Posted on February 21, 2018 by Joanna Carver
In celebration of this month’s Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, the UTSA College of Business awarded our faculty, staff and students with gold medals for their achievements.
Nominations were made by their peers, and 12 individuals were presented with inaugural College of Business gold medals this week. Recipients included individuals who were nominated for outstanding customer service, academic achievement, leadership and to those impacting students’ lives.
Students
- Lisa Cortinas, senior majoring in cyber security. Lisa is a transfer student from the Alamo Community Colleges. She was just selected to participate in the college’s Ireland immersion. She was recognized for being named to the Dean’s List in her first semester at UTSA.
-Monica Garcia, senior majoring in human resources. Monica is a student worker in the Business Studies Advising Center. She was the president of the Business Student Council and goes out of her way to help promote business student organizations on campus.
- Billy Nelson, junior majoring in marketing. Billy is active in several professional development and community service organizations. He participates in Junior Achievement, is the service chair for the Men of Honor Community and is the marketing chair for the Sanders Hand Organization.
- Yaritza Villarreal, junior majoring in international business. Yaritza was named the most well traveled business student. She participated in an immersion to Chile and completed a semester abroad in Germany last fall.
Faculty
- Nicole Beebe, Ph.D. ’07, Melvin Lachman Distinguished Professor and associate professor of cyber security. Nicole was nominated for providing outstanding mentoring to students. She provides both academic and career advice to our business students.
- Ron Sweet, MBA ’91, lecturer II in finance and advisor to the Investment Society. Changing the lives of finance students, Ron works tirelessly with the Investment Society and has created a microloan project in Costa Rica to help stimulate the economy.
- Ram Tripathi, professor of statistics and Ph.D. advisor. Ram is an excellent advisor who meets with prospective students, answers their questions, reviews their application materials and nurtures them through the entire admissions process.
Staff
- Brandon Davis, MS ’17, graduate business program coordinator. Brandon was selected for his energetic spirit and his ability to negotiate with vendors. He has a gusto for his job, and he shares that with prospective students.
- Bernadette Henderson, administrative associate II. Bernadette is responsible for administering and awarding 
College of Business scholarships. This year the college had more than 600 applicants. Her nominator said that the college would be a “dimmer” place without her in it.
- Kendall Johnson, academic advisor I. He was chosen as the best new academic advisor. He has mastered the art of advising and customer service.
- Aimee Laun, senior associate director of the Center for Student Professional Development. Aimee was chosen for her leadership. She finds ways to keep her team motivated, encouraged and inspired. And, she continually finds new ways of improving operations.
- Cheri McMaster, ’15, senior administrative associate. Cheri was selected for the excellent service that she provides to both accounting students and faculty. The nominator said that the college is “blessed” to have Cheri supporting our efforts.
Wendy Frost—
Please send your comments to: wendy.frost@utsa.edu
— Joanna Carver
