Biography: Samuel Sanchez is a third year Business Economics major from Riverside, California. Being a UCLA fan since childhood, Samuel enjoys being able to study everyday at his dream and school and always makes the most of any opportunity he can. He is currently the captain of the UCLA Track and Field club as well as a mentor of the UCLA Mentorship Program. Away from campus Samuel enjoys snowboarding, screenwriting, and playing music in two bands.

Future Plans: For the upcoming summer, Samuel will be participating in an economics work-study internship program in Prague, Czech Republic.  Being paired with a company for three months will allow him to gain hands-on experience and knowledge of real life scenarios that will allow his potential in the United States to skyrocket. With the experience gained during the internship, Samuel hopes to be able to join a sports front office and work every day in an environment that he loves.

What this scholarship means to me? Being able to be the recipient of such a generous blessing in the name of two wonderful people, Ralph and Shirley Shapiro, truly is an honor and a privilege. This scholarship is more than money to me, it is a sign that I am on a path filled with potential and that there are those out there who believe that I have the ability to make a difference, which is what I truly plan on doing. This award truly does give me the opportunity to make the difference I have always dreamed of making.

Biography: Jonathan Nourafshan is a third-year Business Economics major and aspiring Accounting minor. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Jonathan’s dream was always to attend UCLA. Having that opportunity, Jonathan dove into UCLA joining Tamid, an investing and consulting organization. Rising through the ranks from general member to Director of External Affairs, Jonathan now serves as the President of the UCLA Tamid Chapter.  With a natural fervor for numerical analysis and statistics, the accounting minor has offered Jonathan the unique opportunity to proficiently speak the  “financial language of business.” During this time, Jonathan’s horizons have expanded by taking classes in advanced and analytic accounting, business law, and corporate/partnership taxation, where Jonathan realized his passion for tax and law, and has thus taken on the position of External Operations Coordinator at VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance). In addition, Jonathan has humbly been elected as a teaching assistant with Professor Gordon Klein, specifically in his Corporate/Partnership tax class. Outside of the classroom, Jonathan enjoys skiing, learning new languages, cooking with family and friends, and most importantly is an avid UCLA sports fan.

Future Plans: With plans to pass his CPA exams before graduating from UCLA in a little under four years, Jonathan will be coupling his passion for tax with an internship at Deloitte’s tax practice in Los Angeles in the National Federal Tax Solutions team. Jonathan is considering reinforcing his eventual CPA with a law degree to master tax law and accounting and ultimately establish a vigorous foundation that can be utilized in all fields. As an Angelino, Jonathan strives to build a real estate portfolio to diminish the burdens of a housing crisis in Los Angeles utilizing his tax law foundation to do so.

What this scholarship means to me? I want to first thank the late, Mr. Donald Lipshutz for initially endowing this scholarship and I want to express my sincerest gratitude to Ms. Marugo for continuing to prop up this unique scholarship. Your generosity will allow me to make further use of the endless learning opportunities at UCLA and buttress my dedication to experiential learning. It is an absolute honor to be recognized for this award, which reflects the TrueBruin values that have been instilled into me during my time at UCLA

Biography: Akshat Mittal is a junior who is majoring in Business Economics with a minor in Data Science Engineering. He is a social impact entrepreneur from New Delhi, India and has scaled multiple social startups before. He launched and sold his first company at the age of 13 and has a passion for solving problems that impact millions of people. He is now working on a startup called FavorX to build the world’s largest favor exchange economy based on reciprocity. His father, a consultant by profession and an entrepreneur by heart, always taught him to choose the unorthodox, non-traditional, high-risk high-reward path in life and his mother, a teacher, always taught him the value of a good education. At UCLA, he has been an active member in business clubs like Sharpe Fellows, Ascend, and International Bruins in Business, and is also a board member on Bruin Entrepreneurs. He has also started dabbling in the blockchain VC industry recently, helping multiple funds with deal flow. Akshat is also very interested in Formula 1 and boxing and he loves going on hiking trips. He defines success as the ability to work hard every day, chasing a huge goal, and being exhausted before going to bed very night.

