W. P. Carey School graduation to feature Diamondbacks draftee, group from China

About 2,200 students will graduate from Arizona State University’s W. P. Carey School of Business this week. The W. P. Carey School is one of the largest and highest-ranked business schools in the nation, with undergraduate, full-time MBA, part-time MBA and online MBA programs all ranked in the top 30 by U.S. News & World Report.

Graduation ceremonies will include an inspiring student paralyzed while playing baseball and then drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks, and a group visiting from the school’s prestigious executive MBA program in China.

“We’re proud to see another accomplished, impressive class graduating from the W. P. Carey School,” says Amy Hillman, dean of the W. P. Carey School of Business. “These students will join our strong alumni network of more than 90,000 individuals in a variety of industries worldwide.”

• Undergraduate convocation will include about 1,300 students at 9 a.m., May 14, at the Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe.

• Graduate convocation will feature more than 900 students at 2 p.m., May 16, at the Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe.

Cory Hahn, a renowned high school baseball player paralyzed from the chest down during one of his first games at Arizona State University, is one of those participating in the undergraduate convocation. Hahn has an incredible work ethic, acted as a student coach to the ASU baseball team, continues efforts toward walking again, and impressed the Arizona Diamondbacks so much that they drafted him in the 34th round of the 2013 Major League Baseball draft. Hahn will receive a Bachelor of Arts in business with a concentration in communication, and he will have a full-time job with the Diamondbacks after graduation.

"Being a part of the W. P. Carey School of Business has been one of the most beneficial experiences of my life,” says Hahn. “I have been able to learn all different aspects of business from some of the best professors in the country and to interact with students who have the same goal for succeeding in the business world. I know that, due to my hard work and the school’s guidance, I am getting a great start in my career."

This year’s winner of the Outstanding Graduating Senior Award is also a stellar individual. David Choi is a McCord Scholar, a JPMorgan Chase Scholar, an Edward Rondthaler Scholar, a National Merit Scholar and a U.S. Presidential Scholar, among other accolades.

Choi took a class taught by Nobel Prize winner Ed Prescott, who said of the senior, “Students of his quality are rare. I would love to have him in our Ph.D. program.”

Choi’s resume includes completing an internship with Boeing, co-founding a startup featured in USA Today, being selected by the U.S. government to study game theory in South Korea, and volunteering with St. Vincent de Paul Food Bank and United Blood Services. Choi will graduate from the W. P. Carey School with Bachelor of Science degrees in economics and supply chain management, plus a mathematics degree from the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences. Then he’ll pursue a master’s degree in management science and engineering at Stanford University, with the ultimate goal of eventually becoming a business-school professor.

At the graduate-level convocation, about a half-dozen students from the school’s Shanghai executive MBA program will be in attendance. This program educates some of the highest-level business and government leaders in China and is ranked in the top 30 among executive MBA programs worldwide, according to the Financial Times. Past graduates include the chief executive officers of Baosteel and Shanghai Electric, three vice governors of China’s major provinces, six city mayors, the chief executive officer of the Shanghai Stock Exchange, several bank chairmen and the deputy commissioner of the China Securities Regulatory Commission. Current graduating students include a director of the Ministry of Finance of the People’s Republic of China, a director general and a deputy director general of provincial government finance offices in China, and an executive vice president of the Shanghai United Media Group, one of the largest global providers and distributors of Chinese-language media content.

For more information about the W. P. Carey School, visit www.wpcarey.asu.edu.