Category: Student Worker

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Manuela Murillo attends Goldman Sachs Leadership Summit

Hunt Institute student-worker, Manuela Murillo, proudly represented her Hispanic community at the 2nd annual Goldman Sachs Hispanic Leadership Summit last semester. The two-day networking and skill-building event attracted more than 1,000 applicants from across the country, but the opportunity was extended to only 50 young scholars.

At the Leadership Summit, Murillo was able to hear from industry leaders while networking with other ambitious undergrads. Through her workshops and seminars, Murillo developed important leadership skills and strong relationships with employees at Goldman Sachs.

“Maybe I’m not going to immediately work there after graduation, but I’ll know people there,” Murillo said regarding her experience.

View of New York City from the Goldman<br /> Sachs Hispanic Leadership Summit. Photo by Manuela Murillo.
View of New York City from the Goldman Sachs Hispanic Leadership Summit. Photo by Manuela Murillo.

Colombian-born Murillo was first made aware of the summit when a member of the Lyle Board of Trustees mentioned the opportunity. Murillo’s passion for making strong connections motivated her to apply for the event, although she was initially hesitant due to her lack of a financial background.

“I just applied,” Murillo admitted. “I’m not a finance major and I’ve never built a financial model before.”

Upon applying, however, she learned that 48% of the people Goldman Sachs hires are STEM majors while only 30% are business majors.

“Study engineering and you can do anything!” Murillo exclaimed.

Students mingling at the Goldman Sachs Hispanic Leadership Summit. Video by Manuela Murillo.

As a junior at SMU, Murillo is pursuing degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Mathematics. Her dedication to promoting STEM practices and education inspired Murillo to become President of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE), a community service program involving mentorship, STEM workshops, and math tutoring for students in underprivileged areas of Dallas.

“We really preach professional, leadership, and personal development,” Murillo stated. “We like to fill those gaps where, yes you are going to your engineering classes, but that is not enough.”

With several internships under her belt at companies like BMW and AT&T, Murillo has leaped into the professional world determined to enhance her professional experience and enact positive change in the world.

Murillo now works as a Student Project Manager at the Hunt Institute for Engineering & Humanity helping to develop and scale different transformational initiatives. Murillo’s leadership skills and passion for bettering the world through STEM initiatives have made her a vital team member at the Hunt Institute.

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Liam Lowsley-Williams ’21

Liam Lowsley-Williams
Liam Lowsley-Williams ’21, worked for the Hunt Institute through his undergraduate studies and now as a masters student. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science with a minor in Engineering Management Information Systems from Lyle School of Engineering at Southern Methodist University. Currently, he is pursuing a Master of Science in Computer Science and is the Head Full Stack Development Teaching Assistant for Lyle in the Computer Science department. He continues to be a Technical Consultant for the Hunt Institute where he mentors other students as well as leads development in the evolving Map INDallas (formally called Map 4 Good).
Liam was born in Fairfield, CT and transferred to SMU after his first year of college. He originally attended Chapman University in Southern California and was pursuing business and economics with an emphasis on real estate development. However, while working over the winter months in Telluride, CO, he realized his true calling was engineering. He identified and solved an issue as an intern by developing a digitized inventory management system for a hotel where he worked. That solution was integrated into the company’s standard operating procedures resulting in a cost savings for the company as well as increased customer satisfaction.
Liam accepted a role as Frontend Web Developer at SiriusXM after successfully completing his internship there over the summer of 2021 where he works while pursuing his master’s degree. He holds a Board of Directors member position for Treasure Map, Inc., and continues as the Chief Technology Officer for Learning Alpha, LLC that he co-founded in 2019. His background experience include an internship as a software engineer at McKinsey & Company in NYC, a Full Stack Developer for Signo Capital, and as a Graphic and Web Designer for the AT&T Center for Virtualization partnering with Southern Methodist University, to name a few

To read more about the Hunt Institute’s work to develop future-focused solutions to some of the world’s biggest problems, please click here. For the latest news on the Hunt Institute, follow our social media accounts on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. We invite you to listen to our Podcast called Sages & Seekers. If you are considering engaging with the institute, you can donate, or sign-up for our newsletter by emailing huntinstitute@smu.edu.

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Daniel Dewan

Daniel Dewan

Daniel is a rising junior at Southern Methodist University working towards a B.A. Computer Science and B.BA. in Finance. He is also Treasurer of SMU’s Men’s Club Soccer Team and a member of Beta Theta Pi, the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, and the McLane Teammates Scholars Reading Group through SMU’s O’Neil Center for Global Markets and Freedom.

Daniel has also been recognized as a Distinguished Scholar and has been awarded the SMU Discovery, Lyle UG Engineering, and Embrey, J Lindsay Scholarships as well as SMU Honor Roll with Distinction – Spring 2019. In July, he will be interning at American Express as a Software Engineer. After completing his undergraduate studies at SMU, Daniel will pursue a career in management consulting and eventually return to school to earn an MBA.

At the Hunt Institute, Daniel is an undergraduate Web Developer where he has project managed the Hunt Institute’s transition in gathering content that would be used for its page in SMU Lyle School of Engineering’s new site, created new pages using Sitecore, HTML, and CSS as well as made edits to current pages, and posted articles on the Hunt Institute’s blog focusing on SEO.

