Three full-time MBA students from the Ross School of Business were recently announced as the recipients of the 2021-22 Skip and Carrie Gordon Scholarships. Those Michigan Ross students, including one dual MBA/MPP student — Nathan Alston (MBA ’22), J’Taime Lyons (MBA/MPP ’22), and Elizabeth Wallace (MBA/MS ’2) — were chosen based on their outstanding commitment to addressing complex social challenges through their studies.
These three recipients were chosen from over 25 applicants, and the announcement comes with a $5,000 award for each recipient. In addition, each will serve as a student ambassador for the Business+Impact initiative at Michigan Ross for the 2021-22 academic year.
Academically, courses such as Public Management, Business in Society, and Tax Policy have allowed Lyons to learn more about the challenges of solving wicked problems. Outside of her academic experiences, she has used her Poverty Solutions graduate research assistantship, B+I’s Board Fellowship program, and participation in the Zell Lurie Institute’s Dare to Dream Venture Shaping program to provide her with experiential learning experiences to build her skills.
Lyons’ first step in equipping herself for a career in impact was being a Board Fellow. In this role, she had the opportunity to work with the United Way of Washtenaw County in supporting their goals for increasing their public policy presence. This experience allowed her to see how nonprofits and foundations are tackling the systematic root causes for poverty. Simultaneously, she also participated in the Dare to Dream program. This program has allowed Lyons to focus on developing a boutique social impact consulting firm. This has allowed her to do deep exploration of the pain points of organizations working to support children and families living in poverty.
Following her first year, Lyons went on to work on a nonprofit and local government strategy internship and applied her learnings directly to the social impact space. In her second year, she continued to work with her internship and also was able to work with a social impact startup, The William Julius Wilson Institute.
I am very appreciative to be a recipient of the Gordon Scholarship. I chose Michigan Ross because I wanted a career in impact, and being able to cover living expenses and reduce student loan debt helps support me in making that goal a reality
J’Taime Lyons, MBA/MPP ’22
This piece was written and published by Glenn Bugala for the Ross School of Business. Learn more about the scholarships and student recipients.