The University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business announced today that Full-Time MBA student Lydia Sorensen is the recipient of the school’s 2017-2018 McGowan Fellowship. This elite program is sponsored by the William G. McGowan Charitable Fund, a philanthropic family foundation established to honor the late William G. McGowan, former CEO of MCI.

Sorensen’s areas of study are marketing and brand management. During her time at Ross, Sorensen has been named a Forte Foundation Fellow and served as a Nonprofit Board Fellow for the Salvation Army in Southeast Michigan. This academic year, she will serve as Vice President of Professional Development for Ross Net Impact, Vice President of Corporate Relations for the Retail and Luxury Goods Club, and an Executive Board Member for the Michigan Business Student Association (MBSA). 

Most recently, Sorensen was a marketing strategy intern at Wal-Mart, where she created a strategy to increase the company’s market share. Prior to Ross, she was a project manager for AES Corporation, creating a global training strategy to improve employee efficiency and satisfaction. She also spent time working in Central America as an in-the-field representative for GlobalGiving. There she evaluated 50 NGOs in countries including Guatemala, El Salvador, and Nicaragua to assess and advise on various measures, including fundraising effectiveness, sustainability, and social impact. Before that, she spent three years at the law firm Wilmer, Cutler, Pickering, Hale & Dorr as a project assistant. An advocate for corporate social responsibility and sustainability, Sorensen hopes to pursue a career where she can combine marketing and community impact. Her goal is to work for a global corporation where she can drive large-scale change.  

Sorensen earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Legal Studies and Spanish (Literature and Hispanic Studies) from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she was one of 12 students in the Wisconsin International Scholars Program and a member of the equestrian team.

The McGowan Fellows program creates a select community of highly talented, emerging business individuals who are dedicated to leadership and public service. Established in 2010, the program consists of second-year MBA students who are also in the top five percent of their class and will receive free tuition scholarships and mentoring opportunities. The fund partners with 10 top-tier university business programs, which each school selecting one Fellow annually. The McGowan partner schools are:

• Carnegie Mellon University, Tepper School of Business

• Columbia University, School of Business

• Dartmouth College, Tuck School of Business

• Duke University, Fuqua School of Business

• Georgetown University, McDonough School of Business

• Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management

• Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management

• University of Chicago, Booth School of Business

• University of Michigan, Stephen M. Ross School of Business

• University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School

To learn more about Michigan Ross, visit our website: michiganross.umich.edu. Connect with us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

About Michigan Ross

The Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan is a vibrant and distinctive learning community grounded in the principle that business can be an extraordinary vehicle for positive change in today's dynamic global economy. The Ross School of Business’ mission is to develop leaders who make a positive difference in the world. Through thought and action, members of the Ross community drive change and innovation that improves business and society.

Ross is consistently ranked among the world's leading business schools. Academic degree programs include the BBA, MBA, Part-time MBA (Evening and Weekend formats), Executive MBA, Global MBA, Master of Accounting, Master of Supply Chain Management, Master of Management, and PhD. In addition, the school delivers open-enrollment and custom executive education programs targeting general management, leadership development, and strategic human resource management.

About McGowan Fellows

William G. McGowan’s commitment to ethical leadership and the betterment of society has shaped the fund’s mission to impact lives, create sustainable change, and empower future generations to achieve their greatest potential. Since its founding, the fund has distributed more than $100 million in grants. Visit www.williammcgowanfund.org to find out more about the McGowan Charitable Fund.