11 Women Earn FWSF Scholarships in 2015

Pratiksha Ahuja is a MBA candidate with a focus in Finance at the Lorry I. Lokey Graduate School of Business, Mills College. Born and raised in India, Pratiksha received two Bachelor’s degrees from UC Berkeley, where she also led stress-management and personal-development seminars for students. Post graduation, Pratiksha worked as a research administrator at the University. Her career goal is to become a CFO and establish an organization that provides a community for diverse women to grow their own businesses. Pratiksha serves as a board member on Net Impact and actively volunteers with non-profit organizations, such as the International Association for Human Values and the Art of Living Foundation, that focus on women empowerment and provide self-development tools to communities.

Morgana Davids is an MBA candidate at the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business. At Haas, Morgana is a Forte Fellow and the sole recipient of the C.J. White Fellowship in Finance. She serves as Co-President of the Investment Club, Co-Chair of the Women in Leadership Annual Conference, and a Principal of the Socially Responsible Investment Fund. After graduating with a B.A. from Barnard College of Columbia University in New York, Morgana worked as an Investment Analyst at a community development financial institution that invests in the healthcare space. Morgana is a longtime member of P.E.O. International, a philanthropic organization focused on the advancement of women through education. Morgana will be completing her MBA internship as a Summer Investment Associate with Prudential Capital Group.

Ruoyi Fang was born in China and came to the United States to pursue a college degree. She graduated from UC Berkeley when she was only 20 years old. During her time at college, Ruoyi interned with both Deloitte and PricewaterhouseCoopers in their Audit practice. Ruoyi also started a consulting business to help international students with their college applications. Ruoyi is currently pursuing a Masters degree in Accountancy at Golden Gate University. She is the Vice President of Golden Gate University Accounting Club and a member of CALCPA. In the Fall, Ruoyi will work in San Francisco at Deloitte. Her career goal is to become a licensed CPA and a manager at Deloitte within five years.

Kimberly is the eldest of three siblings, all UC Berkeley graduates, and an MBA candidate at Lorry I. Lokey Graduate School of Business, Mills College with dual concentration in finance and marketing. She plans to join forces with her siblings to start a consulting firm which provides financial literacy and planning for young women of color, as well as a scholarship foundation to assist low-income, first-generation, and undocumented students finance their education. Currently, Kimberly is a Renewable Energy Project Manager for Pacific Gas and Electric Company. She manages several project teams working to ensure compliance with California’s renewable energy program. She is the mother of an energetic two-year old and dreams of one day 
returning to Durban, South Africa for gumboot dancing.

Mina Shankar is a Master of Financial Engineering candidate at the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business where she was elected as the first female president of the Financial Engineering Student Association. Previously, Mina worked as a fixed-income analyst at Schroder Investment Management. In her role, she introduced quantitative tools to support new-issue analysis and industry reviews, and passed all three CFA exams. Mina plans to hold an investment role after graduation and aspires long-term to pioneer the use of Big Data in finance. She grew up in Chicago and received a B.A. in Economics and Statistics from Northwestern University, successfully graduating a year ahead of her peers. Mina is very passionate about world cultures — she dreams of working in London and studies Mandarin in her spare time (ni hao!).

Arriel Sherman was raised in Richmond, California. As a child, teachers recognized her potential and nominated her for the Making Waves Education Program. The program was instrumental in her success and enabled her to complete two undergraduate degrees at CSU, Long Beach. Arriel received accolades from the Golden Key International Honor Society, Who's Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges, National Dean's List, and CSULB’s President's Honor List and Dean's List. She volunteers with the SF-Marin Food Bank, Special Olympics, and Women’s Initiative for Self-Employment. Arriel works at PubMatic as a Revenue & Billing Analyst while pursuing an MBA at the University of San Francisco. She plans to become a CFO and a board member of a non-profit that serves underprivileged youth.

Ami Thomas is currently a graduate student at Dominican University where she is pursuing a dual concentration in Strategic Leadership and Global Business. Having worked in the finance industry for over seven years, she plans to pursue a career in International Finance and Global Risk. Ami holds three licenses in addition to the Accredited Asset Management Specialist (AAMS) designation and plans to sit for the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) exam in December. Throughout her career, Ami has remained committed to community empowerment. At her local church, Ami volunteers her time and expertise to assist young women in the development of major concepts such as identity and self-esteem.

Jing Ye was born in Shanghai and moved to Singapore early in life. Jing studied finance, earned her diploma in Business and Accountancy, a degree in Accounting, and completed ACCA second level. In Singapore, she served as a Senior Finance Manager at an asset management company. Jing is now pursuing her MBA at the University of San Francisco where she serves as Graduate Business Association VP of Finance and Net Impact Treasurer. She also actively participates in various USF community events. Her aspiration is to become a CFO of a multinational company. A passionate runner, Jing has participated twice in the Great Eastern Women’s Run in Singapore. She is an avid traveler and has visited over 30 countries in 3 continents.

Sarah Wang is pursuing her MBA at the Stanford Graduate School of Business where she serves as the Co-President of Stanford Women in Management, the Venture Capital Club, and the Epicureans. She is an Arbuckle Leadership Fellow and Impact Investing Labs Fellow. Prior to GSB, Sarah graduated from Harvard Phi Beta Kappa with a degree in Economics and Chinese. After Harvard, she joined the Fixed Income Derivatives trading desk at Morgan Stanley. She then moved to The Boston Consulting Group and led early-stage diligence of small business lending start-ups. This summer, she will intern as an investment analyst at DCM Ventures. Sarah is passionate about health and wellness and volunteers in food advocacy for the Center for Ecoliteracy. One day, she hopes to start her own investment fund to finance and advise female entrepreneurs in the health and wellness industry.

Kayla Nicole Dean is an undergraduate at the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business, majoring in Business Administration and minoring in Global Poverty and Practice with a focus on refugee students. She is a first-generation, self-financed student who manages multiple jobs to fund her education. As a college sophomore, Kayla landed an equity research internship at Credit Suisse in New York through the Doug Paul Program. This experience fueled her passion for finance and, in the summer, she will work at Credit Suisse in the Financial Sponsors Group. Eventually, she would like to have her own private equity firm and spearhead a network of charter schools focused on STEM fields in underprivileged communities.

Mekedelawit Yilma is the first person from her high school to be selected to attend college in the United States. She is currently pursuing a business degree at the Dominican University and is seeking a dual concentration in finance and accounting with a math minor. With this education, Mekdi plans to start her own venture capital firm in the Bay Area. While at Dominican, Mekdi has received recognition on the Dean’s List and, for three consecutive years, the prestigious Trustee Scholarship. Mekdi utilized her leadership skills in the community as Co-President of the student Rotary Club. She also serves as an active member of the Dominican Accounting and Finance Association. Her professional experience includes interning at a CPA tax firm, a private-equity firm, and she has recently secured a position at a local asset management company.