I graduated from UST in 2007 with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and B.A. in Physics.  After college, I joined Emerson Process Management (Rosemount Division, EMR: Emerson Electric) as a product marketing manager for “Smart Wireless” products.  I am in my fourth semester in the Evening MBA program and will focus on finance and entrepreneurship. 

I grew up in Lakeville, Minnesota with my parents and younger sister who is currently a senior at UST pursuing an Electrical Engineering degree.  I met my lovely wife in High School and we have been happily married for one year.  Outside of my professional life, I enjoy too many hobbies but spend much of my time fishing and waterskiing in northern Minnesota with my family and friends.  During the winter, I attempt to downhill ski.

Melissa is a Financial Analyst at General Mills, supporting the cereal and foodservice division.  Prior to General Mills, Melissa worked at Best Buy Corporation for 6 years.  She held several roles in Demand Planning, and Inventory Management for computer games and CD’s. Melissa also helped to implement a Price Management function at Best Buy.

Melissa holds a B.A. from the College of St. Benedict.

Melissa is married to Jeff Fredrickson.  Both  Minnesota natives, they enjoy the outdoors, camping, fishing, boating, and playing golf.  Taking a trip to the BWCA is usually the highlight of the summer.   Melissa and Jeff have also rode (bicycle) in the MS 150 the last 2 years.

I am also fortunate enough to be taking this class together with my wife Ohn Mar Khaing.  My interests are sports, specifically following Wisconsin teams (Packers, Brewers & Bucks) as I'm orginally from Green Bay.  My wife & I also like to travel, enjoy eating out & watching movies.  I've attached a picture of both my wife & I.

I grew up in Saint Paul, and I have not been able to venture too far from the area. I went to college at St. Thomas, where I majored in marketing and played basketball, and I live in St. Paul now with my wife, Kate, and our 2 wonderful boys: Jack-3, Mikey-1.  

I currently work at Jostens in Bloomington where I am the product manager for the graduation announcement and diploma product lines. I manage a $90 Million maturing marketplace that needs a breath of fresh air.

I grew up in LaGrange, IL (SW suburb of Chicago) with my parents and younger sister and brother. I attended the University of Iowa and graduated with a degree in Industrial Engineering in May 2003. While at Iowa I met my future wife, Courtney, who happens to be from Brookfield, IL. We both went to Lyons Township H.S., but didn’t know each other as the school is insanely large for a H.S. We were married on September 2, 2005 in Joliet, IL.

I took a job with a large commercial property insurance company, FM Global, right out of school and moved to Minneapolis. I did fire protection engineering for FM Global for five years, and then moved into Underwriting (also with FM Global) in March 2008 where I still am today. Courtney and I just had our first baby, Collin, on May 18, 2009. Our Golden Retriever, Casey, rounds out our family. We currently live in Eden Prairie and enjoy hiking, camping, traveling, theater, concerts and sporting events.

Being raised in Chicago, I will always be a die-hard Chicago sports fan but this picture taken at a Montreal Canadiens game represents a few other things in my life that are very important to me.  Most importantly, it was taken by my girlfriend Kristin who I met when I first moved to Minnesota, and without her I may have already moved back to the Windy City.  Second, hockey has impacted my life more than I would’ve ever expected when I began playing shortly after I learned to walk.  Finally, I love to travel and have been fortunate enough to have visited over 80 cities in 14 countries. 

I began playing hockey at a very early age and it has guided me to several places that I might not have ended up otherwise.  To begin, I was invited by the Mt. Carmel coaching staff to participate in Varsity practices while I was in grade school and knew after the first practice that I wanted to play for the Caravan.  The highlight of my high school career was getting the opportunity to play in the United Center for the state championship against New Trier.  Although we lost 1-0, that game got me invited to try-out for the Dubuque Fighting Saints of the USHL.  I actually made the team and spent one year in Iowa but learned pretty quickly that professional hockey would not be in my future.  Therefore, I decided not to return for my second year in Dubuque but attend college at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign instead where I was still able to play in a very competitive club league.  After obtaining my degree in Leisure Studies almost six years ago (Yep, I said Leisure Studies!), I began working for Carlson Wagonlit Travel as a travel agent and have been fortunate to work my way up to my current position as an IT Business Analsyt.  I decided to enroll in the MBA program at UST in order to improve my finance and business knowledge for both professional and personal reasons.  I can’t deny that I probably took my time at U of I for granted, and now that I have experienced the real world, I have a better understanding of what I would like and need to know to excel professionally so that I can be in a more secure position personally.  

