VICTORIA LONDON SCHOLARSHIP
Victoria London passed away in 2014 after a courageous battle with ALS. Victoria received her Master’s in Engineering and Business Administration at Columbia University and was the first woman ever admitted to Columbia’s Chemical Engineering Society, Phi Lambda Epsilon.
In 1974, Victoria moved to Key Biscayne and became part of the community. It is through her passion and generosity that future generations will pursue degrees and their own passions and, in doing so honor the incredible legacy of Victoria London.
Congratulations to the 2021-22 Recipients
Harsha Balakrishnan
Class of 2023
Hometown
Chennai, India
Education
Anna University | BE, Mechanical Engineering
What does this award mean to you?
This award means a lot to me, as I dream of becoming an entrepreneur one day. I plan to explore the fintech field and hope to improve financial inclusion in rural areas globally. This scholarship relieves a great deal of financial pressure for me and my family and will help me more readily pursue my startup goals. I plan to use the next two years to leverage the resources that CBS provides and tap into the alumni network to gain insights and build on different ideas. In my career and through my social and professional interests, I aim to give back to the community much more than it has given me.
What impact do you hope to have after graduation both professionally and personally?
In my career, through my social and professional interests, I aim to give back to the community much more than it has given me. I hope to make an impact towards improving financial literacy in the world. There are a lot of people around the world who do not have access to advisors on how to manage money and in turn end up trusting people who are trying to cheat them. They lose a lot of money in this process. I hope to provide a service to educate such people and help them better manage finances.
Remi Banaga
Class of 2023
Hometown
Edea, Cameroon
Education
University of Yaounde | MSc, Mechanical Engineering
What does this award mean to you?
Through your generosity, I am able to attend one of the most prestigious institutions of higher education in the world. I grew up in a small town in Cameroon and walking into campus everyday or sitting in class hearing from my classmates, I am amazed at the= fact that I am even here given where I come from. It wouldn’t have been possible without your support. On campus, I am involved in the Africa Business Club because I want to help other prospective candidates from Africa navigate the application process just like I was helped. I love Taekwondo, so I will probably also join the Mixed Martials Arts Club. Thank you so much for the scholarship.
What impact do you hope to have after graduation both professionally and personally?
After graduation, I intend to work in the finance industry. Given my experience in energy, I will look at working in firms that actively invest in energy infrastructure. In the long-term, I intend to return to Africa to establish an infrastructure investment fund, in order to attract capital from around the world to invest in infrastructure in Africa. The boom in urbanization and population growth will put pressure on existing infrastructure, and governments across Africa will have to find new ways to fund the infrastructure that will underpin stable and sustainable economic growth. I hope that the network I will develop at CBS and my experience in finance will position me well to bring a fresh perspective to solving this challenge across Africa.
Lily Jumean
Class of 2023
Hometown
Washington, DC
Education
Barnard College | BA Economics
What does this award mean to you?
I am extremely grateful to receive the Victoria London Scholarship. As a graduate from Barnard College, an all-female institution, I am honored to be a recipient of an award from another female leader from Columbia University. At CBS, I hope to either move towards impact investing or venture capital. I am involved in the Columbia Women in Business group and the Venture Capital Club. Outside CBS, I am a yoga teacher and was previously a professional ballet dancer. I am fascinated with different cultures, having grown up in the Middle East and Latin America and love learning new languages. Currently, I speak Arabic, Spanish, and basic Japanese.
What impact do you hope to have after graduation both professionally and personally?
I hope that I am able to take my experiences from New York and from CBS to eventually move back to the Middle East. In the long term, I would like to work at an impact investing fund, and also help inspire and create the next generation of female leaders. Having lived a majority of my life in the Middle East, I was not exposed to as much female leadership as I would have liked. I believe that my background and the opportunities at CBS will help me develop the toolkit to succeed either if I stay in New York or move abroad.
Yaneli Rubio
Class of 2023
Hometown
Friendswood, Texas
Education
The University of Texas at Austin | B.B.A. Marketing
What does this award mean to you?
Receiving this award made it possible to further my mission to connect underrepresented groups with information that will help them thrive while pursuing my MBA at Columbia Business School. I’ve taken advantage of my position at CBS to further my mission in two ways. First, I’ve had informational chats with several Black and Latinx students interested in pursuing their MBA. I’ve shared with them tips for getting through the stressful application process, and also why CBS can be the best place for them to further their career. Second, through CBS’s Nonprofit Board Leadership Program, I’m working with Qualitas, a New York City-based non-profit which provides financial literacy education to Hispanic communities around NYC. As a first-generation Mexican-American, I’m excited to explore more ways to support communities like mine. Thank you.
What impact do you hope to have after graduation both professionally and personally?
After graduation, I’ll be exercising my new strategy, finance, and general management skills as a consultant at BCG, where I hope to support cases specifically within the education system. I later plan to leverage my consultant toolkit and diversified knowledgebase as a leader within a foundation which supports technological innovations to drive educational initiatives, like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Through my professional experiences, and in speaking with mentors in social impact work, I understand there is an opportunity to adapt corporate strategies and implement them for non-profit organizations. I am well suited, and will be even more so in the next few years, to drive catalytic change for nonprofits impacting the accessibility of education for underrepresented students.