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True Grit: New Passion Leads to Accounting Career
"At 12, I declared I would one-day be an NCAA D1 swimmer"
As a child I was single minded. My parents often tell stories about my childhood, when I would make a “decision” to do something and would never back down. Fear or failure were not options. I attacked my goals and never backed down.
When I was
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Terry Exner MBA 09 Receives GSMAA Outstanding Service Award 2019
Hear from Terry Exner MBA 09 who earned the 2019 UC Davis Graduate School of Management Alumni Association Outstanding Service Award and shares about collaboration, networking and more.
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Michelle Leyden Li JD 93 MBA 95
2019 GSM Alumni Association Distinguished Achievement Award
A Silicon Valley semiconductor industry marketing executive for more than 20 years, Michelle Leyden Li JD 93 MBA 95 shares how her UC Davis MBA prepared her for a successful career at Intel, Qualcomm and GlobalFoundaries and the growth in tech
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Louis Biggers MBA 08
Intel Corporation
Louis Biggers MBA 08 reflects on industry challenges and collaborative solutions. As a senior application engineer at Intel Corp., UC Davis MBA alumnus Biggers is helping the chip giant move into a data-centric world. He's working on enabling sensor
![Alfonso skydiving](/sites/default/files/styles/news/public/2020-03/alfonso.jpg?h=7f412c8f&itok=kt86400k)
Alfonso Patiño Nava MPAc 13
Deloitte
Now thriving at Deloitte, Alfonso Patiño Nava, alumnus of our Master of Professional Accountancy program, shares the biggest challenges in the industry, his most valuable course at UC Davis and his advice for new business students.
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Briefly
![Professor Tony Simon launches tech startup with business student](/sites/default/files/styles/news/public/2020-09/sara_howard-ucdavis_gsm_emily_1507.jpg?h=f2fcf546&itok=HfbmRLSk)
Student Entrepreneur Wins Startup Pitch Competition at National Conference
Sara Howard MBA 19 accelerating digital therapeutics startup
Digital therapeutics startup Cognivive, based on UC Davis research, is on a roll with seed funding.
Sara Howard MBA 19 recently won a national pitch competition with "digital medicines you want to take," the mission of a medtech startup she helps
![Jesse Rosales MBA 17 Climbs K2 Like It’s His Job](/sites/default/files/styles/news/public/2020-09/a0675c7c-90a4-4819-ba5f-6f9c15fd9fc4_16x9.jpg?h=2e111cc1&itok=xAl5Zvhf)
Jesse Rosales Climbs K2 Like It’s His Job
MBA Alum: It takes management skills, process-oriented goals and a strategic vision
Jesse Rosales didn’t climb a mountain in a day.
Summiting the second highest peak in the world—a feat more consuming and dangerous than scaling Mt. Everest—took years of preparation, perseverance and every project management skill in his toolbox.
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UC Davis MBA Grad Pledges to Support Economic Growth in Liberia
Amazon manager dedicates education and network to supporting the rebuild of his homeland
Siah Gaye MBA 18 chose the Bay Area Part-Time MBA program for its reputation—and to stay close to his mother. The last time they were separated, he was just learning to walk, his country was at war, and his mother was hiding him from the men who
![Portrait of Marie Chaisson](/sites/default/files/styles/news/public/2020-03/marie_sq_800.jpg?h=7f412c8f&itok=mgbStqGW)
Marie Chaisson MBA 04
Director of Portfolio Management, PayPal Holdings, Inc.
Marie Chaisson earned her undergraduate degree at the University of Washington in speech communication after she realized it would take more than four years to graduate with a forestry degree, her first major. She stayed in Seattle, combining her
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UC Davis MBA student Kelly Gillett Shares Her Experience
Newberry Leadership Fellow
“I found my stride and voice as a leader . . . and what makes UC Davis different is definitely the community. From the day you walk in the door every one knows your name and you know everybody,” says Full-Time MBA student Kelly Gillett. Kelly is the
![Jesse Rodriguez](/sites/default/files/styles/news/public/2020-09/rodriquez.jpg?h=b80a9625&itok=OJrvX5Pd)
Jesse Rodriguez MBA 19
Latino Affairs, California State Senate
The UC Davis Cal Aggie Alumni Association has recognized Sacramento MBA student and Aggie alum Rodriguez with its annual Young Alumnus Award.
Jesse Rodriguez B.S. 13, MBA 19 has dedicated his time to working for the community and empowering youth
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Melinda Ornburg MBA 16
Former Forensic Anthropologist Now Studies Customer Clues
Giving back is at the top of Melinda Ornburg’s priority list. In her previous career studying to be a forensic anthropologist, Ornburg MBA 16 spent her working hours dissecting human skeletons during an internship at the Los Angeles County Coroner’s