I’m originally from a small town in southern Minnesota called Mapleton.  I came to the Twin Cities to attend college at the University of Minnesota.  I graduated from the U of M’s Carlson School of Management with a Bachelor of Science in Business after majoring in Human Resource Management and minoring in Psychology.  For the past six years I’ve worked at Navarre Corporation in the Human Resources department moving from an intern to my current role as Recruiting & Benefits Manager.  I started the MBA program at St. Thomas in 2007 in order to be able to advance in my career which may or may not continue in the field of Human Resources. 

I’ve been happily married for the past three years to my husband, Vinh.  We just welcomed our first child, daughter Addison, into our family only seven weeks ago and haven’t had a full night of sleep since!  In my free time I enjoy the sport of curling in the winter and golf in the summer. 

I attended the University of Iowa and graduated from the College of Pharmacy.  Upon graduating from Pharmacy School my husband and I threw a dart at a map and it landed near Knoxville, TN.  We moved to Knoxville and lived there for 3 years.  We have lived in Minnesota for the past 13 years.   

I am a systems consultant at U.S. Bank in the Technology and Operations Services departments. I mostly manage technology/application-development projects and sometimes help with development of our web and desktop applications. I have a Bachelor of Science in Scientific and Technical Communication from the U of M. This is my second semester in the UST MBA program.

Graduated from the University of St. Thomas in 2003 with a Bachelor’s of the Arts in Journalism.  Worked very briefly for KFAI radio conducting interviews and reading the news for the 5pm news cast.  From the fall of 2003 through January 2007 worked for Barnes and Noble as a lead and later as an assistant manager.  In 2005 started a lawn maintenance business with two friends.  Currently I run the business as a sole proprietorship and I am also the only employee.  I took some undergraduate courses in business between the spring 2007 and spring 2008 before I entered into the MBA program. 

I started the MBA program in the fall of 2008 and I live in Edina.  I have family in Eagan, St. Paul, and Osseo.  I enjoy movies and the horse track and usually go to either one on the weekends with either friends or family.  Currently I am about half way through the MBA program and after I finish I hope to start my own business because working for someone else just doesn’t appeal to me.   

I have 2 sons, Peter and Jonathan, and a lovely wife Christina.  Outside of work and school I enjoy playing with my boys, being involved at our church, and playing Golf, Volleyball, and Soccer. 

My home town is Mason City, IA, a small city in North central Iowa.  I went to Newman Catholic school system 1-12 grades then went to receive my BA in Finance from the University of Northern Iowa.  I moved to Minneapolis in 1996, where I started working for Wells Fargo Bank (fka Norwest Bank) as a personal banker.  It is at Wells Fargo where I met the person who would be my wife.  I continued to work for Wells Fargo until 2004 when I started working for US Bank as a credit analyst.  I am now a Financial Analyst at US Bank working with the Twin Cities and Chicago Retail Banking Regions. 

My wife also works for US Bank and we have 2 gorgeous children, Anastasia is 6 and Izabella is 4.  Anastasia goes to 1^st grade at Riverview Elementary in Farmington and Izabella is currently in the preschool program at Anna Banana, also in Farmington.  Both enjoy playing soccer, swimming, movies and teasing each other and their parents (must get that from me).  My wife (Stella) and I mostly take local vacations with the family, typically every summer we travel 10 hours to Beach, ND which is located on mile marker #1 in Western North Dakota.   

I personally love my life, my kids and my wife.  For hobbies I play golf, tinkering around the garage & yard, play poker & a volunteer soccer coach.

