By late April, the academic year at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Business had entered its season of almost: almost finished with classes, almost ready for graduation, almost on to the next job, internship, trip or year of school.
Before that next step arrived, the school recognized nearly 70 students at its annual Departmental Awards ceremony on April 21, honoring academic achievement, leadership and service across its seven academic departments.
The honorees included Student of the Year and Distinguished Service Award recipients from each department, along with Dean’s Scholars, Snead Scholars and recipients of additional honors including the Ann G. and Barney Roland Freasier Sr. Tax Award and the Davis Ratliffe Insurance Award.
Before the ceremony, VCU Business spoke with six honorees about what the recognition meant, what others may not have seen and what comes after the applause.
Alexandria Davis | Senior | Student of the Year Award | Marketing
Alexandra Davis (B.S. ’26) arrived at the ceremony still processing the email that told her she had been named the Department of Marketing’s Student of the Year.
“I was like, ‘Is this another phishing email?’” she said.
It was not.
For Davis, who is graduating with a 4.0 GPA, the award came just weeks after she spoke at TEDxVCU about education and foster youth. The recognition, she said, made years of work feel visible in a new way.
“I don’t want to be the exception. I want to be the expectation,” said Davis. “Not only am I graduating, I’m also graduating with a 4.0 and being named Student of the Year. Like, that’s something totally different.”
What will she remember from the evening?
“It’s really just going to be a refreshment of everything that I’ve gone through,” Davis said. “All of the struggles that I’ve had coming back into education. It’s just going to be a rewarding moment.”
After graduation, Davis plans to pursue full-time work and eventually earn an M.B.A. She also is thinking about stability in a broader sense: a career, a family and a home of her own.
“I feel like I’m ready for the next step,” she said.
Fredericka Ohene | Junior | Dean’s Scholar
Fredericka Ohene (B.S. ’27) needed one word to describe how she felt that evening.
“Accomplished,” she said.
Ohene, a junior, was recognized as a Dean’s Scholar. The honor meant more, she said, because of what it took to maintain her academic standing during a difficult year.
“This semester, just this year overall, a lot has happened,” said Ohene. “So far, I’ve been able to kind of maintain it, and that’s something I’m really proud of.”
Asked to finish the sentence “Tonight feels like...,” Ohene did not need long. “A dream come true,” she said.
With one year left at VCU, Ohene is looking forward to continuing in leadership roles and spending her senior year with friends before graduation.
Kaia Fagan | Senior | Student of the Year and Distinguished Service Awards | Supply Chain Management and Analytics
Kaia Fagan (B.S. ’26) did not come to VCU expecting supply chain management to become her path.
“It seems so crazy to think that I didn’t even see myself in supply chain when I first came into school,” said Fagan. “And then once I did discover it, I fell in love with it.”
By senior year, Fagan had become fully involved in the department. She served in student leadership roles, worked on the Rams React project and balanced other commitments, including Alpha Kappa Psi and rugby.
At the ceremony, she received the Supply Chain Management Student of the Year and Distinguished Service Awards.
The sacrifice behind the recognition, she said, was time. “I don’t like doing anything halfheartedly, and that’s something that I try to live by,” said Fagan.
That time, she said, came back “tenfold,” through faculty support, research opportunities and help from mentors who helped connect her with professional opportunities.
Next, Fagan will move to Texas for a project management internship with Toyota. “I’ve never been to Texas,” she said. “I’m excited to just branch off and start a whole new chapter.”
Natalia Rooks | Senior | Student of the Year Award | Finance, Insurance and Real Estate
For Natalia Rooks (B.S. ’26), the award felt like validation.
Not only for the grades, but for the relationships built with faculty, getting to know people across the School of Business and holding herself to a standard higher than what was required.
“This award means to me validation for all the hours I spent working hard and making new connections and just building a community at VCU,” said Rooks. “I think it’s a recognition of my four years here and how involved I’ve been with the faculty and all the students.”
What did people probably not see?
“I think having real connections with faculty, like your support system, creating a support system and being harder on yourself than the requirement is,” said Rooks. “I think it’s also showing up.”
After graduation, Rooks said she is looking forward to the uncertainty.
“I do not know what I’m going to do,” she said, “but I know that I can go any way I want, and that’s exciting.”
Madison Silcox | Senior | Distinguished Service Award | Marketing
Madison Silcox (B.S. ’26) spent the past year and a half helping the VCU collegiate chapter of the American Marketing Association become more visible on campus.
As president of the student organization, Silcox worked to raise its profile and create more structure behind the scenes. There were hard nights, she said, when she thought about stepping away. Receiving the Department of Marketing’s Distinguished Service Award made those moments feel worth it.
“It’s not just going into the void,” said Silcox. “It’s actually being seen and admired and acknowledged, which means a lot, especially in a big school like VCU.”
Asked for one word to describe the evening, Silcox chose “unstoppable.”
After graduation, her immediate plan is a two-week road trip through New England.
Tyler Lin | Senior | Distinguished Service Award | Marketing
Tyler Lin (B.S. ’26) came to VCU unsure of where he wanted to go professionally. Four years later, the accounting major was receiving a marketing award.
“It means a lot from all the hard work coming into VCU with not really knowing where I want to go, especially getting a marketing award as an accounting major,” said Lin. “It shows that I’ve really put an impact to the students, to the whole School of Business.”
Lin described the evening in one word: “proud.” Then he added another phrase, “the final stretch,” he said.
After graduation, Lin will resume an internship at Freddie Mac as a single-family data analyst.
Before then, he plans to travel to Hawaii and celebrate his twin brother’s graduation from James Madison University.