Marquette University's AIM Class of 2015 Graduated on Sunday, May 17, 2015

Education is the best provision for old age.
-Aristotle
I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.
-Mark Twain
If you aren’t fired with enthusiasm, you will be fired with enthusiasm.
-Vince Lombardi

AIM Class of 2015

The AIM Class of 2015 will always be a special one --- it was the ‘bubble’ class and it also had 10 international students. Two years ago a record number of 67 students applied to the program and on Sunday more than 40 AIM students participated in Marquette University’s graduation ceremonies (with several others scheduled to graduate in August or December). This group of students is the tenth class to graduate from the AIM program; a significant milestone.

By all measures this has been another successful year. The students in the AIM Class of 2015 had meaningful internship experiences and they soon will be starting their careers at various financial firms across the globe.  Also, many of them are busy preparing to take the Chartered Financial Analysts (CFA) Level I exam on the first Saturday in June. Like all of the other AIM classes before them, I know they will do well – and I have truly enjoyed working with them.

The students in the Class of 2015 inherited three investment portfolios: the small cap domestic equity; international equity; and fixed income fund. These students worked hard and generated good results in the three funds they managed. The students encountered unique challenges as the financial markets continued to rebound from the Great Recession – with the international stocks especially tricky to manage during the past year. Nevertheless, they maintained their composure and managed the AIM Funds as true professionals.

As always, it has been a rewarding year for me working with the students in the AIM program. In addition to being intellectually curious and hardworking, the Class of 2015 was deeply committed to the responsibilities associated with administering the student-managed funds. Despite the ongoing uncertainty of the global investment climate, we are confident that the AIM Funds will continue to provide invaluable opportunities for learning as students in future classes apply their hand to managing a portion of Marquette’s endowment funds.

Marquette University Commencement 2015 

Congratulations to the students who graduated at Marquette's Commencement on Sunday, May 17, 2015. We wish not only to recognize the achievements of our graduates, but also to acknowledge parents and others for their cooperation and support.

This was a highly talented group of students who worked hard right up until the end of their senior year. While some of these students received significant honors and awards, all of them are special and have unique talents. They worked exceedingly hard during the past two years since they were admitted to the AIM program and we wish them all best of luck. 

The following table contains information about the AIM students in the Class of 2015. 

 

 

AIM Class of 2015	Honors	Graduation
Dan Alon		May
Richard Bernard		December
Brandon Cloete		December
Thomas Desmond		May
Thomas Dickinson		May
Patrick Doyle		May
Haney Fam		May
Vanessa Foltinger		December
Patrick Hart	Cum Laude,  *	May
Joe Hodes		May
Charles Houser	*	December
Dustin Hwang		December
Alaa Ibrahim	Cum Laude	May
Alex Isken		December
Cole Johnson	Summa Cum Laude,  *	May
Berent Kowarick		May
Kevin Lane	Cum Laude	May
Kyle Lawrence		May
Jing Liu		August
Patrick Lonzo	*	December
Mary McNellis	Magna Cum Laude,  *	May
Mark Messier		May
Andrew North	Magna Cum Laude,  *	May
Jeremy Poppe		May
Monica Raciti	Magna Cum Laude	May
Jaime Rehm	Cum Laude,  *	May
Mariano Sanz	Cum Laude	May
Alex Schmidt	Cum Laude	May
John  Schneider		May
Jordan Schumacher		May
Rushi  Shah		May
Connor Showalter		May
Joe Simonelli		May
Michael Stankovsky	Magna Cum Laude,  *	May
James Stark		May
Jack Sullivan	Magna Cum Laude	May
Chris Swanson		May
Christopher Swift		December
Mitchell Swirth		May
Hendrik van der Zandt		May
Zhe Wang	Cum Laude	May
Blake Weir		August
Anne Wiesman	*	December
Autsin Wilson	Magna Cum Laude	May
Kurt Wittmeyer	Cum Laude	May
Wen Yang	Cum Laude,  *	May
Stefanie Yordan	Cum Laude	May
Jiajun Zhou	Cum Laude,  *	May
* Membership in Beta Gamma Sigma

Krause's 2015 Preakness Predictions

Here are Dr. Krause's 2015 Preakness picks. Like the 1^st leg of the Triple Crown two weeks ago, this  is a strong field with several top Derby horses making the trip to Baltimore’s Pimlico race track. This should be an interesting race.

Best of the Field: #1 American Pharoah (2:3 odds) was my Derby pick and he did not disappoint, running a nearly perfect race in Louisville. He’s a big favorite entering Pimlico and for good reason – he’s trained by Bob Baffert and ridden by Victor Espinoza.  The Triple Crown is no guarantee for AP because there are a number of world-class horses capable of beating him this Saturday – such as Dortmund, who starts in the 2^nd post. With only two weeks between the Derby and Preakness, he seems to have plenty of gas in the tank and is the obvious favorite at 2:3 odds. With these poor betting odds I’d avoid a straight WPS bet - nevertheless, he should be included in your exotic wagers. AP still looks like the winner to me and I’ll be cheering for him on Saturday. Note: Dortmund is American Pharoah’s biggest threat - and is also worth including in any exotic betting.

Value Horse: #4 Danzig Moon (14:1 odds). Danzig Moon ran a creditable race in the Kentucky Derby to finish 5^th in the field of 18 thoroughbreds; 6 lengths behind American Pharoah. This horse has improved with each race and could end up in the money – with a big payout given the long odds. An Ontario-bred horse, trained by Mark Casse and ridden by Julien Leparoux, both solid records of success.  The son of Malibu Moon, sire of 2013 Derby winner Orb, Danzig Moon continues to improve and makes for a strong WPS bet at the big odds. With the smaller field, the 4^th post isn't a bad starting position for Danzig Moon.

Long Shot: #7 Divining Rod (14:1 odds).  Divining Rod is well rested since he didn’t run in the Kentucky Derby. He won the Lexington Stakes in Keeneland back in April before skipping the Derby. Not only has it been more than a month since he's raced, but he’s coming off a victory and has top-three finishes for all five races of his career. This will be trainer Arnaud Delacour's first Preakness and while a jockey hasn't yet been announced, Delacour will have his pick of some of the top jockeys. (Julien Leparoux, who has ridden Divining Rod previously, jumped ship to ride Danzig Moon in the Preakness. While he’s a long-shot, he has shown continual improvement and is worth a WPS and looks like a good pick underneath American Pharoah and Danzig Moon in your exotic wagers.

Good luck!