Heavener School honors students for their commitment to leadership, service
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Heavener School of Business inducted two new students into the Heavener Hall of Fame and awarded three students the Distinction in Leadership and Service Award at its annual Heavener Leaders Awards Banquet, hosted virtually.
Jackson Budnik and Mercedes Suazo were the latest Heavener students to be installed into the Heavener Hall of Fame, while Shreya Dundigalla, Valentina Rendon and Caitlyn Torres were the newest recipients of the Distinction in Leadership and Service Award.
“We are honored to recognize the outstanding accomplishments of the 2021 Heavener Hall of Fame inductees and recipients of the Distinction in Leadership and Service Award,” said Alex Sevilla, Associate Dean and Director of the Heavener School of Business. “Through their leadership, they have strengthened the Heavener School experience and inspired so many of their student peers and our faculty and staff, myself included. We can’t wait to see how Jackson, Mercedes, Shreya, Valentina and Caitlyn will embrace their respective futures, leading lives of purpose and delivering impact wherever they go.”
The Heavener Hall of Fame is reserved for undergraduate business students who have shown truly superior leadership and achievement through their activities and scholarship while members of the College community. Eligible students must have a minimum 3.5 UF GPA and be in good standing with UF. Students are also judged on scholarship, campus leadership, campus involvement and service to the College or UF.
The Distinction in Leadership and Service Award is presented to students who demonstrated outstanding leadership and service to the College through participation in student organizations and other extracurricular activities. The students have demonstrated a strong commitment to the College and made a significant positive impact on its students.
Budnick will complete his master’s in accounting this year. He is an accounting intern with NeXtGen Biologics and previously served as president of the Business College Council. He also previously was a member of Actualize UF, Florida Leadership Academy, the Heavener Leadership Challenge and the Undergraduate Consulting Club. He also has been a member of the KPGM International Case Competition, Warrington Case Challenge and Warrington Welcome Ethics Case Competition teams.
Suazo, a finance major and Chinese studies minor, most recently competed an internship with Truist Securities in syndicated & leveraged finance. She has also completed internships with SunTrust, Goldman Sachs and Bank of America. She is currently a member of Florida Leadership Academy, UF Student Government, Alpha Kappa Psi and the University Minority Mentoring Program.
Dundigalla is a dual information systems and operations management and psychology major and is minoring in leadership and international studies. She is a member of the Heavener International Case Competition Team, Florida Leadership Academy, Actualize UF, GatorTech and UF Dostana. She previously was a member of Florida Business Leadership Society and an International Program Student Ambassador. Most recently, she was an intern with Accenture in consulting, and previously completed internships with Jabil, Ingersoll Rand and Heartbeat International Foundation.
Rendon, a combined marketing and Master of International Business student, is a Career Academic and Peer (CAP) Mentor and a global sales intern with LinkedIn. She previously completed internships with Ideal Education Group and Arthrex.
Torres is completing her Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration with a specialization in mass communications. She is an incoming customer success account manager with Microsoft. She is a Career Academic and Peer (CAP) Mentor and co-instructor of the Introduction to Business course. Previously, she had internships with Cisco, Boeing and YellowPages.
The Heavener School also recognized the following students and student organizations for their leadership and service at its virtual event:
Most Improved Program
Association of Latin Professionals for America (ALPHA)
Citizenship Award
Global Business Society
Outstanding Program of the Year
Global Business Society
Heavener Sponsored Program Advisor of the Year
Eve Katherine Pithey
Student Officer of the Year
Gabrielle Harmon of Global Business Society
Heavener Sponsored Program of the Year
Heavener Leadership Challenge
Student Organization of the Year
Association of Latin Professionals for America (ALPHA)
On behalf of the Heavener School of Business, congratulations to all of the award winners!
