Nathan Miller
The College of Business Administration has named graduate student, Nathan Miller, as this year’s William G. McGowan Scholar. This award provides an $18,000 scholarship for the 2009-2010 academic year. The scholarship is designed to encourage leadership and recognizes students who show academic excellence and exemplary qualities of character, including intellectual curiosity, a spirit of innovation, and entrepreneurial potential.
“This is a very humbling experience for me,” Miller said. “I feel incredibly honored that the faculty believe in me and have given me this opportunity to represent the University and the College. Receiving this scholarship validates my reason for being here.”
Prior to attending the CBA, Miller received his bachelor’s degree from Purdue University in financial planning and then worked in Italy for almost three years in event services. Once he decided to return to the States, Miller knew he was no longer interested in the financial services sector but did have a desire to be involved in business somehow.
“I decided that an MBA was the perfect segway [spelling/] into something else,” Miller said. “In the future I believe there will be a convergence between Human Resources and IT, both of which I am deeply committed to doing. I want to help create better teams of people that work together and are happy and can offer a background in technology. LMU offered me the opportunity to pursue that avenue.”
When he’s not in class or working as the MBA’s office graduate assistant, Miller devotes his time to the Focolare Family Movement- an International organization that promotes the ideals of unity and universal brotherhood. Miller works specifically with 8 to 13 year-olds building confidence, teaching morals and ethics, recognizing growth opportunities, and empowering them with leadership skills.
Loyola Marymount University is one of the 35 colleges nationwide to participate in the William G. McGowan Scholars Program; the CBA received a grant from the William G. McGowan Charitable Fund to provide the scholarship. The program is based on the experience of McGowan, founder and former chairman of MCI Communications Corporation, who was able to complete his MBA at Harvard University with only the assistance of a scholarship award.
Scholarship applicants must meet specific criteria, including a minimum grade point average of 3.0, a faculty recommendation, evidence of success in a variety of leadership roles and the submission of an essay about the contributions of McGowan to the business world or telecommunications field.