Meet the Bloggers

Foluke Akanni
Recruiting Coordinator
UIC Business Career Center

Foluke Akanni is a Recruiting Coordinator at UIC Business Career Center. In her role, she supports students and employers, manages uiccareers.com job postings, coordinates on-campus interviews, plans large scale career events and promotes the Business Career Center services and events to students. She is easy going and loves to a good laugh. Her favorite show is Seinfeld, but her guilty pleasure lately is watching the Bachelor Monday nights. Don’t judge 🙂

Jasmin Assmann
UIC Liautaud Graduate School of Business

Jasmin is a first-year MBA candidate with Finance and International Business as concentrations. With an undergraduate degree in media studies, which she obtained in her home country Germany, she is currently working as a Graduate Assistant for the Liautaud Graduate School of Business. She loves to travel and learn new languages. At the moment she is learning her sixth language: Portuguese, so that she will be prepared for Doing Business in Brazil this year.

Dawn Birkland
Assistant Director of Student Services
UIC Liautaud Graduate School of Business

Dawn joined the Liautaud staff in July 2008. Prior to working in Liautaud student services, she worked for several years in residence life. Dawn received her undergraduate degree in psychology from Marquette University and a masters degree in higher education from Loyola University Chicago. Outside of work, Dawn enjoys baking, karaoke and cheesy 80’s movies!

Michael Bley
Full-Time MBA Student studying concentrations in MIS and Finance
UIC Liautaud Graduate School of Business

Michael is a first year, full-time MBA student studying concentrations in Management Information Systems and Finance. He is a Graduate Assistant for the Liautaud Graduate School of Business Recruiting and Enrollment Team. Prior to starting his MBA he worked for two years in consulting. Michael’s Bachelor of Arts in Social Studies Education – Economics and Political Science is from Purdue University.

Mary Corbitt Clark
Assistant Dean
UIC Liautaud Graduate School of Business

Mary Corbitt Clark is the Assistant Dean of the UIC Liautaud Graduate School of Business.

Diane Ginajlo
Admissions and Records Officer
UIC Liautaud Graduate School of Business

Diane Ginajlo joined the Liautaud Graduate School of Business in October 2012 as the Admissions and Records Officer. Diane is responsible for applicant academic records preparation and analysis and management of application processing for the Liautaud Graduate School of Business. She provides support to the Director of Admissions and assists with information sessions and college events. Diane has a Bachelor of Science degree in Management from the UIC College of Business.

Catherine Jefcoat
MBA/MPH Joint Candidate
UIC Liautaud Graduate School of Business

Catherine is a second year, full-time MBA/MPH candidate concentrating in Marketing, Health Care Policy and Administration. She is the vice president of recruitment and outreach for the Graduate Marketing group (GMARK) and founded the InKIND non-profit consulting group. Catherine works part-time as a research assistant for the Center for Supply Chain Management and Logistics. Additionally, she maintains a small portfolio of local and regional nonprofit projects. She is a slow but dedicated runner and craft beer lover.

Caroline La Torre
Director of Recruiting and Enrollment
UIC Liautaud Graduate School of Business

Caroline La Torre is the Director of Recruiting and Enrollment at UIC Liautaud Graduate School of Business. Prior to this position, she managed international admissions for MBA and policy programs at the Monterey Institute of International Studies, part of Middlebury College. Ms. La Torre began her career in higher education as the Executive Director at the George Mason University Enterprise Center in the School of Public Policy, Loudoun County, VA.

Georgiana Pascanu
First-year MBA student
UIC Liautaud Graduate School of Business

Georgie Pascanu is a first-year MBA student and is the new Student Services grad assistant for the UIC Liautaud Programs Office. She was born in Romania, lived in Buffalo, NY, and has just moved to the great city of Chicago to pursue her graduate studies at UIC. She is the secretary of MBAA and this year’s Editor for the UIC Inner Loop Weekly Digest. When she’s not on the UIC Liautaud campus, you can find her exploring Chicago in search of the best brunch spot in the city.

Alicia Smith
Student Services Graduate Assistant
UIC Liautaud Graduate School of Business

Alicia L. Smith is a first year full-time MBA candidate, concentrating in Marketing. After graduating from Illinois State University with a B.S in International Business and Marketing, she worked for two years in the, “Real World,” before deciding to go back to school to pursue her MBA, to develop her critical thinking and decision making skills.