He quickly learned just how many steps that takes.

As a quality engineer co-op, Coughenour is supporting the launch of ALTA Rounds, a new plastic-free coffee pod. Working with the quality team, he has contributed to product trials, data analysis and quality checks on the manufacturing floor.

“Being in the plant has shown me that a product launch is not just one big step, but a lot of smaller steps that all must come together,” Coughenour said.

He was drawn to the opportunity because it paired hands-on manufacturing experience with a product designed to reduce environmental impact.

“No week looked exactly the same as we prepared for the launch,” Coughenour said. “I collected samples and interpreted data during quality and R&D trials, led two associates at the end of the production line, and worked with outside companies to calibrate and test equipment.”

The experience also changed how he thinks about quality in manufacturing.

“Quality is not just about inspecting a final product,” Coughenour said. “It is about understanding the process, identifying opportunities for improvement and helping ensure consistency from start to finish.”

One of his most meaningful responsibilities was helping coordinate, establish and lead end-of-line quality checks. The work gave him a direct role in determining whether the product consistently met quality standards.

“I was trusted with a responsibility that directly tied into the quality of the product,” Coughenour said. “It helped me see how my work fit into the bigger picture of the ALTA Rounds launch.”

Coughenour also worked on improving the calibration process to make it more automated and efficient.

Together, those projects gave him hands-on experience in operations, problem-solving and production while showing him how much coordination goes into maintaining product quality.

The internship also helped clarify the kind of work he wants to pursue.

“I want to do work where I can see the impact of what I am doing,” Coughenour said. “Being at KDP has shown me that I enjoy the hands-on side of supply chain, especially when it involves operations, problem-solving and production.”

He also wants that work to contribute to environmental sustainability. Supporting the development of a plastic-free coffee pod showed him how supply chain and manufacturing roles can connect day-to-day operations with a broader purpose.

“Knowing that my work could contribute, even in a small way, to environmental sustainability gives me a greater sense of purpose and motivation,” he said.

His advice to other students is to stay open to unfamiliar work and bring consistent effort to the experience.

“Be open, persistent and dedicated,” Coughenour said. “Be open to asking questions and taking on new challenges. What you put into this experience is ultimately what you will get out of it.”

Kaitlyn Niestoeckel ’28, an accounting and public policy major in the Business Fellow and Odyssey Program, earned first place in the Project Run With It competition as part of a team composed of students from different universities. Together, the students completed a consulting project for a nonprofit organization in the Baltimore area. Niestoeckel will receive a plaque, and ������Ƶ’s Beta Alpha Psi chapter will receive a $1,000 award.

Izzy Butler ’28, an accounting and business analytics major in the Business Fellow Program, and Dylan Rogers ’27, an accounting major in ������Ƶ’s Accelerated 3+1 Business Dual-Degree Program, also represented ������Ƶ during the meeting’s Chapter Operations session, where they delivered a presentation to fellow Beta Alpha Psi members.

Patty Cox, assistant professor of accounting, serves as faculty adviser for and accompanied the students to the annual meeting.

Beta Alpha Psi is an international honor organization for students and professionals in accounting, finance and information systems.

“I wanted something that would challenge me even more,” Keicher said. “Something without the training wheels.”

His manager responded by turning over a raw-material sourcing project that had originally been part of his own workload. Keicher researched potential suppliers, analyzed sourcing options and developed a strategy that he later presented to senior leaders in supply chain management and engineering.

The project became one of the most meaningful parts of his internship.

“I asked for another project because I wanted to push myself,” Keicher said. “Being trusted with that level of responsibility gave me the chance to work through the strategy independently and present my recommendation to company leaders.”

The opportunity also connected Keicher with an interest that began years earlier. He took flight lessons throughout high school, developing an early passion for aviation and firsthand familiarity with the industry.

He soon realized, however, that “no one likes a creative pilot who wants to test the conventions of flight mid-air.”

Instead, Keicher found a place for that curiosity in aviation manufacturing.

“I love the aviation industry,” he said. “Nothing is cooler than being able to say you help build jets for a living.”

Keicher, a supply chain management and data analytics major from Sycamore, Ill., worked with Honda Aircraft’s procurement team at Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro, N.C.

