Chancellor’s Fellowship Challenge Empowers Future Leaders at the Rady School of Management

New gifts to Rady graduate fellowships of $10,000 or more will be matched through June 2027

An investment in the UC San Diego Rady School of Management is a strategic bet in the visionary leaders who will drive the innovation economy in San Diego and beyond. Credit: Rady School of Management.

The importance of graduate fellowships cannot be overstated for students who want to break through financial barriers and access advanced degrees. “Without the support of a fellowship, there is no way I would be able to attend the Rady School of Management,” said Jai'lyn Richardson, a second-year full-time Master of Business Administration (MBA) student at the school. “It has made a UC San Diego education possible because I would have never been able to move from my home state of Alabama to pursue a graduate education in California without the extra financial support.”

Richardson’s fellowship will enable her to do an internship in Nashville this summer, where she will be a venture fellow at LaunchTN, supporting economic development through venture capital in the region.

Jai'lyn Richardson, a second-year Full-Time MBA student at the Rady School of Management.

“I am passionate about creating Black wealth, becoming an innovative leader who creates impact, and supporting the next generation of Black innovators – which I believe can be accomplished through the venture capital sector,” Richardson said.

With the goal of broadening access to a top-tier business education for students like Richardson, UC San Diego Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla has established an inspiration challenge where new gifts or commitments to the Rady School Graduate Fellowships Fund of $10,000 or more will be matched. Additionally, with a gift of $100,000 or more, donors may establish a named fellowship that will receive matching funds. Eligible gifts will be matched $1 per $2 given (up to a total of $3 million) until June 30, 2027.

“An investment in the Rady School is a strategic bet in the visionary leaders who will drive the innovation economy in San Diego and beyond,” said Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla. “By equipping students with cutting-edge analytical and leadership skills, Rady empowers them to harness the power of business to tackle the world’s most pressing challenges and create a brighter future for all.”

For Richardson, an MBA from Rady means she can better contribute to the greater good and improve her own opportunities for career advancement.

Rady School of Management Dean Lisa Ordóñez.

“I’ve always known that I want to hold a high position, like being a chief operating officer or own my own business, and that is what an MBA from Rady can help me achieve,” Richardson, who will be president of UC San Diego’s Graduate and Professional Student Association next year, said.

After earning an undergraduate degree from Tennessee State University in business administration, she went to work in logistics before attending graduate school.

At Rady, Richardson works part-time at the Rady School as an Equity, Diversity and Inclusion coordinator.

She said she chose UC San Diego over business schools at UC Irvine and UCLA because she was awarded a fellowship from the school.

“Once I found out I was awarded the fellowship, I knew the Rady School at UC San Diego was the perfect fit because of both the extra financial support and the analytical and entrepreneurial focused curriculum of the school,” Richardson said.

Rady School of Management Dean Lisa Ordóñez says stories from students like Richardson are the heart of the new campaign for the Rady School Graduate Fellowships Fund.

“Fellowships enable UC San Diego to compete for top student talent and ensure that highly qualified candidates who might otherwise be deterred by financial constraints can access our transformative programs,” Ordóñez said.

Rady School of Management alumna Ashley Van Zeeland, MBA ‘12, who now serves as vice president of Corporate and Business Development at Illumina.

From Neuroscientist to Business Leader: How a Rady Fellowship Transformed Ashley Van Zeeland's Career

A Rady fellowship was transformative for Ashley Van Zeeland, MBA ‘12, as well, who now serves as vice president of Corporate and Business Development at Illumina.

Van Zeeland attended Rady after earning an undergraduate degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder and a PhD in neuroscience from UCLA.

“As a PhD scientist with an interest in business, the Rady education was a perfect match and set my career on a trajectory I never could have anticipated,” Van Zeeland said. “I wanted to pursue an MBA while finishing my post-doctoral work but given the circumstances, was not able to afford the tuition. The offer of a fellowship not only helped close the financial gap so that I could enroll, but it also signaled that I was a good fit for the Rady program and that what I could bring to the school was valued.”

The impact of Van Zeeland’s fellowship is why she chose to give to the Rady School Graduate Fellowships Fund, a gift that was matched by Chancellor Khosla.

“I can attest to the personal and career impact of a Rady education and as an alumna, it is important to me to help make that education accessible to the best and brightest students who want to attend,” she said. “My time at Rady provided me with the business fundamentals along with additional coursework in new venture finance and entrepreneurship, so that I was able to combine my technical background with a new toolset to build a career at the interface of business and science with the aim of improving human health.”

Edgar Leon, a second-year Full-Time MBA student at the Rady School of Management.

Edgar Leon: A Fellowship was his Ticket to a Brighter Future

A fellowship helped bridge the gap for Edgar Leon as well, a second-year Full-Time MBA student from Fallbrook, California. “I’ve had an interesting journey—if you were to ask people that I grew up with whether I would be where I am now, they probably would not believe it,” Leon said.

After high school, Leon enrolled at Palomar College, but his grades suffered while working 30+ hours a week. His parents intervened and said they would support him so that he could quit working and focus on his studies. His GPA rose from 1.5 to 3.7 and eventually, he transferred to UC San Diego.

The first-generation college and high school graduate continues to make his parents proud. He earned a degree from UC San Diego in political science in 2020 and then went to work for Goldman Sachs as an analyst. He was succeeding in his career, but Leon wanted more.

“I was on track to be promoted to associate, but that's where I could basically cap out,” he said. “In order to be a vice president and higher, you need some sort of advanced degree like an MBA, so I decided to go back to school so there would be nothing holding me back.”

Leon is on track to graduate early in Winter of 2025.

“Getting a fellowship is an amazing opportunity,” he said. “It made the dream of grad school a reality for me. It has allowed me to be a student full-time and not to worry about balancing work…I am super grateful to Rady and the donors, Charles and Renée Brandes, who made my fellowship possible. I look forward to making them proud.”

He added, “It’s my intent to give back to the school as an alum because an investment in Rady can have a major impact.”

Expanding the impact of donations, gifts and commitments of $10,000 or more to support Rady graduate fellowships will be matched on a 1:2 basis by Chancellor Khosla as part of the Chancellor’s Rady Fellowship Challenge. Gifts of $100,000 or more can be directed to establish a named fellowship, with matching funds. Please contact Henry Geng, senior director of Development (hgeng@ucsd.edu) to learn more about how you can support fellowships at Rady as part of the matching challenge.