To read more about the Hunt Institute’s work to develop future-focused solutions to some of the world’s biggest problems, please click here. For the latest news on the Hunt Institute, follow our social media accounts on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. We invite you to listen to our Podcast called Sages & Seekers. If you are considering engaging with the institute, you can donate, or sign-up for our newsletter by emailing huntinstitute@smu.edu.

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Ryan Brook ’19, Hunt Institute Associate

Ryan Brook '19, IT Business Analyst & Project Manager at Hunt Consolidated

Ryan Brook ’19 joins the Hunt Institute as an Associate, bringing his experience in project management and the ability to overcome various challenges through innovative solutions.

Ryan Brook graduated in May of 2019 from SMU with a major in EMIS and a minor in Business Administration & Mathematics. Ryan is originally from Denver, Colorado. He was also an SMU Discovery Scholarship & Founders Scholarship recipient.

While at SMU, Ryan worked as an Undergraduate Project Manager in the Hunt Institute where he applied his knowledge from both the Lyle School of Engineering and Cox Business School to assist student researchers with their projects. In addition to contributing as a project manager, he mentored younger students in project management training and helped to shape a project management handbook for the Institute. His goal was to help projects define the scope, timeline, and budget so undergraduates would be better equipped to execute their projects successfully. While he is not a technical engineer, Ryan believes that he can contribute to the Hunt Institute mission by assisting others with their projects.

After leaving SMU and the Hunt Institute, Ryan continued his work in Project Management with Hunt Consolidated, Inc. in Dallas. Ryan was recruited into Hunt to help rebuild their internal office of Project Management and was able to apply his skills and lessons learned from his time with the Institute doing the same. Over the past two years, Ryan has worked in many different areas within IT as a Business Analyst, Technical Project Manager, and Pseudo Developer, helping the business identify weaknesses and needs while providing roadmaps and application solutions. Hunt was faced with many unforeseen difficulties over the past two years, and Ryan was able to help the business stay nimble and adapt to the ever-changing landscape. Having overcome various challenges, Ryan has now resumed work as a Project Manager, implementing enterprise-wide SAAS solutions and continuing his growth in the specialization of IT Project Delivery.

In addition to school and his work with the Hunt Institute, Ryan was a member of Lyle Ambassadors, a group of students that assist with recruitment and retention. Ryan has a passion for helping other people succeed, especially in the areas that he has struggled through before. He continues this work by taking his skills into the professional workspace as an IT Business Analyst & Project Manager at Hunt Consolidated.

After working as a professional in the industry, we asked Ryan Brook what he felt about impact work. He said, “Impact work is important to me because for me, it is a choice, and I hope that one day it can be a choice for everyone. The beauty of life is in what we choose to do with what we are given, and helping people…is what I choose to do.”

To read more about the Hunt Institute’s work to develop future-focused solutions to some of the world’s biggest problems, please click here. For the latest news on the Hunt Institute, follow our social media accounts on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. We invite you to listen to our Podcast called Sages & Seekers. If you are considering engaging with the institute, you can donate, or sign-up for our newsletter by emailing huntinstitute@smu.edu.

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Anna Grace Carey ’19, Hunt Institute Associate

Anna Grace Carey '19

Anna Grace Carey ’19 joins the Hunt Institute as an Associate, bringing with her a passion for marketing and giving back to the Institute as an alumna of SMU and the Hunt Institute.

Anna Grace is a Marketing Specialist at Sendero, a management consulting firm in Dallas. Prior to joining the marketing department, she worked as an Associate Consultant at Sendero where she led various organizational change management initiatives in IT departments at two Fortune 500 companies. She graduated cum laude from Southern Methodist University in 2019 with majors in journalism, fashion media, and political science; and minors in law & legal reasoning and history of visual & performing arts.

Outside of the office, she is a member of the Genesis Young Leaders Board of Directors and volunteers through the Junior League of Dallas. She enjoys writing, traveling, and spending time with Henry, her energetic Goldendoodle.

During her time at SMU, Anna Grace worked at the Hunt Institute for Engineering & Humanity as the Communications Team Lead. She created the communication strategy and edited blog posts for the Hunt Institute Digest. She also developed the Sages & Seekers Podcast with the Hunt Institute for her honors distinction thesis in the SMU Division of Journalism. The goal of the podcast is to facilitate conversations about community and resiliency.

While at SMU, Anna Grace also completed research on the Supreme Court and copyright law.  She contributed to “Give Me a ©: Refashioning the Supreme Court’s Decision in Star v. Varsity into a More Complete Copyright Protection for Fashion Designers,” a paper written with Professors Jared Schroeder and Camille Kraeplin. This work was published in the UCLA Entertainment Law Review. Additional honors and awards include membership in Pi Beta Kappa and Kappa Tau Alpha, the Outstanding Senior in Writing & Editing award for the Division of Journalism, and the John Goodwin Tower award for leadership in political science.

When asked what her motivation is for doing impact work she replied, “Nothing is more rewarding than doing work in the impact space. Contributing to initiatives that move us towards a more sustainable, inclusive and conscientious future is such a gift.”

To read more about the Hunt Institute’s work to develop future-focused solutions to some of the world’s biggest problems, please click here. For the latest news on the Hunt Institute, follow our social media accounts on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. We invite you to listen to our Podcast called Sages & Seekers. If you are considering engaging with the institute, you can donate, or sign-up for our newsletter by emailing huntinstitute@smu.edu.