His internship included production meetings, supplier visits and regular walks through the manufacturing floor. He learned more about sourcing strategy, the purchase-order life cycle and the role procurement plays in keeping aircraft production moving.

One of his first visits to the production floor gave him a closer look at Honda’s “go to the spot” philosophy. When a part had a quality issue, Keicher went directly to where it was being used and spoke with the technician working with it.

“I was able to understand what was wrong, why it was wrong and what information the supplier needed to fix the issue,” Keicher said.

The experience helped him see how procurement decisions connect to the work happening on the production floor and how communication among technicians, buyers and suppliers can help resolve problems.

Throughout the summer, Keicher contributed to projects involving sourcing, workload analysis, process improvement and employee training.

He helped develop a Power BI dashboard for the procurement team, created tools intended to streamline internal approval processes and documented procedures for onboarding new suppliers. He also led training sessions for incoming associates.

Keicher took the initiative to propose several updates to the company’s internship program. His recommendations included resources to help interns set goals with mentors, transfer knowledge to future interns and provide more useful feedback at the end of the experience.

The range of assignments allowed him to work across data analysis, supplier relationships and internal operations while seeing how each area supports a larger manufacturing process.

His coursework at the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business helped prepare him for projects that combined supply chain strategy with data analysis and communication.

In Introduction to Supply Chain Management with Coleman Rich, associate teaching professor of operations and supply chain management, Keicher learned tools including RACI matrices and critical path analysis. A course with Vinayaka Gude, assistant professor of business analytics, helped him strengthen his skills in data visualization, dashboard development and communicating findings clearly.

The internship confirmed Keicher’s interest in building a career in aerospace. It also reinforced the value of asking for the opportunities he wanted rather than waiting for them to appear.

“You have to ask the question,” Keicher said. “Ask for what you want the experience to be. That will define what you get to do.”

The program paired undergraduate students with faculty members to support AI-related projects across the school. Student fellows helped develop and deliver workshops, interview faculty and build materials for future courses and boot camps.

Sakura Kawakami ’26 worked with Scott Oakes, assistant teaching professor of management, and fellow students Julia Amodeo ‘26 and Katie Geraghty ’26 on workshops for Gateway classes.

The team visited eight classes and reached approximately 240 students through 20-minute sessions with hands-on exercises. The workshops introduced students to Gemini Pro, available through ������Ƶ, and focused on practical skills such as improving prompts through iteration and added context.

“The primary goal was to establish a baseline of AI fluency among Gateway students, who are primarily first-year business students,” Oakes said. “We also wanted to test whether a short, bootcamp-style training session could effectively introduce students to practical AI skills within a classroom setting.”

Faculty established the project’s overall objectives before the students joined. Kawakami, Amodeo and Geraghty then helped develop classroom activities, learning objectives, presentation materials, pre- and post-session surveys, and the rollout plan. The students also led the workshops and helped analyze the resulting data.

“My role as an AI Fellow was to act as a bridge between students and faculty, advising students on how to use AI to enhance their learning, not replace it,” said Kawakami, a Business Analytics and Project Management major from Rotorua, New Zealand. “The goal was to make sure students felt confident using these tools in ways that supported them.”

One focus was helping students understand that effective use of AI often requires refining a prompt rather than accepting the first response.

“One of our biggest teaching points was the importance of iteration when prompting AI,” Kawakami said. “By refining and tailoring your prompts to your own needs, you get far more accurate and useful responses.”

Oakes said the student fellows strengthened the project by bringing their own experiences with AI into the classroom.

“Peer-to-peer learning is incredibly powerful,” he said. “First-year students often feel more comfortable asking questions and exploring new technologies when they see successful upper-level students demonstrating how they actually use those tools.”

Another team worked with Kem Zhang, associate professor of business analytics, on projects designed to support more advanced AI use in business courses.

Thomas Case ’26, a supply chain management and business analytics major from Atlanta, G.A. and Oliver Lorraine ’27, a project management and business analytics major from Red Bank, N.J. gathered input from faculty and developed materials for future workshops. One project focused on Associate Professor David Jiang’s, Bring the Venture to Life entrepreneurship course, where students develop and launch venture ideas.

Based on the needs identified for the course, the team created materials for an “AI-powered entrepreneurship” workshop covering topics such as prompting for code, e-commerce, payment integration and deployment.

