper proposes a simple and economical improvement: removing one stop sign from every four-way intersection. According to his calculations, this would boost not only driver safety, but environmental sustainability as well.