Author: Shannon Rinkinen

Scholarship Spotlight: Global Elite Bridge Scholarship

The Michigan Tech College of Business (COB) boasts more than 50 donor- and industry-sponsored scholarships reserved exclusively for new and returning business students. These awards are offered in addition to competitive, merit-, and need-based aid. For 2020-21, total scholarships and grants awarded to undergraduate students in the College of Business exceeded $4.6 million.

This month we highlight the Global Elite Bridge Scholarship.

For donor Peipei Zhao ’09, giving back to his alma mater was an easy decision, particularly when it helps students make connections. The Global Elite Bridge Scholarship, founded in 2020, is allocated for both undergraduates and graduate COB students with a global or international focus. Both domestic and international students are eligible for this renewable award. The inaugural recipient was Asriel Haines (management major with entrepreneurship concentration), who says it was an important factor in making MTU possible.
Asriel Haines
“Because of the Global Elite Bridge Scholarship I’ve been able to focus more on what I want to do for myself and my career. I’m going to be able to go far—not only because I want to—but because of all the support I’m getting,” says Haines.

The MTU esports competitor is also looking forward to taking on the broomball rink and the slopes of Mont Ripley.

Undergraduate recipients of the Global Elite Bridge Scholarship must earn a minimum 2.75 GPA, while graduate recipients must earn at least a 3.0. Questions related to the Global Elite Bridge Scholarship may be directed to business@mtu.edu.

About the College of Business
The Michigan Tech College of Business offers undergraduate majors in accounting, construction management, economics, engineering management, finance, management, management information systems, and marketing, as well as a general business option. Graduate degrees include the TechMBA®, a Master of Engineering Management, a Master of Science in Accounting, and a Master of Science in Applied Natural Resource Economics.


Dollar Tree CFO Visits Tech Accounting

The Michigan Tech accounting major and the Kappa Sigma Iota Club welcomed Kevin Wampler ’86 on September 27, 2021, as part of the College of Business Distinguished Guest Speakers Series. Mr. Wampler is the chief financial officer (CFO) of Dollar Tree Inc. Prior to joining Dollar Tree, he served as chief financial officer of The Finish Line, Inc. A certified public accountant, Wampler began his career at Ernst & Young after graduating from Michigan Tech.



First-year accounting and management dual major Jaylen Body was in attendance and he says that one of the takeaways he learned from Kevin’s presentation is to venture into different areas of a company to gain insight into what’s working—and what’s not. ”I learned the importance of seeking opportunities that’ll challenge me and benefit the company,” Body says.

While on campus, Wampler also paid Sheila Milligan’s ACC2000 Principles of Accounting class a visit where he emphasized the importance of lateral moves within a company. He described the impact data analytics can have on decision-making and he challenged students to develop solid people-management skills, which can dramatically impact career advancement. 

Wampler has served on the Indianapolis 500 Festival Board, as a trustee for the Norfolk Botanical Garden, and as a Boy Scouts of America leader, and was inducted into the School of Business and Economics Academy of Business in 2017. He also serves on the College of Business Dean’s Advisory Board and resides in Virginia Beach with his wife, Renee. Together they have two adult children.

About the College of Business
The Michigan Tech College of Business offers undergraduate majors in accounting, construction management, economics, engineering management, finance, management, management information systems, and marketing, as well as a general business option. Graduate degrees include the TechMBA®, a Master of Engineering Management, a Master of Science in Accounting, and a Master of Science in Applied Natural Resource Economics.

Brown Bag Research Seminar Series

The campus community is invited to hear Laura Connolly, assistant professor of economics, present ‘Labor Mobility and the Affordable Care Act: Heterogeneous Impacts of the Preexisting Conditions Provision,’ as part of our Brown Bag Research Seminar Series, Noon to 1 p.m. on Wednesday, September 29 in Academic Office Building room 101.

Laura Connolly

“The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) preexisting conditions provision ensures that insurance companies cannot deny coverage or charger higher premiums to individuals due to a prior health condition. We evaluate the impact of this provision on job mobility in the U.S. to determine whether the provision reduced job lock for individuals with chronic conditions. Our results highlight the heterogeneous impacts of the policy on different subgroups of the population. We find significant improvements in labor mobility among male household heads with prior health conditions, but no significant change in labor mobility among females. Declines in job lock are largest among families with children and household heads with relatively low levels of education. The results are consistent with the policy improving access to healthcare, and both mental and physical wellbeing, which ultimately increased labor market flexibility for some workers.”

