The Fox School of Business Alumni Association (FSBAA) held an election for new leadership at its annual meeting in May.
Four new directors-at-large were elected and, along with the six other directors-at-large and the executive committee, they will help the FSBAA plan events, develop professional development opportunities, manage the budget, and much more.
We spoke with the new directors-at-large to learn more about their involvement in FSBAA and the one piece of advice that changed their lives.
Sasha Buddle
Sasha Buddle, BBA ’16
Job: Human resources system specialist, AmeriGas; Supply specialist, U.S. Army; Fox School MS candidate
Best thing about FSAA: “I love the alumni association. There is a wide variety of events—like seeing individuals who are also successful and have the same educational background as me—and it really shows that greatness does not quit. And I love the ability to network with and meet new people I did not have a class with.”
Best advice ever received: “To be myself—to be my true and best self. This advice has stuck with me for years and at times when I feel like I have nothing more to give, I remember I am not a quitter and if I ever quit I am not being myself. I may fail, which gives me a chance to learn and try again, but I never quit.”
Fun fact: “I was born and raised in Jamaica. And I love dancing, even though I was never taught professionally.”
Anuja Deshmukh
Anuja Deshmukh, BBA ’09
Job: Manager of business systems analysts and product development, Change Healthcare
Best thing about FSAA: “Meeting people: alumni from different graduating years, alumni working in different industries and jobs, families of alum. Temple Owls really are everywhere!”
Best advice ever received: “It has come to me in different forms of an Epictetus quote that goes, ‘It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.’”
Fun fact: “Most people are surprised to learn I was born in Louisiana even though I’ve been in the Philadelphia area since I was five-years-old.”
Michael Johnson
Michael Johnson, CLA ’14, MBA ’17
Job: Director of finance and administration, Philadelphia Futures
Best thing about FSAA: “I love connecting with and learning from fellow alumni across Fox’s powerful network.”
Best advice ever received: “Take ownership in everything you do.”
Fun fact: “The first time I left the country was on an international immersion trip with the Fox School. We went to India and it was really inspiring. You have this massive country with such rich history and vibrant culture, thousands of years old, that is also a world leader in disruptive innovations in technology and engineering. There is also a tremendous energy, optimism, and ambition among entrepreneurs and business leaders that is infectious.”
Corey Lewis
Corey Lewis, BBA ’17
Job: Global brand digital assistant, Essity
Best thing about FSAA: “The ability to be involved. Fox has contributed immensely to my professional development and it’s an honor to give back and pay it forward.”
Best advice ever received: “It came from my business ethics professor: The hardest thing to do is usually the right thing to do.”
Fun fact: “When I was a kid, I worked on ‘The Sixth Sense’ with a few of the set designers, but not on set. The movie itself was filmed in various parts of Philadelphia, with Bruce Willis’ character living on Delancey Street in Society Hill. We were in Maryland picking up some vintage pieces from a local auction in Crumpton, Maryland. My role as a 15-year-old was to mostly help move these heavy pieces from Maryland to a storage location. It was a short assignment, but an experience I was able to take advantage of due to some very exceptional networking on my part.”