Last week, the Student Association and MBA Administration presented John Bayliss (OI), Janet Smith (OB) and Naveen Tewari (OF) with SA/MBA Awards, in recognition of their outstanding leadership efforts. The SA/MBA Award was created in 2000 by the SA Executive Committee and the MBA Administration to reward students who have made significant contributions to improve and/or promote the HBS Community. The Awards were presented at a breakfast ceremony by SA Co-Presidents Jeff Liaw (OA) and Les Williams (OC); Senior Associate Dean and MBA Program Chair Carl Kester; Executive Director, MBA Program Steve Nelson; and Co-Director, Student and Academic Services, Ron Peracchio.
The three most recent award recipients have contributed to HBS in diverse ways, but all share the fact that they have had a powerful impact on our community.
John Bayliss (OI) – SA Senate
John Bayliss was nominated by Jeff Liaw for his contributions as a leader in the SA Senate. “John has been an outstanding contributor to the Senate all year long,” remarked Liaw. Going beyond his general responsibilities, John also sits on the Harvard Graduate Council and has this year has also led the Senate Initiatives, a program where each SA Senator tackles an issue that has been identified through student feedback. Not only has John spearheaded the initiatives, but he has been instrumental in tracking the progress of these initiatives.
Janet Smith (OB) – Dynamic Women in Business Conference
Nominated by both Jessica Gagne, Coordinator of Student Clubs, and WSA Co-President Kweilin Moore (OJ), Janet was recognized for her tireless efforts to make the 14th Annual Dynamic Women in Business Conference a success. As the longest-running student conference at HBS, it was no small undertaking. Moore spoke about Janet’s tireless efforts: “Janet was the person who did everything possible to make the event a success – she came to every meeting with a positive, can-do attitude and was very resourceful – at one point, she even had her brother fix the website!” Janet led a team of five who brought together almost 1,000 participants for the event, including speakers, students and alumni.
Naveen Tewari (OF) – India Trek
SA COO Krishna Mahesh (OB) nominated Naveen Tewari for his instrumental role in planning and leading this year’s India Trek. As Mahesh testified, “Naveen was extraordinarily successful at organizing and guiding over 100 HBS students, which we all know is like herding cats…” Naveen was able to expose HBS students to Indian leaders in both politics and industry through the many events, including a visit with the Prime Minister and a Technology Symposium attended by India’s high tech companies. “I’m very bullish on India,” remarked Tewari, “the passion for me came from knowing that through this experience, over 100 students would look at India in a much different and much more favorable manner.”
The SA/MBA Awards are unique in many ways. For one, nominations can come from any member of the HBS Community. Second, all MBA students are eliglible – both RCs and ECs. Nominees are evaluated on their contributions to HBS regardless of how long a student has been here. In evaluating nominees, the Awards Committee (comprised of both students and staff) considers the following: Leadership, Initiative, Selfless-Service, Contribution to the Community, and Building Community Connectivity. Lastly, nominations are accepted on a rolling basis and awards are made throughout the year as outstanding achievements surface – there are not a set number of awards given out on specific dates. For more information on the SA/MBA Awards or to nominate someone who you believe has made a difference in the HBS community, please visit: //www.mba.hbs.edu/admin/student_life/life/act_awa_org/student_assoc/sa_award.html