Case led the workshop design and drafted presentation materials. Lorraine documented the development process and built reusable coding templates for future workshops and boot camps.

“The transition from AI users to AI builders or AI architects is an important distinction because knowing how to use a tool generally is much different than knowing how to use a tool to innovate,” said Case.

Lorraine also created Google Colab notebooks with coding templates for future use.

Zhang said the goal is to help students move beyond basic familiarity with AI tools.

“For business students, knowing how to use an AI tool is expected,” Zhang said. “The real advantage comes when they understand how these tools can be used in problem solving and to create concrete, AI-based solutions.”

Several projects from the spring semester are expected to continue during the 2026-27 academic year, including the entrepreneurship workshop, an AI Boot Camp for incoming students and additional work on AI integration.

The spring 2026 AI Student Fellows were Brandon Boudreau ‘27, Thomas Case ‘26, Oliver Lorraine ‘27, Dylan Stone ‘28, Julia Amodeo ‘26, Sakura Kawakami ‘26, Lindsay Balick ‘27, Katie Geraghty ‘26, Katrina Papierman ’26 and Tristan D’Adamo ‘28.

She has had plenty of opportunities to find out.

As a commercial sales operations intern with Labcorp’s Southeast Division team in Tampa, Fla., Green has worked on projects involving client communication, sales data, finance and presentations. No two assignments have looked exactly the same, which has become one of her favorite parts of the experience.

“I’ve had the opportunity to try a little bit of everything, in both finance and sales, which has helped me discover what I enjoy and what I want to continue exploring,” Green said.

Green was drawn to Labcorp by its mission to improve health and improve lives. She saw the internship as a chance to gain corporate experience while contributing to a company whose work has a direct impact on others.

Throughout the summer, she worked on multiple projects. Some required her to reach out to clients and gather information. Others involved analyzing sales data, creating graphs and tables, and presenting her findings in a way that could help leaders better understand performance.

One assignment challenged Green to make sense of a spreadsheet containing thousands of data points. She built pivot tables to organize the information, identify relevant patterns and answer specific business questions.

“At first, the volume of data felt overwhelming, but working through it taught me how to organize complex information and use it to answer specific business questions,” Green said.

The experience strengthened more than her technical Excel skills. It showed her how analysts determine what information matters, identify patterns and present their findings in a way that can guide decisions.

“The project helped me understand how data analysis turns a large amount of information into insights that can support business decisions,” she said.

Another project required Green to translate large amounts of sales data into graphs and tables that leaders could review quickly and use to assess performance.

“It was rewarding to create something that helped make the data more accessible and gave leaders a clearer view of where the team stood,” Green said. “The experience showed me how important it is not only to analyze information, but also to present it in a way that supports decision-making.”

The range of assignments has helped Green build technical skills while also learning more about the kind of work that interests her. She has enjoyed moving between data analysis, problem-solving and collaboration with colleagues across different areas of the business.

Although she has not settled on a specific career path, the internship has clarified what she wants her future work to involve.

“I want to pursue a career where I can use data to solve problems, contribute to business decisions and do work that has a meaningful impact,” Green said.

Green credits her ������Ƶ coursework and professors with helping her arrive prepared to contribute. She specifically recognized professors Feng Dong, Brandon Sheridan, Julie Swanner, Lakeisha Vance and Drew Peabody for helping her build the knowledge and confidence she has relied on throughout the summer.

“Looking back, every class I have taken at ������Ƶ has helped me in one way or another, whether I realized it at the time or not,” Green said. “They gave me the foundation and confidence I needed to walk into my internship ready to learn, contribute and make the most of every opportunity.”

Her days are full. As a member of the ������Ƶ women’s soccer team, Green is often up around 5:45 a.m. for practice before beginning her workday. But between the early mornings, new software and varied assignments, she has learned the value of remaining curious and open to unfamiliar work.

Her advice to other Love School of Business students is to ask questions and take advantage of opportunities outside their comfort zones.

“Every opportunity is a chance to learn something new,” Green said, “and you never know what experience might end up shaping your future career.”

The Love School of Business is one of 208 schools included on the unranked annual list, which is based on surveys of business school administrators and MBA students.