I graduated from the University of Minnesota-Duluth with a B.A. in Finance and minor in Communications.  I am currently working at Target Corporation as a Financial Analyst in the Financial Services division of the business.  I have been with Target for just over 2 years now and previous to Target I was at Navarre Corporation in various Finance/Accounting roles.  This is my second semester in the St. Thomas MBA program.

I am originally from Plymouth, Minnesota.  I have been happily married for 4 years to my husband, Robb.  We have a 1 ½ year old dog named Jake that is a Papichon (Papillion & Bichon mix) and we completely spoil him.  He is going to have a rude awakening in March as we are expecting our first baby at that time.  In my spare time I enjoy working out, traveling and spending time with family and friends at the cabin.

I currently work at C.H. Robinson in Eden Prairie.  I have been there for approximately 7 years and am an Account Manager and manage our business with Wal-Mart.

Interestingly enough, I am also originally from the small town of Mapleton in southern Minnesota (great to see you in class, Megan!).  Regarding my educational background, I completed my undergraduate degree at Gustavus Adolphus College, where I earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with a minor in Business Administration.  I started the St. Thomas MBA program at the end of 2007, and have loved every (well almost every J) minute of it!

Since graduating from college, I have lived and worked in the Twin Cities area.  Prior to my current job, I first worked with a direct marketing services company called CMS Direct, and also spent a couple of years working at Carlson Marketing Worldwide.  My most memorable working experience thus far has been the summer I was able to work in London at the Carlson Marketing U.K. office.  Being that I love international experiences (both professional and leisure related), I am truly lucky to now be working for a consulting firm (dunnhumby) that originated in the U.K. and has client engagements all over the globe with over 20 various countries.  The opportunities to work abroad someday are certainly available and encouraged within the organization, which is exactly what I am interested in doing after finishing my MBA.  

As one could easily guess, some of my strong passions and interests in life are to travel, to experience new and different things, and enjoy nature and the outdoors.  I am very excited for the J-term course in Hong Kong that I’m participating in this winter!  Just to note, the picture of me is when I was getting strapped up to go skydiving on the coast of California…

Fun stuff.  In my spare time, I enjoy playing basketball/golf/hockey, watching all MN sports teams, listening to indie music, playing guitar, and staying active.  I went to UST for my undergraduate degree in Economics.

Current Responsibilities - My current responsibilities include overseeing the leasing and sales at The Oaks Business Park in Oakdale and identifying investment opportunities and completing financial evaluations, negotiations and due diligence of commercial real estate acquisitions across Carlson's three markets.

I graduated from the University of Minnesota - Duluth in 1995 with a degree in Chemical Engineering.  My first engineering job out of college was at Imation (a spin off of 3M) where I worked as a R&D/scale-up  engineer in the area of polymer and ink dispersions.  In 2000, I switched fields and started my career in medical devices at Medtronic, which is where I am still employed today in the Cardiovascular division.   

BLAW is my 4th class at St. Thomas.  I am taking 1 class per semester as family and work life keeps me very busy.  I was married in 2007 to my husband Chris and his 2 daughters, Meredith (9) and Lauren (8).  Voila!  Instant family.  I grew up in northern WI, in a small town called Ashland where I lived most of my life until high school.  I went to high school in Montgomery, AL.  What a culture shock, but a great experience to have.  For fun, I like to do physical activity preferably outdoors (e.g. running, biking, triathlon, x-county skiing, hiking, kayaking).

I grew up in Virginia, Minnesota, but have lived in St. Paul and the east metro since moving back to Minnesota from Arizona in 1999.  I work for OarFin Distribution, a small music distributor in Burnsville.  I have been with the company for nearly nine years and through OarFin, I’ve had the opportunity to work in nearly every aspect of the music industry.  Currently, I am the company’s Operations Manager and chief problem solver.    

I am non-combat veteran of the U.S. Army and MN Army National Guard, and a recipient of the Army Achievement Medal.  I am very proud of the time I spent in the military, and am a strong supporter of veteran’s rights.  I have many interests and hobbies, and find that I frequently do not have enough free time to maintain them all.  These days, when I do have spare time, I enjoy golf, Freemasonry, travel, reading, and the opera.   

I live in Eagan with my girlfriend Karen, our dog Maggie and two cats Ella and Billie.

