As a member of the University of Delaware’s Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics’ Class of 2020, Sarah Meadows from Middletown, Delaware has not had the typical final semester or commencement at UD due to the coronavirus outbreak. She, and her entire class, have shown incredible resilience, maturity and spirit while adjusting to the many unexpected changes that they have encountered.
Meadows was nominated for this series by UD Academic Program Coordinator Andrea Hartman, who said, “Sarah started the ISTM student group, competed in the Molson International Case Competition and is a two-time winner of the Carol A. Ammon Case Competition.“
In this profile, Meadows, dual MBA and M.S. in information systems and technology management student, shared her favorite UD memories, how she has changed during her time at UD and her plans following graduation.
Q: How do you think you have changed from your first semester at UD to now?
Meadows: I have become more confident and motivated in my career since I first started my masters program at UD. I felt like I wouldn’t be good enough when I first started, but then my friend Shyamala Athaide convinced me to participate in the Carol A. Ammon Case Competition where we teamed up with Alex Brooks and Daniel McCaffery and made Lerner history by placing first, two years in a row! My confidence only continued to grow from there!
Q: What is your favorite place at UD?
Meadows: My favorite place on campus is Gore Hall. I love the rotunda and tiered seating in the classrooms on the first floor. It’s my favorite building to visit.
Q: What is the most memorable course that you took at Lerner?
Meadows: MISY 873, Information Technology and Organizational Effectiveness, with Dr. Andrea Everard was one of my top favorite classes while I was at UD. It was in that class that I decided I wanted to be a Chief Information Officer (CIO).
Q: What was your favorite signature UD experience?
Meadows: My favorite UD experience was co-founding the UD Information Systems and Technology Management Graduate Student Association (ISTM GSA) with my friends, who I met in my first grad school class: Lisi Xie, Snehal Shirude, Parth Bhatt and Kaushik Krishnan. We created a community for the ISTM students to connect through game nights, happy hours, hayrides, bonfires, paintball and volunteer work. I’ve met so many lifelong friends throughout my masters program.
Q: What does being a “Lifelong Lerner” mean to you?
Meadows: A Lifelong Lerner is someone who is always seeking new knowledge, exploring the world around them, open to new ideas and always carries the entrepreneurial spirit of UD’s Lerner College with them throughout their life.
Q: What are your plans following graduation?
Meadows: I’m torn between becoming a Chief Information Officer and starting my own business. Maybe I’ll do both!