The program earned its for faculty teaching and availability. Students gave ������Ƶ a 97 for the quality of its professors as teachers and a 96 for faculty accessibility outside the classroom.

“Our faculty set a high standard for teaching while remaining deeply invested in each student’s success,” said Haya Ajjan, dean of the Love School of Business. “They bring strong academic and professional experience into the classroom, challenge students to grow and make themselves available beyond class. That combination is central to the ������Ƶ MBA experience.”

The Princeton Review selected the programs using data collected in 2025–26 from administrators at 245 schools offering on-campus MBA programs and more than 24,250 students. More than 60 data points were considered, including academics, faculty, career services, technology, campus life and student satisfaction.

The Princeton Review’s of the Love School of Business highlights the MBA program’s flexible format, small class sizes and supportive environment. Students surveyed for the profile praised the program’s leadership focus, accessible professors and options for working professionals.

Students also noted that professors are willing to meet outside class and bring professional experience into their courses.

About the MBA program

The Master of Business Administration program is designed for professionals who want to strengthen their business knowledge and leadership skills while continuing to work.

The program offers full- and part-time options, small classes and close access to faculty. Students also receive advising and career support throughout the program.

Applications are reviewed throughout the year for fall, winter and spring enrollment.

The case, “” focuses on Grupo Los Danzantes as the company considers whether to launch a lower-cost mezcal line to remain competitive in an increasingly crowded global spirits market.

The proposed line, Encantado, could help the company reach broader international audiences and respond to distributor needs. But the move also raises questions about whether expansion could weaken the brand’s artisanal identity, cultural mission and long-standing relationships with producers.

The case asks students to weigh the strategic, operational and cultural trade-offs of growth within a mission-centered organization. Students must consider whether Destileria Los Danzantes should pursue category expansion or preserve its differentiated identity amid industry pressures.

The case was published by Harvard Business School through Harvard Business Publishing with co-authors James Riley and David G. Fubini at Harvard Business School and Bernal Cortes.

Harvard Business Publishing case studies are used by business educators to bring real-world decision-making into undergraduate, MBA and executive education programs.

Cerecedo Lopez joined ������Ƶ in Fall 2024. Lopez’s teaching and research focus on organizational theory, entrepreneurship and strategy, with particular interest in how individuals make decisions under uncertainty.

The research, “” looks at how perceptions of inclusion and acceptance in residential communities carry into the workplace.

Using survey responses from 151 employees at a U.S.-based manufacturing company, the researchers found that employees who viewed their communities as more inclusive reported greater psychological safety at work. That sense of psychological safety not only inspires the confidence to express the one’s true self at work but is also linked to a stronger intent to stay with their organization.

Key findings:

• Community experiences carry into the workplace. Employees who perceived their communities as more inclusive reported greater psychological safety at work.
• Psychological safety is linked to retention. Employees who felt psychologically safe reported stronger intent to stay.
• Support from inclusive communities may also help when workplaces are perceived as less supportive. The connection between community inclusion and psychological safety was strongest among employees who viewed their organization’s diversity climate as less supportive.

The research is also part of discussions in Singh’s Organizational Behavior and DEI courses at ������Ƶ.

“It serves as a great way to help students understand that employees’ perceptions regarding organizational culture and inclusion are not confined to the workplace alone but are shaped by larger societal contexts,” Singh said. “I incorporate these discussions in my classroom to encourage students to think about how leaders can create psychologically safe environments and how organizations can engage with communities to support inclusion and employee retention.”

The study was co-authored with Sarthak Singh of Sheldon B. Lubar College of Business at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and T.T. Selvarajan of the College of Business and Economics at California State University, East Bay and published in Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal.

Singh, who joined ������Ƶ in 2017, teaches courses in organizational behavior, human resource management and business ethics. His research has appeared in leading journals, including the Journal of Organizational Behavior, the Journal of Business Ethics and Human Resource Management.

The co-authored article, “,” looks at entrepreneurship beyond traditional business measures such as profit, growth and market opportunity.

It asks how religious beliefs and practices may shape the way entrepreneurs understand risk, make decisions, build organizations and define success. The research also considers how entrepreneurship may affect religious organizations and communities, making the relationship more complex than religion simply influencing business.