Occupation #1: Process Development Engineer at Boston Scientific in the cardiovascular catheter assembly group.

Occupation #2: Financial Advisor at Tempo Investment Advisors, Inc. (www-tempo-investments.com).  Small, family owned business - $30MM of assets under management.  See table for performance:

Married to wife, Holly.  Daughter, Mallory just turned two.  Interests include triathlon, soccer, hockey, and golf.

I was born and raised in Oakdale, MN.  Upon graduation from High School, I departed for Grand Forks, ND to pursue a degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of North Dakota, Home of the Fighting Sioux.  I have a lovely wife, of six years, Lindsay and together we have a two year old daughter, Brooke.  We live together with our two dogs, Turbo and Cheby in Shakopee, MN. 

I’ve been employed at Ziegler Power Systems, a division of Ziegler Inc., for over seven years.  Currently, I lead a $20M, 100 employee industrial engine product support business unit.  Ziegler Inc. is the Caterpillar dealer for MN and IA.  In my spare time, I derive great pleasure and personal accomplishment from the sport of triathlon.  I am a two time Ironman finisher and have completed nearly forty multi-sport events over the past 7 years.  In addition, I love to travel with my wife and family.  The picture I’ve attached was taken near the end of a 4-day, 47 mile, Grand Canyon rim-to-rim-to-rim hike that my wife and I completed this past April.  We’re always looking for the next big adventure and right now, starting my MBA is it!

I was born in Wisconsin, raised in Iowa, and unintentionally completed the Midwest “trifecta” by semi-settling in Minnesota.  To the outside, I sound like a true Midwesterner.  However, during that time, I lived and attended school in Bath, England for a year as a kid, interned in Washington DC and returned to the UK to work at a public relations firm in London.  An interesting factoid about me is that I’ve traveled to about 20 countries and almost every state in the union.  My undergraduate degrees come from the University of Iowa in Journalism and Women’s Studies.  I adore the Hawkeyes!  The love of my life literally rollerbladed into my life shortly after 9/11, and six years later we married.  Even after 8 years of togetherness, I find myself constantly challenged and entertained by Nick.  He remains my support and inspiration. Besides one another, our prized possession is our facetious yet adorable Min Pin, Shea. 

Upon graduation from the University of Iowa, I spent a year working my first “big girl” job at ACT Testing in Iowa City before moving with Nick to Minnesota to work in radio.  Realizing quickly that I could create a much better future for myself and my family-to-be in the wacky world of business, I took a marketing job at Pearson Assessments in Bloomington.  I’ve been with Pearson for three and a half years, and since that first gig, I worked myself up to Associate Product Manager, and now Product Manager.  I adore my company, what we do, and what we stand for.   Outside of work and school, I spend what little free time remains with my husband and dog, friends and family.  My other passion is volunteering, and I am active with the Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity organization and the Minnesota chapter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation.  Though I’m fairly new to the MBA program, I have already forged excellent personal and professional relationships with fellow students and professors.  I hope to continue this trend, so feel free to tap me on the shoulder -- just as long as you don’t hold the love I have for the Hawkeyes against me. 

I have 30 letters in my name.  Jennifer Fendell Vandendriessche  (Van-den-dree-see). I was born on my grandpa's birthday, Fendell Carlson.  I grew up in Marshall, MN.  Everyone in my immediate family, parents, brother and sister graduated from St. John's and St. Ben's.  I graduated in 2003 with a BA in Business Management and went into Residential Real Estate.   I loved it for 4 years, and then the market slowed down.  I decided to change it up, and went corporate.  I now have worked for Best Buy for 2.5 years in finance, but miss the real estate world.   I am hoping that my MBA from St. Thomas will help me get through the doors of the Properties department at Best Buy. 
 
 My favorite place to be is my family’s cabin in Alexandria, MN.  I adore anything to do with the water, and aspire to be a professional water skier (in my dreams).  When I can't get up to the cabin, I like to golf, play tennis and volleyball.  I spend a lot of time with my friends and boyfriend Chris and love to travel.  I plan to fully take advantage of UST's J-Term abroad opportunities.