Undergraduate Program Virtually Celebrates Graduates in Awards Ceremony

Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business recognized graduating students graduating from the Undergraduate Program on Friday, May 15, during the school’s annual Tropaia. Watch the virtual ceremony. View the virtual event program.

During the ceremony, Aristides Nicos Hadjipanteli addressed his classmates as the inaugural recipient of the Rita Zekas Sielicki Award. He related his time on the Hilltop to the Greek word for family — oikogéneia.

“Oikogéneia is composed of two parts: Oikos, which denotes home, and genea, which implies many generations,” he said. “Though today is a marker for the end of our time at the Hilltop, Georgetown will still be a home to us for years to come. We are a family. An oikogéneia.”

Hadjipanteli went on to share how his Georgetown oikogéneia cared for him during his own time of need after doctors found a tumor growing within his vocal cords that had made it impossible for him to speak.

“One thing I have learned during my own journey at Georgetown is how adversity breeds the most important tool one could ask for in life: resilience,” he said. “Resilience is having the ability to recover from setbacks and difficulties.”

Multiple surgeries and voice rest kept him away from campus, yet, he said that his Georgetown family was still present — from his best friend who Facetimed him even though he could not speak to his dean who checked in on him weekly to his professors who helped him make up exams when he finally returned to school. 

“All of these people were there for me, and when I did return to Georgetown that spring, it was like I never left,” he said. “I offer this not to recount a hardship, but to show you how resilient and connected the Georgetown community can be even while separated physically as we are today.”

Today, Hadjipanteli pointed out that his Georgetown family faces a new challenge, as the world navigates the coronavirus pandemic. Yet, he has learned that Georgetown is more than a physical space.

“COVID shows that Georgetown is not just a place. It’s a community of people. We come from all over the world and all walks of life. Let us use these unprecedented times to learn more about ourselves, our families, our community, and the world,” he said. “As alumni we will be spread across many cities and industries as we embark on our new careers. Whatever our journey holds, be resilient and remember that you always have your Georgetown oikogéneia, your Georgetown family.” 

During the Tropaia program, the following students received awards:

Academic and Community Honors

Reverend Joseph S. Sebes Award
(significant overall contribution to the welfare and reputation of the school)

Feihan Xie
Katie Glaser 

Undergraduate Dean’s Award
(most significant overall contribution in the area of social enterprise or social entrepreneurship either in the local or global community)

Hannah Catherine Kleban

Lena Landegger Community Service Award
(for students who voluntarily are committed to serve in the many communities in which Georgetown is a part)

Brooke Marie Stanley
Timothy William Brown

Senior Thesis

Megan Angela Carey
Caprice Izabella Catalano
Nicholas Andrew Elliot
Katherine Grace Evanko
Carolyn Rebecca Kirshe
Lisa Linah Park
Brooke Marie Stanley
Gabriel S. Berkowitz

Rita Zekas Sielicki Award
(in honor of the first woman to graduate from the McDonough School of Business to a student who demonstrates superior achievement in scholarship, fostering a culture of collaboration, committing oneself to service to the community)

Aristides Nicos Hadjipanteli

Accounting Awards

Deloitte Award for Accounting Excellence

Esther Kim

George Houston Accounting Achievement Award
(highest academic achievement in the field of accounting)

Francesca Anne LaBianca
Alex Viola

Georgetown University Accounting Society Award for Service & Excellence
(excellence in the leadership of and in service to undergraduate accounting students)

Aristides Nicos Hadjipanteli
Sophie S. Cutler

Hoffman-Galasso Family Award
(exceptional contributions to the Accounting Department)

Patrick William Carroll

Accounting Faculty Award for Academic Excellence

Samantha Leigh Roggekamp 

Finance Awards

McDonough School of Business Finance Faculty Award for Academic Excellence

Chloe Haldane Wallace

Michael G. Psaros Award for Excellence in Investments

Patrick Thomas Haubert

Center for Financial Markets & Policy Award for Achievement in International Finance

Jaime Muguiro Liron de Robles

Center for Financial Markets & Policy Award for Achievement in Finance

Katie Merola

Robert and Lauren Steers Award for Excellence in Real Estate Finance

David Andrew Sewall

Award for Achievement in Corporate Finance

Sera Jillian Stevens

Award for Achievement in Financial Services

Allison Mary Reagan

Award for Achievement in Banking 

Peter N. Trahanas

International Business Awards

Interlink Capital Strategies Corporation
(outstanding performance in the study of international business)

Anne Elizabeth Botos

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

Alexis Nicole Manieri
Maxim Andrew Shmotolokha

International Business Faculty Award for Academic Excellence 

Katie Merola

Management Awards

Elutions, Inc. Award
(academic excellence in leadership and management studies)

Timothy William Brown

NFI Industries Award
(academic excellence in management studies)

Peter Liam Hunziker

William J. Usery Award
(excellence in the study of negotiation and mediation)

Elizabeth DiBiagio

William J. Curtin Award
(academic excellence in leadership)

William Arthur Healey

Swift Glass Company Award
(academic excellence in innovation)

Carter Francis Owen

Ciarrocchi Award
(academic excellence in management studies)

Andrew Michael Rubino

McDonough School of Business Management Faculty Award
(academic excellence in human capital and human resource management)

Dong Yeun Sun

Marketing Awards

Johny K. Johansson International Marketing Award

Luiza Carolo Mizrahi

IMAX Marketing Research Award
(excellence in marketing research coursework)

Mark Blackwell Dyer

IMAX Marketing Scholar Award
(scholastic achievement in the study of marketing)

Filippo Maria Fabrini

McDonough School of Business Marketing Faculty Award for Academic Excellence

Carolyn Rebecca Kirshe

Operations and Information Management Awards

Deloitte Award for Operations and Information Management
(service and high academic achievement)

Jaime Muguiro Liron de Robles

PricewaterhouseCoopers Award for Service and Scholarship in Operations and Information Management

Jacob Paul Mitchell

McDonough School of Business Operations and Information Management Faculty Award for Academic Excellence

Caprice Izabella Catalano

Faculty Awards

Faculty Research Award 

Jason Brennan, Robert J. and Elizabeth Flanagan Family Professor
Shiliang Cui, Assistant Professor of Operations and Information Management

Joseph F. Lemoine Award for Undergraduate and Graduate Teaching Excellence

Allison Koester, Saleh Romeih Associate Professor

Faculty Award for Extraordinary Service

David Walker, John A. Largay Professor of Finance
McDonough Technology Center

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

Andres Vinelli, adjunct professor of finance

Academic Council Professor of the Year Student Choice Award

Ronald Goodstein, associate professor of marketing