Undergraduate Class of 2025 Honored During Tropaia Ceremony

Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business recognized its undergraduate students graduating with honors during the school’s annual Tropaia. Watch the recording.

During the ceremony, Rita Zekas Sielicki Senior Speaker Award recipient Matthew De Meulder addressed his classmates to celebrate their past four years on the Hilltop. The Rita Zekas Sielicki Senior Speaker Award is given to a student who demonstrates superior achievement in scholarship, fosters a culture of collaboration in an evolving global environment, and commits themselves to the service of their community. 

The themes included in his award also reflect the sentiments he shared with the Class of 2025. 

“For four years, I thought about being on this stage and delivering this speech to you,” said De Meulder. “After countless iterations, what was consistent in all of them was that this speech is not about me. It is about all of us.”

De Meulder has been an integral member of the McDonough community since his early days at Georgetown, having worked for the Undergraduate Programs Office since his first day of freshman year. During his speech, he recognized the many people – from advising teams to family members to students – who were integral to his collegiate experience. These people created moments of “real elation,” fostering lifelong friendships and memories. 

“Upon reflecting on my time here at McDonough, I constantly refer to my favorite quote by Doug Larson: ‘Real elation is when you feel as though you can touch a star without standing on a tiptoe.’ I ask the class of 2025 to take a moment and think about a time in the last four years when you genuinely experienced true elation here at Georgetown,” said De Meulder. 

He recalled several personal moments where he could reach a star: the Global Business Experience in Mendoza, Argentina; dinners in D.C. with roommates; Sunday night American Idol watch parties, among many others. He encouraged his fellow classmates to think of their ‘star’ moments and be thankful for the time they spent together. 

“To the Class of 2025, I hope you’ll join me in expressing so much gratitude for these moments on the Hilltop. We are fortunate to have been in a place that allowed us to reach for any star we wanted. Let us all collectively reach for the stars one last time.”

During the Tropaia program, the following students received awards:

Academic Honors

Valedictorian Award

Matthew De Meulder

Arend Kraan

Yifan Shi

Sameer Tirumala

Salutatorian Award

William Schiffmann

The Lena Landegger Community Service Award (honors 20 Georgetown students for their contributions to community service)

Divya Shah

Julien Sims

Othmar Winkler Award (recognizes a student who demonstrates a strong concern for others and the less privileged, especially in the Washington, D.C., community)

Charles Laniak

Reverend Joseph S. Sebes, S.J. Award (recognizes a student with significant overall contribution to the welfare and reputation of the school)

Patrick De Meulder

Undergraduate Deans’ Award for Excellence in Business and Scholarship

Senoh Koroma

Rita Zekas Sielicki Senior Speaker Award (recognizes a student demonstrating superior achievement in scholarship, fostering a culture of collaboration in an evolving global environment, and committing themselves to the service of their community)

Matthew De Meulder

Summa Cum Laude Students (top 5% of students)

Steven Bafaro

Evan Birns

Benjamin Chatzinoff

Edward Chen

Max Dauer

Matthew De Meulder

Yewon Jeong

Sofia Jiang

Ethan Kaplan

Mia Kawarabayashi

Arend Kraan

Charles Laniak

Ava Long

David O’Brien

Thomas Reilly

William Schiffmann

Yifan Shi

Sameer Tirumala

Caroline Van Dixhoorn

Maxwell Wuchenich

Accounting Awards

Accounting Faculty Award for Academic Excellence 

Matthew De Meulder

Alan Mayer-Sommer Award for Accounting Excellence (recognizes a senior attaining the highest academic achievement in the field of accounting seeking a CPA)

Yewon Jeong

George Houston Accounting Achievement Award (recognizes a senior attaining the highest academic achievement in the field of accounting)

Rebecca Richter

Hoffman-Galasso Family Award (recognizes a senior who has made exceptional contributions to the Accounting Department)

Ava Long

Patricia Fairfield Award for Accounting Excellence (highest academic achievement in the field of accounting seeking a career in financial services)

