Doctoral candidate Matt Semadeni was named the recipient of the Graduate Student Teaching Award, given by The Association of Former Students. Each year the association honors graduate students for both teaching and research.

Semadeni realized his love for teaching while facilitating sessions as a consultant for PricewaterhouseCoopers. “I enjoy the dialogue that occurs when people are learning new things,” he says. “I invariably come away from the experience enriched by the diverse viewpoints of the students.”

Teaching entrepreneurship and new ventures and strategic management, Semadeni hopes his courses encourage students to move beyond the mere regurgitation of terms and theories to holistic and integrated thought processes. “I want the students to challenge the assumptions that often keep individuals and organizations from seizing opportunities as they are presented,” he says.

Semadeni, who earned a BS in information systems from Brigham Young University, will graduate from Mays with a PhD in management in August.