Key Highlights:

• Religion may shape entrepreneurship at multiple points, from how entrepreneurs recognize opportunities and judge risk to how they seek funding, respond to uncertainty and define success.
• Different religious traditions and practices may influence entrepreneurs in different ways. The article notes research connected to Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Confucianism, Judaism and other traditions, while cautioning that religion should not be treated as one single influence. Religious practice can also vary within the same religion.
• The article introduces a framework showing how religious beliefs and practices may overlap with entrepreneurial thinking and action. Religious beliefs may shape how entrepreneurs think about opportunity, while religious practices may shape how they build relationships, access resources or run organizations.
• The relationship may work both ways. Religion may shape entrepreneurship, but entrepreneurship may also shape religious organizations, practices and communities.
• Future research could look more closely at how religious entrepreneurs measure success beyond profit, including financial, social, psychological and spiritual outcomes.

“This research helps students think more carefully about how religion and faith can shape entrepreneurs’ motivations, decisions, relationships and definitions of success,” said Cerecedo Lopez. “That is especially relevant for students in the inaugural Love School of Business Summer Business Institute, who are serving as consultants for Hustle USA, a non-denominational, faith-based entrepreneurial support organization launching in Charlotte.”

The article was published in Entrepreneurship & Regional Development with co-authors Chris Welter and Brett Smith at Miami University Ohio, Amanda Lawson at the University of Cincinnati and David Townsend at Virginia Tech.

Cerecedo Lopez joined ������Ƶ in Fall 2024. Lopez’s teaching and research focus on organizational theory, entrepreneurship and strategy, with particular interest in how individuals make decisions under uncertainty.

That question brought together students, professionals, community members and local government leaders for the Charlotte Decision Challenge, hosted through ������Ƶ’s Master of Science in Business Analytics Flex program in partnership with the City of Charlotte.

Guided throughout the day by Lakeisha Vance, assistant teaching professor of business analytics, and Vinayaka Gude, assistant professor of business analytics, participants worked in teams using real data and a custom analytics platform to explore potential impacts along the proposed Red Line corridor and develop recommendations aimed at supporting businesses and communities as growth continues across the region.

“One of the strengths of the MSBA Flex program is the opportunity to bring together industry partners, community leaders and learners from a variety of backgrounds to tackle real challenges,” said Mark Kurt, associate dean of curriculum and academic programming at the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business. “Partnerships like this allow us to apply analytics in ways that extend beyond the classroom and support the communities we serve.”

For city leaders, the challenge offered an opportunity to bring new voices into conversations that will help shape Charlotte’s future.

“As city leaders, we have to constantly ask ourselves who’s not here and who’s impacted by the decisions we’re making,” said Charlitta Hatch, deputy chief information officer and chief data and analytics officer for the City of Charlotte. “Bringing students, professionals and community members into that process helps us see challenges from new perspectives.”

Between July 2024 and July 2025, Charlotte added more residents than any other city in the nation.  Transportation infrastructure will play an important role in supporting that growth. As city leaders look toward future transit investments, they are also looking closely at lessons learned from previous transit projects and how those experiences can inform future decisions.

The proposed Red Line will bring commuter rail service to communities north of Charlotte, including Huntersville, Cornelius and Davidson. Throughout the challenge, participants looked to experiences from Charlotte’s existing Blue Line light rail system and explored themes including business ownership, entrepreneurship and economic mobility.

For Jackie Tynan, data analytics manager for the City of Charlotte, that combination of perspectives is exactly what makes partnerships like this valuable.

“The students here today are a different generation than those in leadership making the decisions,” Tynan said. “By including the voices of our future in the decisions, we can build stronger outcomes that reflect what matters most to them and better prepare them for what’s ahead. ”

Hatch described universities as “community think tanks” and emphasized the value of collaboration between higher education and local government.

“The partnerships are critical because we are limited in what we know and what we can do,” Hatch said. “The breadth that you have, from researchers to practitioners to emerging talent, really helps us make sure we are recommending the best solutions for our community.”

By the end of the event, participants had transformed publicly available data into recommendations for one of Charlotte’s most important future infrastructure projects, demonstrating the role collaboration can play in shaping stronger communities.

“It makes me hopeful about what a larger group can do over a longer period of time,” Tynan said.