Dean’s Student Advisory Council

Dean’s Student Advisory Council

Your Voice, Your Vision, Our Smith Community

The Dean’s Student Advisory Council (DSAC) is a student organization composed of 11 undergraduate students who continually meet with Smith faculty, advisory boards, students, and leaders to elicit ideas and facilitate the implementation of meaningful, productive changes. Every decision we make has been strategically calculated, deliberated, and implemented only after in-depth presentations and meetings with upper-level faculty and administrators.

By advising and collaborating with the Smith community, DSAC aims to enhance the academic experience, further administrative initiatives, and shape a meaningful Smith journey for our students.

  • Academics: DSAC aims to enhance the direction of Smith’s academic curriculum to ensure that our faculty are providing world-class programming that addresses the needs of our students.
  • Engagement: In collaboration with Smith’s administrative departments, DSAC is committed to ensuring that students are receiving the community resources and guidance they need to succeed.
  • Community: DSAC works to build a sense of belonging in Smith by identifying opportunities to bolster the needs of specific communities and providing strategic guidance to Smith’s administration.

Study Abroad Task Force

The Study Abroad Task Force focuses on measuring student engagement with the Center for Global Business and how students perceive the support and resources provided by the center. This task force hopes to bridge any disconnect between prospective students who want to study abroad and the resources the center provides, to ultimately increase the opportunity for students to study abroad.

Task Force Members: Faith LeBrun ’26, Neena Sengupta ’24, Ore Toluwani ’24

Academic Discovery Task Force

The Academic Discovery Task Force aims to analyze the current state of class offerings and major requirements within the Smith undergraduate curriculum. The task force hopes to identify areas of opportunities to best encompass Smith’s academic offerings and provide recommendations as to how curriculum and scheduling can be revised to best suit student’s interests and needs.

Task Force Members: Eric Blackman ’24, Siri Rao ’24, Zoe Nicholson ’24

Undergraduate Culture Task Force

The Undergraduate Task Force’s focus is on instilling a sense of pride and belonging among students and alumni. This could involve creating traditions, events, or programs that encourage students to identify more strongly with Smith. It could also involve promoting the idea of giving back to the community, not just financially, but also through mentorship, volunteering, or other forms of engagement. This approach could help to foster a stronger sense of community and loyalty among students and alumni, which could in turn lead to higher levels of engagement. We seek to analyze the current state of Smith culture and benchmark it with our peer institutions in the BIG10 and nationwide.

Task Force Members: Abby Wexler ’24. Jacob Uwimana ’24, Peter Mitrione ’25

The Enhancing Fellows Task Force

The Enhancing Fellows Task Force seeks to evaluate the current Smith Fellows Programs on educational, professional, and community development. With input collected from both faculty and students, the task force hopes to provide recommendations on how to improve current Fellows programs and aid in future program development.

Task Force Members: Anisha Kosuri ’23, Alexa Stimpson ’24, Grayson Vintz ’25, Michael Zhao ’25

  • Smith Minors: DSAC has influenced the length and brand strategy of the Smith Minors program, for which we serve as a strategic advisor to faculty and administration. Learn more.
  • Undergraduate Oversight Committee: Members of DSAC currently sit on the Undergraduate Oversight Committee (UOC), which reviews and initiates changes that ensure excellence in the undergraduate business curriculum.
  • Lunch and Learn: DSAC created a series of lunches to allow students to interact with faculty outside of the classroom.
  • Alumni Speaker Series: DSAC has hosted a speaker series with alumni every year, with topics ranging from "How to Fail" to "Standing Out Without Burning Out".
  • Senior Cruise: DSAC created the idea for the Senior Cruise, which serves as an end-of-year celebration of a senior's undergraduate experience.
  • 100 Days: DSAC contributed to the creation of 100 Days, a series of events that bring together Smith seniors to celebrate their final 100 days until graduation.

We are proud to say that since DSAC’s inception in the fall of 2012, student leaders under the guidance of the administration, specifically Dean Mullins, have implemented various new programs that have focused on academic, admissions, engagement, and community aspects of the life before, during, and after the students’ undergraduate experiences at the Smith School. The numerous changes facilitated by DSAC, coupled with the strategic mission and continued devotion by the undergraduate team are helping to make our students the very best, which in turn propels our Smith School of Business into becoming one of the best institutions of its kind in the world!