About the College of Business
The Michigan Tech College of Business offers undergraduate majors in accounting, construction management, economics, engineering management, finance, management, management information systems, and marketing, as well as a general business option. Graduate degrees include the TechMBA®, a Master of Engineering Management, a Master of Science in Accounting, and a Master of Science in Applied Natural Resource Economics.

Branding Expert, Alumna Monica Hahn Visits Tech Marketing Students

Students members of the Michigan Tech chapter of the American Marketing Association (AMA) this week spent time with College of Business alumna, brand management expert, and entrepreneur Monica Hahn. After a successful career in marketing for well-known global brands, Hahn is now thriving as a franchisee with Elements MassageTM. Elements Massage is one of the largest retail massage franchises in North America. Hahn owns and operates two studios in the San Francisco Bay Area. 

Before joining the Elements family, Hahn spent several years as a brand strategy consultant and career coach, focused on inspiring brands and individuals to reach their potential. Before beginning her own practice, she was a respected senior executive for a number of large companies, including ARAMARK, Einstein Noah Restaurant Group, Burger King Corporation, and Whirlpool.  

Junhong “Jun” Min, faculty advisor to the AMA group, says that learning real-world marketing stories and examples is an essential feature of Marketing at Michigan Tech.

Monica’s passion for education and leadership development reaches outside her day job. For a decade, she was a board member for The Leadership Investment, a Denver-based nonprofit focused on advancing the collaborative power of women and men leading together. Since 2012, she has served on the Board of Directors for Asante Africa Foundation, a nonprofit working in East Africa to educate and empower the next generation of change agents, whose dreams and actions are transforming the future for Africa and the world. And through her work in Africa, she connected with the Michigan Tech Pavlis Honors College, and is a member of their External Advisory Board. Hahn has been a member of Michigan Tech’s Presidential Council of Alumnae since 2007. 

Vice president of AMA, Ryan Calkins, says that a key takeaway following Hahn’s presentation was that connecting with people is one of the most important aspects of brand management. And Jaxon Verhoff, president of AMA, adds: “It was really fulfilling to hear Monica discuss her experiences in marketing. Listening to her validated my decision to choose marketing as my major.”

In addition to the Bachelor of Science in Business Administration she earned at Michigan Tech, Hahn holds an MBA in marketing from Western Michigan University. She is passionate about food, travel, education and a healthy outdoor lifestyle, and resides in northern California with her husband.

About the College of Business
The Michigan Tech College of Business offers undergraduate majors in accounting, construction management, economics, engineering management, finance, management, management information systems, and marketing, as well as a general business option. Graduate degrees include the TechMBA®, a Master of Engineering Management, a Master of Science in Accounting, and a Master of Science in Applied Natural Resource Economics.

College of Business Welcomes Professor Tripti Singh

Tripti Singh is an assistant professor of management information systems (MIS) in the College of Business at Michigan Technological University.
Dr. Tripti Singh
Dr. Singh earned her Ph.D. in MIS from the University of Alabama. Before joining the doctoral program, Singh worked in clinical research at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She also holds a Master of Business Administration (Information Systems) and a Master of Public Health (Healthcare Organization and Policy) from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Singh is also a certified Project Management Professional and holds the Six Sigma Green Belt certification from the American Society of Quality.

Her research focuses on 1) cybersecurity, 2) healthcare information systems, and 3) information privacy. She focuses on the intersection of human behavior and security within the cybersecurity domain to understand information security policy (ISP) compliance issues. Singh also researches the role of security-related stress among cybersecurity professionals. Her work focuses on understanding the digital divide, adoption of healthcare technology, information privacy, and health information disclosure issues among patients in the healthcare domain.

About the College of Business
The Michigan Tech College of Business offers undergraduate majors in accounting, construction management, economics, engineering management, finance, management, management information systems, and marketing, as well as a general business option. Graduate degrees include the TechMBA®, a Master of Engineering Management, a Master of Science in Accounting, and a Master of Science in Applied Natural Resource Economics.