Five Booth Students Named Siebel Scholars

Yiğit Akdemir discovered his passion for banking and finance as an economics major at the University of Chicago, finding these industries fit perfectly with his interests in quantitative thinking and global impact.

“A strong financial industry is strongly correlated with how developed a country’s economy is,” he says. “When people want to realize innovative ideas, when small businesses want to accelerate growth, when large companies want to make strategic investments, the financial industry helps them achieve that.”

Originally from Istanbul, Akdemir was admitted to the Chicago Booth Scholars Program in his final year as an undergraduate, which allowed him to defer his MBA to work five years at J.P. Morgan in liquidity solutions. Now, he’s pursuing the joint MBA/Masters Program in Computer Science.

“Booth has provided me with an invaluable network of investment bankers and a robust recruitment process,” says Akdemir, who logged 450 recruiting interactions over three months, leading to a summer internship with the New York–based investment bank Evercore as part of their mergers and acquisitions group.

“I came to Booth to make a switch in my career path and learn as much as possible about strategy, management, and leadership,” he says. “The Siebel scholarship has been a recognition of my academic efforts, and I am grateful for that.”

After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania in 2018, Yana Kaplun moved to New York to work in technology mergers and acquisition at Evercore, where she fell in love with the tech industry. “I saw that the solution to big, hairy problems in almost any industry involved some strategy around technology,” she says. “By working with tech companies, I could have a front-row seat to major innovations and changes.”

After later moving to San Francisco to work with private equity firm TA Associates, she came to Chicago to pursue an MBA and broaden her understanding of the technology and investing landscapes. At Booth, courses such as Technology Strategy have allowed her to apply business principles to her chosen field. The Private Equity and Venture Capital Lab gave her a low-stakes way of exploring venture capital, she says, while Entrepreneurial Discovery helped her cultivate an experimentation mindset that has far outlasted the class.

Her eventual goal is to contribute to building impactful businesses as an investor and board member. “The Siebel scholarship is nothing short of a blessing,” she says. “It’s a vote of confidence that helps me envision myself making bolder career moves that I might not have previously considered.”

When Dongyu Mao left China a decade ago to study economics at the University of Toronto, he struggled academically until a tutor helped him succeed. The experience was so inspiring that after graduation, he joined an education startup his tutor founded, helping it grow into the largest tutoring company in Canada.

He came to Booth to apply his mentoring and leadership skills to a new career in management consulting.

“I enjoy helping clients succeed,” he says. “That’s something I’ve experienced in education, and I find it even more rewarding in consulting, where I can create scalable impact by presenting solutions to government officials and top-tier management in large organizations.”

At Booth, he’s continued to help peers as a teaching assistant, career advisor, and co-chair of both the Greater China Club and Canadian Business Club. The recruiting skills he learned through career services events helped him secure a summer internship at a top consulting firm earlier this year.

Along with the recognition it confers, the Siebel Scholars award has helped alleviate financial pressure on Mao’s family, enabling him to visit them in Canada more frequently. “They made significant sacrifices during my first year at Booth,” he says. “I would not be here today without their unwavering support.”

Born and raised in Medellín, Colombia, Carolina Ortega-Londoño is passionate about the banking and financial services industry and how it can aid the economic development of her native country.

“I have witnessed how financial services can tangibly improve people’s lives,” says Ortega-Londoño, who worked at Colombia’s largest financial institution, Bancolombia, prior to Booth. “Whether it’s developing a major infrastructure project or helping a small vendor grow their business with access to electronic payments or a line of credit, the positive impact is significant and makes the work rewarding.”

Coming to Booth for her MBA fulfilled a lifelong dream, she says. It’s helping deepen her skills in finance and strategic management, while also teaching her to become a better leader through courses such as Women as CEOs, Entrepreneurs, Investors, Executives & Directors, taught by Alyssa Rapp, adjunct assistant professor of entrepreneurship. “That course was transformative, inspiring me to think more broadly about leadership, inclusion, mentorship, self-awareness, feedback, and empowerment,” she says.

She feels deeply honored and grateful to have been chosen for the Siebel Scholars award. With it, she looks forward to completing her final year at Booth and later returning to Colombia “as a well-rounded woman leader in the finance community, helping companies drive sustainable growth.”

Prior to Booth, Michelle Xuming Zhang took a sabbatical from her job as a management consultant to work with philanthropists and social entrepreneurs across Asia through the nonprofit Ashoka.

“The concept of ‘doing well and doing good’ has always resonated with me,” Zhang says. “These experiences made me reflect on how I could more meaningfully integrate social impact into my professional journey.”

At Booth, she has taken a broad range of courses in social sector strategy and social entrepreneurship. She also enrolled in the Graduate Program in Health Administration and Policy, co-chairs the Booth Impact Investing club, and helps manage the Steven Tarrson Impact Investment Fund, which provides capital to early-stage, mission-driven companies.  

“I’m exploring establishing a social venture focused on elderly care—an area I believe needs more attention,” she says. “In the long-term, I aspire to become an impact investor to drive meaningful change in causes I care deeply about.”

For Zhang, the Siebel Scholars award serves as both an honor and a motivation. “It’s a recognition not only of my academic performance, but also of my commitment to integrate business with social impact,” she says. “It strengthens my determination to continue pursuing this path and exploring new channels for achieving it.”