Darden Students Announce Award Winners, Graduation Speakers and Class Pledge Milestones
By Molly Mitchell
The Class of 2025 of the University of Virginia Darden School of Business announced recipients of multiple honors at an awards ceremony last week, including record participation in the class pledge campaigns.
The Full-Time MBA Class elected Betsy Brandon (Class of 2025) as student speaker for graduation, and elected the following as faculty marshals: Pnina Feldman, Peter Belmi, Shane Dikolli, Bo Sun and Elena Loutskina. The Executive MBA Class elected Jimmy Anthony (Class of 2025) as student graduation speaker, and elected the following as faculty marshals: Yael Grushka-Cockayne and Shane Dikolli. The Part-Time MBA Class elected Aman Dar (Class of 2025) as student graduation speaker and Yael Grushka-Cockayne as faculty marshal.
Darden’s Academic Regalia Ceremony is scheduled for 17 May on Darden Grounds, and UVA’s Final Exercises ceremony including Darden is scheduled for 18 May on the Lawn.
Other spring awards include:
Full-Time MBA
- Club Prize for Excellence: Darden Disability Alliance (DDA), Entrepreneurship & Venture Capital Club (EVC), Darden Dance Club
- Innovation Award: Asian Business Club at Darden (ABCD); Honorable mention: Darden Disability Alliance and Improv Club
- Theo Herbert International Award: Franccesco Ormeno
- Kitty Smiley Friend of the Student Award: Gerri Nuevo
- Faculty Diversity Award: Dwai Roy
- Outstanding Faculty Award: Pnina Feldman
Executive MBA
- Transformational Faculty Award: Shane Dikolli
- Friend of the Student Award: Erin Colwell
Part-Time MBA
- Friend of the Student Award: Yael Grushka-Cockayne
- Transformational Faculty Award: Matt McBrady
Learn more about Darden graduation.
Class Pledge Campaigns Surpass Expectations
The Class of 2025 also celebrated the close of its class pledge campaigns, which invited students to make a symbolic commitment to future Darden students through annual giving.
The Executive MBA Class reached a milestone 100% participation rate — the first EMBA class to do so since 2016 — with all 120 students contributing $25 or more. The campaign raised $80,000, including 49 leadership-level pledges. Chairs Sara Smith and Maddie Peterson led the effort with support from a robust committee of classmates.
The Full-Time MBA Class achieved 88.6% participation, with 311 of 351 students making a pledge, totaling $77,854. Section E earned top honors in the section challenge, with 94% participation and $14,968 pledged. The campaign was led by chairs Cynthia Enaruna, Thomas Labatt, Amelie Li, Franccesco Ormeno, Ashutosh Pandey and Isaac Yassky, with support from a broad-based committee.
The University of Virginia Darden School of Business prepares responsible global leaders through unparalleled transformational learning experiences. Darden’s graduate degree programs (MBA, MSBA and Ph.D.) and Executive Education & Lifelong Learning programs offered by the Darden School Foundation set the stage for a lifetime of career advancement and impact. Darden’s top-ranked faculty, renowned for teaching excellence, inspires and shapes modern business leadership worldwide through research, thought leadership and business publishing. Darden has Grounds in Charlottesville, Virginia, and the Washington, D.C., area and a global community that includes 18,000 alumni in 90 countries. Darden was established in 1955 at the University of Virginia, a top public university founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1819 in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Press Contact
Molly Mitchell
Senior Associate Director, Editorial and Media Relations
Darden School of Business
University of Virginia
MitchellM@darden.virginia.edu