The inaugural cohort of Nash Leaders in the Naveen Jindal School of Management was fêted May 10 at the Nash Leaders Reception in the Executive Dining Room. Each of the 17 honorees was also awarded a $1,000 education stipend, given a Tiffany’s pin and a leadership book inscribed with a personal note from program founder Ron Nash, MS’79. The following week they were recognized as Nash Leaders during their respective commencement ceremonies.
The Nash Leader’s Program (NLP) was created during the 2023-2024 academic year to help further develop leadership qualities in a select group of high-performing students who have exhibited top academic performance, budding leadership qualities and a heart for servant leadership.
The program is named in honor of Nash, a North Texas business leader and recipient of the 2011 UT Dallas Distinguished Alumni Award. He is also a life member of the UT Dallas Executive Board and a member of the Jindal School’s Advisory Council. This spring he was a recipient of a Decades of Service award at the Jindal School’s Outstanding Worthy Leaders Involved Exceptionally (OWLIE) awards ceremony.
Supercharging Careers
Nash said when he and his wife Susan were imagining what the program would look like in conversations and planning sessions with Dr. Hasan Pirkul, Caruth Chair and Jindal School dean, they decided that they wanted not only high academics but also “people who are already leaders, already have the ability to deal with people and already have the ability to get things done in a group.”
He further elaborated at the reception:
“What we want to do,” he said, “is take [these students], put them in an elite group, let them get to know each other to create a very special network that they can use throughout their careers, and to bring in some CEOs to talk with them, to get them exposed to that level of thinking early in their careers.”
Nash said he was 15 or 20 years into his career before he first spoke one-on-one with a CEO.
“The hypothesis that we had is if we bring in that level of executive to communicate directly with students, we’re going to supercharge their career,” he said.
A Hands-On Approach
Not only did Nash provide the funding for the program, but he also takes a personal, hands-on approach in the program by mentoring each of the 60 or so students and facilitating panel discussions about leadership with local industry leaders.
“It is an extraordinarily rare moment where an individual wants to do more than just give back in a conventional sense,” said Dr. Monica Powell, senior associate dean of the Jindal School. “Ron has chosen to give back not only his money and his support but also his time to give the students in the program ample opportunities to understand what management is in action and how they can execute on successful management by being really good leaders. The entire crux of the program is to enrich these students’ lives, to help them become the best leaders that they can be before they are called to do that in industry.”
From Nash Fellows to Nash Leaders
The Nash Leader’s Program offers participating students a robust set of leadership training and other opportunities throughout their academic careers, including a roadmap for them to receive the Nash Leader Award upon graduation.
Each spring, program directors from each of the Jindal School’s more than 30 undergraduate (BS) and graduate (MS, MBA) academic degree programs and faculty advisors of JSOM student organizations nominate a student from their program to be considered for membership as Nash Fellows. A select committee then determines which students are selected.
Requirements for selection as a Nash Fellow are rigid. Candidates must have, at a minimum, a 3.40 grade-point average (3.60 for graduate students) and be ranked in the top 20% of their class according to GPA. In addition, “nominees must have demonstrated strong communication skills, high integrity, a volunteer mindset, a desire to be mentored by successful business leaders, service to others in an academic setting, demonstrated grit and significant leadership accomplishments.”
Once selected, Nash Fellows participate in a series of engagement events including a series of leadership seminars and a mentor roundtable event in which students interact with business leaders and a social-impact project.
At the end of each semester, a group of students is identified from among the Nash Fellows to be presented with the Nash Leader Award. To be named, they are required to obtain a leadership position in a UTD student organization and demonstrate a pattern of having performed at a high level with good character and integrity in addition to maintaining their high academic standing.
Normally a two-semester program, the inaugural cohort was briefer by necessity. The students selected this spring underwent even more rigorous selection criteria. In addition to the usual criteria, this group had to have actual leadership experience in improving an organization.
The Power of Education to Change Lives
Keenan Veillon, BS’24, a human resource management major, was one of the students selected for the inaugural Nash Leader Award. A veteran of the Texas Army National Guard, she also volunteered for the Foundation for Choice, a North Texas organization that works to ensure that underprivileged high school students have higher education opportunities. She helped students with résumés, and facilitated professional development workshops aimed at helping students land a summer internship. She also helped pair students with mentors to aid them in every step of the process of obtaining access to higher education, such as helping apply for FAFSA, and scholarships. She was awarded the Sustainability Service Honor for advancing the United Nations Sustainability Development goals of quality education and reducing inequalities.
Veillon said the award “is a really big deal” to her.
