Khourisader ’23 ’24MBA Earns AAUW Selected Professions Fellowship

The American Association of University Women (AAUW) has granted Angelina Khourisader ’23 ’24MBA a 2022 Selected Professions Fellowship to pursue an MBA at Rollins’ Crummer Graduate School of Business. The award provides funding to women in selected academic fields where they have been historically underrepresented.

The AAUW fellowship will provide Khourisader with $18,000 in funding during the first year of her MBA. The award is open to all women studying STEM but is restricted to women of color pursuing an MBA or law degree. Khourisader, who is of Lebanese and Chinese descent, worked closely with the Rollins’ Office of External Fellowships & Scholarships to complete the application process.

“As a first-generation U.S. citizen, I know that pursuing three degrees is a huge financial undertaking,” she says. “I am so grateful to fellowships advisor Danielle Abdon for helping me find opportunities for funding. Together, we put a lot of work into various scholarship and fellowship applications, and I could not have achieved this without her help.”

Khourisader, a computer science major, is enrolled in Rollins’ 3/2 Accelerated Management Program, which allows students to earn a bachelor’s degree and an MBA in five years. She plans to pursue a law degree after her MBA with the ultimate goal of becoming a patent attorney.

Khourisader is a two-time First Robotics World Championship finalist with six years’ experience on the secondary school robotics competition circuit. Her determination and engineering background allowed her to complete Rollins’ computer science degree program in just three years despite extended course requirements.

“In order to be registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, you have to have some kind of STEM degree,” says Khourisader. “I received a lot of guidance from computer science professor Dan Myers as I was planning my career path, and he thought that the field would be a good fit for me based on my robotics experience. He helped me plan out my degree path so that I could follow my interests and forge a well-rounded direction.”

Khourisader hopes that her interest in business and policy will make her an even stronger candidate for law school once she graduates. She has served as a program assistant in the Office of Alumni Engagement, and this summer, she’s set to intern in the office of Sen. Marco Rubio. She credits the many leadership positions she has held during her time at Rollins for helping her develop soft skills that are already proving invaluable on her journey.

“I’ve served as the president of the National Society for Leadership and Success, as an executive officer on the board of the Omicron Delta Kappa Honor Society, and as a dual athlete on both the cross-country and sailing teams. My background in leadership and service has made me a better communicator, which I have no doubt will serve me in my MBA and beyond.”