Angelina Casale

Thomas Cooke Award for Excellence in Accounting (recognizes a senior attaining the highest academic achievement in the field of accounting seeking a career in tax accounting or law)

Tomas Kisielius

William Baber Award for Accounting Excellence and Service (recognizes a senior attaining the highest academic achievement in the field of accounting who has made tremendous service contributions to the department)

Gabriel McClure

Finance Awards

Lynn Doran Award for Academic Excellence in Finance (recognizes a senior attaining the highest academic achievement in the field of finance while providing outstanding service to fellow students)

Ava Long

Jon Lynch Award for Achievement in Finance (overall excellence in academic achievement and for a positive attitude in the classroom and toward the field of finance)

David O’Brien

Michael and Robin Psaros Award for Excellence in Investments

William Schiffman

Psaros Center for Financial Markets and Policy Engagement Award 

Kelly Grace Richardson

Psaros Center for Financial Markets and Policy Award for Excellence in Financial Education (recognizes a senior for excellence in educating and helping peers in finance subjects)

Brigitte Webb

Psaros Center for Financial Markets and Policy Award for Excellence in Finance New Frontiers (recognizes a senior for excellence in new topics related to the field of finance)

Henry Mcdonald

Psaros Center for Financial Markets and Policy Excellence in Scholarship 

John Zoltak

Robert and Lauren Steers Award for Excellence in Real Estate Finance

Thomas Henry

International Business Awards

Interlink Capital Strategies International Business Scholar Award (recognizes a senior for outstanding performance in the study of international business)

Steven Bafaro

Ilkka A. Ronkainen Award for International Business and Marketing (recognizes a senior for high academic achievement in both the marketing and international business fields)

Pamela Cameron

International Business Faculty Award for Academic Excellence 

Clark Jones

Management Awards

Douglas M. McCabe Award for Academic Excellence in Management Studies

Giselle Virga

Elutions, Inc. Award for Academic Excellence in Leadership and Management Studies

Mia Kawarabayashi

William J. Usery Award for Academic Excellence in Negotiation and Mediation

Senoh Koroma

William J. Curtin Award for Academic Excellence in Leadership

Patrick De Meulder

Swift Glass Company Award for Academic Excellence in Innovation

Jillian Chade

Ciarrocchi Award for Academic Excellence in Management Studies

Dylan Campione

Management Faculty Award for Academic Excellence in Human Capital and Human Resource Management

Vikas Bobba

Marketing Awards

Johny K. Johansson International Marketing Award

Alexandra Lenehan

IMAX Marketing Research Award

Andrew Deves

IMAX Marketing Scholar Award (recognizes a student with the highest cumulative GPA for marketing courses) 

Mia Kawarabayashi

Marketing Faculty Award for Academic Excellence

Matthew De Meulder

Operations and Analytics Awards

Deloitte Award for Operations and Analytics (recognizes a senior for service and high academic achievement)

Edward Chen

PwC Award for Service and Scholarship in Operations and Analytics

Yifan Shi

Operations and Analytics Faculty Award for Academic Excellence

Sameer Tirumala

Baratta Center Award for Global Engagement (recognizes a senior for commitment to making a positive impact on a global scale)

Ana Gómez Garcés

Baratta Center Award for Academic Excellence (recognizes a senior or academic excellence and innovation in global logistics)

Charles Laniak

Faculty Awards 

Joseph F. LeMoine Award for Undergraduate and Graduate Teaching Excellence

Jasmina Chauvin, Assistant Professor of Strategy, Economics, Ethics, and Public Policy

Ross Cooper, Professor of the Practice of Accounting and Business Law

Charly Porcher, Assistant Professor of Strategy, Economics, Ethics, and Public Policy

Peter W. Gonzalez Jr. Award for Excellence in Adjunct Faculty Teaching

Ioannis Bellos

McDonough Student Body Government Professor of the Year Student Choice Award

Ronald Goodstein, Associate Professor of Marketing