Future Plans: Akshat believes that his purpose in life is to work on startups and impact people by creating something meaningful. So, in order to gain more experience, he worked in various different fields of business. He has worked in accounting (KPMG in Summer ’21) and consulting (EY Parthenon in Summer ’22) earlier, and is now set to explore his passion for finance through an investment banking internship at J.P. Morgan in their tech investment banking team in San Francisco. Through these experiences, he aspires to learn the language of the corporates and wants to know how huge conglomerates are built and run so that he can use those learnings later in all other aspects of his life.

What this scholarship means to me? I am extremely grateful to the Harold R. Mortenson Endowed Scholarship Donor and the Economics department for this scholarship. As an international student with a high tuition fee and little to no other scholarships available, getting this scholarship proves that effort doesn’t go unnoticed. This scholarship has definitely helped in taking some financial burdens off me and my family and inspired me to work harder and give back to the UCLA community.

Biography: Geovanni Llerenas is a driven and passionate fourth-year Business Economics major at UCLA, with a double minor in Chicanx and Global Studies. As a first-generation college student from Los Angeles, Geovanni recognized early on that higher education was a pathway to fulfilling his dreams. His academic journey has been shaped by his lifelong fascination with business, which he has been fortunate enough to explore in depth during his time at UCLA. With a particular interest in data science, accounting, and game theory, Geovanni is always seeking new ways to challenge himself and expand his skill set. Beyond his academic pursuits, Geovanni enjoys staying active by hiking and exploring the city of Los Angeles, as well as nourishing his passion for entertainment by attending movie premieres and visiting theme parks.

Future Plans: In terms of career plans, Geovanni is excited about the prospect of working in data science, either within a company or as an independent consultant. Given this interest, Geovanni believes that pursuing internships in the field would be a great way to gain experience and build a network of connections. Additionally, considering law school could provide valuable skills and knowledge that could be applied to a career in data science. Furthermore, Geovanni is also passionate about real estate and sees it as a potential side hustle that could provide additional income and opportunities for personal and professional growth. Whatever path Geovanni ultimately chooses, he is confident in his ability to succeed and make a positive impact in his chosen field.

What this scholarship means to me? This scholarship has been of immense help to me as it has allowed me to take off some of the financial burden that comes with pursuing higher education. Additionally, it has also allowed me to immerse myself in my coursework without the added burden of financial stress. This scholarship means a great amount to me as it represents a belief in my potential and a recognition of the hard work that I’ve put in to get to the position that I am today. Knowing that someone else believes in me and is willing to invest in my future has been extremely empowering and has given me a newfound motivation to keep pushing for better. Therefore, I am extremely grateful for Donald Edward Bragg & Diane Sims Bragg for awarding me this scholarship and most importantly, believing in me.

Biography: Manav Kanoi is a 3^rd-year student at UCLA majoring in Business Economics and minoring in Accounting from the Anderson School of Management. Manav is an international student from Kolkata, India. He moved to the United States in 2021, amidst the Covid-19 pandemic to attend UCLA. On the UCLA campus he is actively involved in Club and Intramural Sports, honor societies and Greek life. Manav was selected as a William F. Sharpe Fellow for 2022, which is a designation given to top business undergraduates at UCLA. Over the past summer, Manav studied abroad at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), while traveling across the US and the UK. Some of Manav’s hobbies include playing Texas Hold’em and PLO Poker, watching and playing all sorts of sports including cricket, football (soccer), basketball, tennis & volleyball. He also enjoys traveling and hiking whenever he gets the opportunity!

Future plans: Currently, Manav is recruiting for Consulting roles and is further interested in Private Equity/VC firms due to his strong conceptual base of Economics and Finance. This summer he will be working at Ernst and Young’s Los Angeles office as a Business Consultant for the Enterprise Risk team. Within the next year he will be applying for Deferred MBA programs as he plans on completing his MBA within the next 5 to 7 years. In the longer term, Manav plans on developing a network and skillset suitable to start and run his own venture or expand his family business.

What this scholarship means to me? I am honored and grateful to receive the Harold R. Mortenson Endowed Scholarship award. As an international student it has been tough to find several scholarships and opportunities, that struggle makes this scholarship award special. This scholarship is extremely meaningful and helps me recognize and celebrate my hard work and efforts at UCLA and beyond. Additionally, I will be able to manage my finances better and I plan on using the funds to expand my knowledge and add capital to my investment portfolio, which has been a goal of mine in the past few years. I would like to thank the donors for showing faith in me!