First Class

In May, Rice Business welcomed its first 60 undergraduate business majors into the alumni ranks, marking a milestone on the journey that started in 2021 when the business school, under the leadership of Peter Rodriguez, launched the degree. Since then, the major has become one of the fastest-growing at Rice. Here is a brief look at just a few of the talented students who claimed their spot in that first cohort.

Meet the Undergrads

Speaker of the Class

Ask Abhinav Gorjala’s friends about him, and they’ll tell you about his love of pizza, Whataburger and the Rice Club Basketball team. They might also share the fact he was a big part of McMurtry College (“objectively the best,” he says). And of course, there’s the fact that he was chosen to represent the Class of 2024 as its student speaker at May Commencement.

Gorjala coupled his business degree with a minor in Spanish and Portuguese, setting himself up for the global business world as a private equity analyst with Vista Equity Partners this summer. It’s an ideal position for a student who used his time at Rice to intern as an investment analyst with Rice Management Company. He also served as president and chief investment officer for the Rice Undergraduate Investment Fund and in various roles with Rice Business Society.

Gorjala has an entrepreneurial spirit, so he joined Rice Venture Fund, the university’s first student-run venture fund, with initial fundraising efforts reaching the $300,000 mark.

Investing the Time

Every Sunday night during his junior and senior years, Austin Cox helped host the Investment Banking Bootcamp for Rice students who are interested in investment banking and other related finance careers. Cox and his fellow bootcamp board members — all founders — would teach younger students what they know and bring alumni back to share their insider knowledge. He hopes the bootcamp continues now that he is working at JP Morgan in Houston.

When the new business major was announced in his first year, Cox was knee-deep in math theory and economics, but the new major appealed to him on a practical level. In business courses, he got to branch beyond theory. In his sophomore year, he joined the first class of undergraduate business majors.

“It was the best decision I ever made,” he says.

Between his roles on the board his junior and senior years, when he was head of finance, and his role with the Rice Undergraduate Investment Fund, where he became a senior analyst, his peers thought Cox made a good decision, too: They nominated him — and a committee ultimately honored him — with The Rise@Rice Sen Social Pioneer Prize, which celebrates a student who embodies the highest standards of leadership, compassion and collaboration within the business school community.

Change of Course

Marissa Giangiorgi, an active Baker College student and member of the dance team, had a plan: She would attend Rice as a pre-med student and go on to medical school after graduation. As a third-generation Rice student, she was familiar with campus and was especially attracted to its proximity to the health center. She was MCAT-ready, but, she admits, the launch of the business major sent her down a different path.

Many reasons went into Giangiorgi’s decision to switch course, but one of them was her Financial Statement Analysis class. “I love how the numbers tell the story of a business or organization,” she says. “That class solidified for me that I was making the right decision.” Even as a business major, Giangiorgi still kept an eye on the possibility of medical school, but as she started the job hunt, she told herself that if she found a job that excited her more than medical school, she would jump ship. That chance came when GE Healthcare’s Financial Management Development Program offered her a spot, and Giangiorgi abandoned the idea of medical school and enrolled. Today, she is working through the program exploring several tracks in the business of healthcare, including finance, controllership and supply chain management.

The Next Big Thing

As a business student, Jeremy Ghatan approached his professor in Advanced Strategic Management and asked for the harshest feedback the faculty member could muster. Ghatan consistently put himself out there: for example, when he took Leadership and Teams (he didn’t feel like much of a leader at the time) or when he reached out to James Hurley, Rice’s associate vice pesident of advancement, and asked for speaking opportunities. Next thing he knew, he was introducing President Reginald DesRoches at alumni events. As a student, Ghatan wanted to take advantage of the opportunities in front of him, including the chance to study abroad at the London School of Economics his junior year, even working part time the previous summer as a tour liaison with the Chelsea Football Club. His ultimate goal? The soft skills these experiences would give him. “Anyone can learn how to balance a budget sheet,” says Ghatan. “But it’s just as important to be able to communicate.”

Today Ghatan is a strategy analyst with AT&T after serving as an intern for the company his senior year.

On the Go

As Jordan Billups geared up to graduate with the first class of business majors at Rice, she was offered the opportunity to work in a 20-month rotational management program with Pon Holdings North America. Her first stop: indiGO Auto Group, a luxury car company that supports 12 brands, including Porsche, McLaren and Aston Martin.

Now, Billups will be the first to tell you that she’s “not a car person,” but she is excited about the work she’ll be doing at indiGO, exploring concepts for a loyalty program. Car person or not, the role is a great fit for Billups, who, prior to declaring the business major, had been studying cognitive psychology at Rice. Many of these customers, she says, have been thinking about this car purchase since they were children collecting calendars from the local dealership. “I love to think about what makes people work,” she says, “and why they think what they think.”

At Rice, Billups was a part of Women in Finance and Investing and Women in Business. She did two rotational internships, studied abroad in London, and participated in a Rotational Program Day with the Career Development Office, traveling to four Houston companies.

Those experiences were important for Billups, but so were the lessons from faculty. “The faculty offer so much beyond teaching,” says Billups. “They also share what they have learned in their careers — and help us think through what’s possible for us.”

A New Tune

When Dallas native April Chung visited Rice University in 2020, she immediately felt at home. A dedicated violinist, Chung planned to pursue a degree in violin performance at the Shepherd School of Music until Rice Business announced the inception of its undergraduate business degree. Though she had applied for business programs at numerous other universities, fate led her to Rice with a violin and plans that would quickly change. During the first year of the undergraduate program, Chung joined the business program. Making the decision to continue playing the violin, she embarked on a new path that would eventually lead to consulting. During her time in the undergraduate business program, she found comfort in seeing familiar faces in each of her classes and working directly with faculty. From working in the Lilie Lab alongside senior lecturer Hesam Panahi to attending panels courtesy of Natalia Piqueira, assistant clinical professor of finance, Chung is grateful for the mentors who helped her learn and grow during her undergraduate experience. Though her degree plan changed in that first year, Chung never put down the violin. She performed in the Campanile Orchestra during most of her time at Rice and continues to play in her spare time.

Chung, who now works at BCG as a consultant, has remained in Houston. “My community in Houston would not exist if I had not gone to Rice,” she says, “and I am very grateful for that.” Chung shared fond memories of O-Week advising, Beer Bike and days in the Lilie Lab. “I think Rice does a great job at fostering school spirit,” she says. Currently, Chung is entertaining ideas of continuing her education in business but is keeping an open mind to what the world around her offers.