2020 Ralph and Shirley Shapiro Scholarship Recipient

 

Biography: Gautham Pasupathy is a third-year student at UCLA. Gautham was born and raised in the Bay Area, and came down to Los Angeles to study Business Economics. Gautham enjoys studying at UCLA, and really enjoyed courses such as business law and accounting. Within UCLA, Gautham is involved in multiple organizations, such as Bruin Asset Management, Bruin Ventures, and the Indian Student Union. Outside of UCLA, Gautham enjoys hanging out with his friends, playing poker, and watching movies.

Future Plans: Gautham plans to intern in the field of finance this sumer. He is excited to collect a plethora of experience across the financial services industry, and wants to continue gaining more experience in as many ways as possible. Gautham is not fully sure what he wants to do in the long term; he does have an interest in public accounting and the financial services industry, but wants to explore all of his options.

What does this scholarship mean to me? I am really grateful to have been given this opportunity, and it really means a lot to me. I am very excited that I was awarded this scholarship, and I want to thank the Economics Department and the donors of the Ralph and Shirley Shapiro Scholarship once again. I will be able to put this money to good use in covering part of the cost of attendance at UCLA, which is something that I am very appreciative of.

2020 John J. Peterson Scholarship Recipient

 

Biography:  Nehariika Kakkar is a third-year Business Economics major with a minor in Statistics. At UCLA, Nehariika serves as the President of Bruin Women in Business, one of UCLA’s largest business organizations with a mission to empower the next generation of female leaders. Nehariika also serves as the Internal Vice President of 180 Degrees Consulting and as a Senior Consultant at Bruin Consulting. Beyond campus involvements, Nehariika has completed internships in various fields, including digital marketing, business development, product management, and data analytics. Outside of her academic and work commitments, Nehariika enjoys veganizing old family recipes, practicing yoga, and chocolate making.

Future plans:  Nehariika has accepted an offer to intern in consulting this summer. She is excited to begin working at Bain & Company as an Associate Consultant Intern in the firm’s Los Angeles office. Nehariika also plans to pursue an MBA to build upon her undergraduate business curriculum.

What does the scholarship mean to me?  I am incredibly grateful to have received the John J. Peterson Scholarship. I would like to extend a sincere thank you to the donors of the scholarship and the department. This scholarship will help to reduce my financial burden and allow me to focus on pursuing my subsequent academic and professional endeavors. I am eagerly looking forward to this next chapter.

2020 Harold R. Mortenson Endowed Scholarship Fund Recipient

 

Biography: Aileen Shen is a third-year student majoring in Business Economics and minoring in Accounting. She was born and raised in the Bay Area. At UCLA, she has held leadership positions in Beta Alpha Psi and Net Impact. Despite being in a virtual environment, she has found ways to look for a silver lining; she treasures the time she is able to spend with her grandparents at home.

Future: This past summer, she had the opportunity to work as an FP&A Intern at Intel where she gained valuable experience working closely with the finance team. Upon graduation, Aileen will be pursuing a career in consulting in San Francisco. After a few years of work experience, she hopes to pursue an MBA.

What does this scholarship mean to me? I am incredibly grateful to be honored as the recipient of the Harold R. Mortenson Endowed Scholarship Fund award recipient for the 2020-2021 academic year. I realize the challenges of this year have been tremendous for so many of us, and I do not take this scholarship for granted. I’m extremely humbled by this recognition, and I thank the donors of the Harold R. Mortenson Endowed Scholarship Fund.

2020 Venu and Ana Kotamraju Endowed Scholarship Fund Award Recipient

 

Biography: Iris(Shuqing) Liu is a second-year student at UCLA, pursuing a double degree in Economics and Communication. She is also an international student from Xi’an, China. Before coming to UCLA, she studied in Singapore under a scholarship for four years. She is passionate about creating real impacts on society through business and research. As an After-COVID study intern at the Center for the Digital future, she is working on a project about the long-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on people’s lifestyles. On Campus, she is also a project manager in the Undergraduate Economics Society, helping small businesses in Westwood amid the pandemic through a non-profit consulting project. During her free time, she enjoys doing photography, studying films, and playing the ukulele.

Future plans: During her remaining years at UCLA, Iris plans to work on a research project in areas of interest such as economic problems in educational inequality. She also hopes to intern in a management consulting company to apply her skills and make a substantial impact on businesses. After graduating from UCLA, Iris aspires to work as a management consultant and pursue her advanced degree in Economics or MBA after a few years of work experience.

What does the scholarship mean to me? I am greatly honored to receive the Venu and Ana Kotamraju Endowed Scholarship Fund and deeply grateful for the generosity of Mr. and Mrs. Kotamraju. This award has motivated me to achieve greater heights in my remaining years at UCLA and continue to pursue my dream. I hope to contribute more to the UCLA student body in all my works and hope that I will be able to support more students like me in the future as Mr. and Mrs. Kotamraju has graciously done

2020 Donald Edward Bragg & Diane Sims Bragg Scholarship Recipient

 

Biography: Aneri Patel is a third-year Business Economics major with a minor in Entrepreneurship from Sacramento, CA. Inspired at a young age to embrace an entrepreneurial spirit, she knew that she wanted to pursue a career which combined creative business problem-solving and the future of technology. Aneri firmly believes that technological innovation can be used to solve some of the world’s most pressing social issues. At UCLA, Aneri serves as the President of Bruin Ventures, UCLA’s premiere venture capital organization, and as a Board Member on Nova, an organization that builds technical solutions for nonprofits. Previously, she has interned at a VC firm and a digital health innovation center.

Outside of her leadership involvements, Aneri dedicates her time to Bruin Entrepreneurs and 180 Degrees Consulting to inspire UCLA students to pursue their own entrepreneurial ventures and use their professional skill sets to give back to the community.

 

Future Plans: This summer, Aneri will be interning at Adobe as a Solutions Consultant Analyst Intern to help guide digital transformation strategy for Adobe’s clients. After graduation, she hopes to pursue a career in strategy consulting, focusing on international development, healthcare, or technology. In the long-term, she hopes to apply the entrepreneurial knowledge she has gained throughout college to create her own digital health startup or become a partner at an internationally-focused impact investing fund.

 

What does this scholarship mean to me? I am really grateful and humbled to receive the Donald Edward Bragg & Diane Sims Bragg Scholarship. At UCLA, the support for entrepreneurial initiatives and risk-taking mindsets is sometimes overlooked and undervalued. By receiving this scholarship and understanding how appreciative the Bragg family is of entrepreneurship, I have further strengthened my desire to be a voice for the entrepreneurial community at UCLA and use my business knowledge to improve the quality of life for countless individuals. Throughout my life, I will strive to be a thought-leader in the social entrepreneurship sphere and do my best to represent the Bragg family, the Economics Department, and UCLA.