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The Peter H. Stevens Jr. Memorial Student Prize
PETER H. STEVENS JR. MEMORIAL STUDENT PRIZE
Nearly 20 years ago, the Stevens Family created the endowed scholarship, The Peter H. Stevens Jr. Memorial Student Prize at The Paul Merage School of Business. In honor of Peter Stevens’ long standing commitment to education and the Univerity of California, Irvine, this scholarship is awarded to a graduate student of high merit who serves on a leadership board at the Merage School.
During the 2019-2020 academic year, Will Phelps was awarded this scholarship. Will graduated the Full-Time MBA Program in 2020 and is currently employed at Blue Shied of California where he helps bring affordable healthcare to California residents. Additionally, Will still gives back to the Merage School community as a Merage Student Ambassador.
For the 2020-2021 academic year, Tiam Setayeshi was awarded this scholarship. Tiam is in the 2021 cohort of the Full-Time MBA program. Tiam is the President of the Merage Student Association, representing over 1,000 graduate students at the Merage School.
Tiam Setayeshi
Prior to pursuing his MBA, Tiam worked for four years in the retail industry, where he started off as an Omni Financial Planner for Macy’s Inc. for their Fashion Jewelry/Watches division, before moving to grow the businesses within the Kitchen Electrics division at Walmart.com as a Buyer. He is a graduate of The George Washington University where he earned his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a focus in Marketing and holds a minor in Economics. He is leveraging his experience to move into the Entertainment industry, where he hopes to work in a strategy capacity for a major streaming service provider. For fun, he enjoys playing basketball, watching new television shows and movies, and is an avid reader.
TIAM SETAYESHI
My journey to the Merage School is not one of coincidence or chance. Having been born and raised in Orange County, UCI has always been the top school for higher education in the area. I also benefitted from the insight of family and friends who have walked through the halls of the University during various stages of their lives – whether it be during undergraduate or graduate programs – so I had a better idea than most about what to expect when I applied. With an overall smaller student body, the Merage School can better dedicate resources to developing business leaders, with the support of world-class staff and faculty, and better meet the needs of each student. This smaller class size allows each student to make a bigger impact in the program and larger community.
When I look back at why I took on the role as President of the Merage Student Association (MSA), I remember one of the questions that was asked during the interview process: “How do you plan on making an impact in the Merage School community during your time here?” My way of making that impact was through leading the Merage Student Association.
As the forefront student-run organization at the Merage School, my hope is that the initiatives that we championed on behalf of the student body through MSA made at least one students’ experience just a little better. During a time when the world was forced to move online and ended up isolating us, we were able to adapt and still make students feel connected to their fellow classmates. To support the many Merage School clubs that continued to engage their members with educational, professional, and social virtual events; that was the impact I strived to make as President of MSA – to improve the student experience and advocate for the student body. That is what this scholarship means to me – a way of recognizing student leaders who worked to better the Merage School experience for all.
Thank you, Tiam Setayeshi Dear Stevens Family:
I am honored and humbled to be the 2020-2021 recipient of the Peter H. Stevens Jr. Memorial Student Prize. I am thrilled to be a small part of the many recipients of scholarships, endowments, grants, and other forms of financial aid that are made possible through the generous support of alumni and community members.
WILL PHELPS
Full-Time MBA ‘20
How did the Peter H. Stevens Jr. Memorial Student Prize change your career path?
The Peter H. Stevens Jr. Memorial Student Prize positively affected my career path and allowed me to further support health inequalities, by joining Blue Shield of California. With this scholarship, I was able to make the most of my MBA and lead all graduate students in the Merage Student Association (MSA) - the graduate student body - as President.
What path have you taken post-graduation?
I had the opportunity to join Blue Shield of California’s Shield Emerging Leaders program and help bring affordable healthcare to California. I currently work with our Medicare teams to support Medicare members all over California.
How did the Merage School help you achieve your goals?
Earning my MBA with The Paul Merage School of Business was the best decision of my life and put me on a path to help more people. Without the leadership training or MBA, my impact in the community would be much lower.
Tell us about your background before you became a student at the Merage School?
Pre-MBA, I was leading program teams as large as 250 employees with Amazon.com & Zulily.com to ensure that what we were selling on our website was what we were shipping to our customers.
How has this award impacted your experience at the Merage School?
This award allowed me to help more students as the MSA President and make their Merage School experience even better.
What opportunities are you most grateful for?
I am most grateful for the chance to put my career on a more socially productive path.
As of December 2020, The Peter H. Stevens Jr. Memorial Student Prize endowment is valued at $43,658 and the annual scholarship award is approximately $2,000.
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Projected Growth With Pledged Dollars
2003 2008 2013 2018 2020
