On April 17, the Grossman School of Business at the University of Vermont (GSB) celebrated their best and their brightest during the annual Honors Award Ceremony, a part of the larger Honors Day celebrations across campus. Faculty, staff, friends, and family filled the Keller Room in Ifshin Hall to capacity as over 40 individual students were recognized for their achievements across the various themes and concentrations offered at GSB.

The event also took a moment to celebrate retiring Professor Rocki-Lee DeWitt and University Distinguished Professor Pramodita “Dita” Sharma, who also sits as the Schlesinger-Grossman Chair of Family Business. However, the real surprise of the night came when the Outstanding Junior Award was named after Dean Sanjay Sharma, who will be retiring this July after fifteen years in the leadership role at the school. 

“This is really an honor and touching,” said a visibly moved Dean Sharma, “Honors Day is one of my favorite occasions. It is the day that we recognize and celebrate excellence among our students. I am always impressed with, not only the academic achievements, but also the many extracurricular activities, internships, case competitions and volunteer projects that our students are engaged in.”
 

Retiring Dean Sanjay Sharma presents Arianna Clark with the Outstanding Junior award recently named after him

 

The complete list of students and their awards are as follows:

  • Christopher A. Guido Outstanding Senior Award for Academic Excellence and Overall Achievement: Allison Kingsley
  • Sanjay Sharma Outstanding Junior Award for Academic Excellence and Overall Achievement: Arianna Clark
  • Award for Excellence in the Entrepreneurship Theme: Eegan Coia and Rowan Godbout
  • Award for Excellence in the Global Business Theme: David Ishmail and Emma Kanjorski
  • Award for Excellence in the Sustainable Business Theme: Alexander Rubin
  • PCAOB Scholarship Award: Lucy Parker
  • Johnson Lambert LLP Master of Accountancy Vermont Scholarship: Jonas Keim
  • Weinstein Award for Excellence in Accounting: Alia Tesini
  • Gallagher Flynn Award for Excellence in Accounting: Hailey Kessler
  • Senior Award for Excellence in Business Analytics: Allison Kingsley and Cole Snyder
  • Junior Award for Excellence in Business Analytics: Grace Berry and Lucas Pyrro
  • Stephen Penwell Award for Excellence in Finance: Emma Kanjorski and Joshua Moore
  • S. Nakamoto Award for Excellence in Crypto Currency: Oliver Uchitelle
  • Spies Family Award for Real Estate Finance: Julia O'Dwyer
  • Major Junius Adair Award for Excellence in Finance: Sawyer Beck and Arianna Clark
  • Senior Award for Excellence in Marketing: Casey Huczko & Jena Vicinelli
  • Junior Award for Excellence in Marketing: Sophie Ball-Dolan and Leah Feldman
  • Peaks Champions: Jordan Duncan (Gold), Lars Plaehn (Silver), and Charlie Berlack (Bronze); Victoria Madison, Wolfie Weimersheimer, and Carly Steenstra (leaderboard champions). Perkin Award: DJ Murphy, Arianna Clark
  • Philip J. Branon Award: Richard Yeung
  • GSB Student Leadership Award Otto Berckmueller, Kate Kelly
  • GSB Student Engagement Award Joseph Anderson, Sophie Ball-Dolan, Grace Berry, Alaina Cimonetti, Luke Nelson, Alexander Rubin, Marley St. Pierre
  • First Year Students of Distinction 
    Lucas Del Olmo, Billy Delahunty, Finnian Heney, Leah Hunter, Sabrina Krementsova, Jack Liddy, Kevin Moran, Sara Stiel, Jack Taylor, Emily Weaver, and Derek Winkel
  • Sophomore Students of Distinction 
    Emilie Bakkevig, Anka Delos Reyes, Jason Douglas, Laird KrodelSmith, Fiona Pan, Luke Rizio, Carly Steenstra, Ozzie VanHendrick, and Derek Wenner
  • Faculty Member of the Year: Thomas Chittenden

Allison Kingsley, the recipient for the Christopher A. Guido Outstanding Senior Award for Academic Excellence and Overall Achievement, encouraged other undergraduates at Grossman School to take advantage of their time on campus.

Allison

“My advice to new students is to try new things, challenge yourself, and don’t be afraid to ask for help,” shared Kingsley. “Some of the most meaningful parts of my college experience came from stepping outside my comfort zone, such as trying ultimate frisbee. What started as something entirely new became a welcoming community and grew into lifelong friendships."

Kingsley will be joined with the rest of the graduating class at the Grossman School of Business commencement ceremony, where she will have the distinct pleasure of addressing fellow students as this year’s class speaker. This year’s ceremony will take place at the Champlain Valley Expo on May 17, 2026.

Congratulations to all of the students and faculty that were honored this year!