All Smith majors and minors are eligible to apply for DSAC. Our application cycle occurs annually in March and April and consists of an application and interviews. We will host information sessions about DSAC starting in February! Please continue to check this page for updated recruitment information

2024-25 DSAC Members

Amol Ajmera

Amol Ajmera
Class of 2025
Finance & Accounting

Eileen Chen

Eileen Chen
Class of 2026
Finance & Information Systems

Emily Davis

Emily Davis
Class of 2027
Marketing, Operations Management & Business Analytics

Pranav Katakam

Pranav Katakam
Class of 2026
Information Systems, Operations Management & Business Analytics

Selorm Kpodo

Selorm Kpodo
Class of 2025
Accounting & Marketing

Faith LeBrun

Faith LeBrun
Class of 2026
Finance & Information Systems

Maya Moore

Maya Moore
Class of 2025
Finance & Business Management

Joanie Morningstar

Joanie Morningstar
Class of 2026
Finance & International Business

Peter Mitrione

Peter Mitrione
Class of 2025
Finance & Information Systems

Elijah Thompson

Elijah Thompson
Class of 2025
Business Management

Grayson Vintz

Grayson Vintz
Class of 2025
Finance & Accounting

Kethaka Yattogoda

Kethaka Yattogoda
Class of 2025
Finance & Information Systems

Christopher Yeh

Christopher Yeh
Class of 2026
Information Systems & Supply Chain Management

Michael Zhao

Michael Zhao
Class of 2025
Finance & Computer Science

2023-24

Eric Blackman, Anisha Kosuri, Faith LeBrun, Peter Mitrione, Zoe Nicholson, Siri Rao, Neena Sengupta, Alexa Stimpson, Ore Toluwani, Jacob Uwimana, Grayson Vintz, Abby Wexler, Michael Zhao

2022-23

Alexia Ayuk, Ishaan Kapur, Emmanuel Corporal, Aaliya Husain, Namra Shaikh, Anisha Kosuri, Eric Blackman, Siri Rao, Miranda Chung, Zoe Nicholson, Neena Sengupta, Michael Zhao

2021-22

Eric Blackman, Caroline Fleetwood, Natalie Hirsch, Emmanuel Corporal, Abe Browne, Katish Sussman, Ally Merwitz, Siri Rao, Alexia Ayuk, Katherine Robinson

2020-21

Angela Yang, Faaiq Zarger, Dan Alpert, Ally Merwitz, Joshua Chen, Alex Kristal, Julia O'Malley, Nathan Yuen, Sarah Alkon, Kunal Harmalkar, Katherine Robinson

2019-20

Alex Bergman, Ariana Riske, Nikhil Modi, Sophie Lin, Mario Menendez, Jared Remien, Brooke Rankin, Angela Yang, Faaiq Zarger, Dan Alpert, Ally Merwitz

2018-19

Derek Xiao, Dan Alpert, Faaiq Zarger, Ariana Riske, Jacob Lapidus, Lauren Black, Brandon Lucas, Aaron Yang, Zachary Azrael, Parker Rist, Alexandra Bergman

2017-18

Cece Ukejianya, Lina Bauer, Aaron Yang, Jordan Arndt, Zachary Azrael, Parker Rist, Helen Liu, Alexandra Bergman, Malik Sulieman, Jacob Vietch, Edmond Lee, Chad Gruzin

2016-17

Cece Ukejianya, Jordan Arndt, Gopal Srinivasan, Allison Leap, Bobby Crumbaugh, Kelly Cosgriff, Jessica Lewis, Nicole Lopez, Lina Bauer, Mimi Verdonk, Ben Hawtof, Aaron Yang

2015-16

Liya Ai, Michael Barnett, Dina Broydo, Kelly Cosgriff, Robert Crumbaugh, Cindy Liu, Beidi Luo, Bridget McManus, Yash Mehta, Praneet Puppala, Christopher Riggs, Chetachi Ukejianya

2014-15

Connie Chou, Robert Crumbaugh, Alex DoQuang, David Engle, Anh Le, Bridget McManus, Yash Mehta, Obed Molina, Claire Naylor, Stefani Pappas, Khalil Pettus, Praneet Puppala, Snigdha Rao, Ittie Rehani, Kayla Santos, Travon Sawyer, Lindsey Weilminster

2013-14

Steven Asifo, Antoine Battle, Austin Carroll, Connie Chou, Lindsay Djuhadi, David Engle, Stephanie Graf, Ehson Kashfipour, Austin Lee, Yash Mehta, Khalil Pettus, Praneet Puppala, Kushaan Shah, Mambwe Sumbwe, Geoff Wang, Lindsey Weilminster

2012-13

Antoine Battle, Hayley Brown, Connie Chou, Michael DeLucia, Pratik Dixit, Aaron Fagan, Brooks Gabel, Chris Grant, Brija Johnson, Julia Klein, Manas Kulkarni, Yash Mehta, Zach Nerenberg, Kishore Radhakrishnan, Hayley Thometz, Mendel Zecher

How to Become a Member of the Dean’s Student Advisory Council

All Smith majors and minors can apply for DSAC. Applications open in March and April each year, including an application and interviews. The 2024-25 application cycle is closed. The 2025-26 cycle will open in Spring 2025.

Contact Us

If you would like more information about the 
Dean’s Student Advisory Council, please contact:

Rachel DiDonna
Assistant Director, Smith Undergraduate Experience
Program Coordinator, Dean’s Student Advisory Council
rdidonna@umd.edu

smithdsac@gmail.com

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