“It is representative of my cumulative time here at JSOM, how much I put effort into making the most out of my college experience,” she said. “I feel so grateful that I’ve been able to go to a great college like UTD and attend a great school like JSOM. I believe in the power of education to change lives and uplift communities and, as a first-generation college student, it just speaks the idea that I can go out and have all the success and opportunities that I want.”
Values that Carry Leaders to Success
Pirkul welcomed the Nash Leaders at the reception and offered them career — and leadership — advice.
“Perseverance, dedication and hard work are the values that carry leaders to success,” he said. “So, make sure that you spend your lives, your careers, doing meaningful things, accomplishing meaningful things. Earning money, having a good life is part of it, but not all. We expect you as Nash Leaders to be great businesspeople, to become leaders in the business world. But we also expect you to become civic leaders…Always fight for your company, fight for your organization and fight for a just society.”
Dr. Beth Nikopoulos, senior director for student development and leadership programs at the Jindal School, hosted the reception and introduced each of the winners.
An Acknowledgement of Leadership
Zachary Tidwell, BS’ 24, a supply chain management and analytics major, was selected for the award because he was president of the Association for Supply Chain Management (ASCM) Dallas Student Forum and an ambassador of the Jindal School’s Supply Chain Management and Analytics program. He also was the undergraduate recipient of the OWLIE award for Outstanding Student Organization Leader.
At the reception, Nikopoulos said that Tidwell’s leadership achievements stand as a testament to his unwavering commitment to his leadership excellence.
“Zachary consistently demonstrates an innate ability to inspire, innovate and empower those around him,” she said. “His joy in helping others shines through in his extensive community projects and volunteer efforts, where he strives to make a lasting impact on the lives of others. Through his exemplary leadership and compassionate spirit, Zachary Tidwell embodies the true essence of servant leadership, leaving an indelible mark on his community.”
Tidwell said that although he is not the absolute top academically rigorous student, this award did not just focus on his academic side.
“It acknowledged me as a leader,” he said. “I had the opportunity to work with a lot of great individuals on campus I just so happened to be a leader when I was working with them.”
Tidwell said he put a lot of time into helping people on campus. Being around Nash and other leaders showed him the importance of giving back and being a good leader and how well doing those things can affect someone in the long run.
Program Nurtures Tomorrow’s Leaders
Vikas, MS’24, a supply chain management major, co-led the UTD chapter of the Association for Supply Chain Management as vice president. Even though he was already a student leader, Vikas applied for the Nash Leaders Program because he realized that he also needed some mentorship.
“The program brought the CEOs,” he said. “They brought the great leaders, which will help us hone our own skills to be great leaders tomorrow. So being recognized maybe as a leader for tomorrow, it’s amazing.”
Mehak Dhawan, MS’24, a management science major, was part of the Jindal School’s Dean’s Council, assistant director and area director for Toastmasters International and head of corporate relations for the Analytics on In-Memory Database Club.
Dhawan said being a leader means a lot to her because she is also an international student.
“For most international students it’s like we’re uprooting our lives from a different country and coming here and starting over,” she said. “So, the fact that everything more than our academics is also being recognized, our efforts for the community around here are being recognized is a very big deal for us. It says ‘we value your contribution. We value you being here with us, studying here with everyone around.’”
Nikopoulos said that it was a pleasure for her to work with the inaugural cohort of Nash Fellows and Leaders and an honor to work alongside Nash.
“This group is so accomplished and bright — I was constantly floored by their high level of talent and enthusiasm,” she said. “We have about 40 Fellows who are December 2024 or May 2025 graduates continuing in the program. Next year we’re expanding to 10 sessions, a leadership book series, and more incoming student leaders. I look forward to making the Nash Leaders Program a continuing tradition at JSOM.”
Inaugural Cohort of Nash Leaders
Graduate
Ishika Singh Chandel, MS in Information Technology and Management
Mehak Dhawan, MS in Management Science
Aparna Gosavi, MS in Information Technology and Management
Visar Hadri, MS in Information Technology and Management
Radhika Bhaskara Halambi, MS in Information Technology and Management
Diksha Rajendra Nikumbh, MS in Information Technology and Management
Manish Ramchandani, MS in Business Analytics
Umair Safdar, MS in Business Analytics
Shrinidhi Sivashanmugam, MS in Information Technology and Management
Sijo Mathew Varghese, MBA
Undergraduate
Abhishek Datta Bommena, BS in Finance
Katelyn Lobo, BS in Finance
Isha Ahmed Mumbrawala, BS in Supply Chain Management and Analytics
Madhumitha Muralidharan, BS in Finance
Zachary Tidwell, BS in Supply Chain Management and Analytics
Keenan Veillon, BS in Human Resource Management
Vikas, BS in Supply Chain Management and Analytics
