Guided by instinct, good vibes, and an entrepreneurial spark, Angelina found confidence and real-world experience through her double major.
More than just vibes
Coming from New York, Angelina didn’t expect Iowa to stand out, but the vibe felt right from the start. “I thought the website was brilliant,” she says, drawn in by its design and the school’s standout rankings.
“I always go off vibes… and it was kind of like that with Iowa,” Angelina explains. “Something just told me I belonged here.”
She trusted that instinct, then backed it with an entrepreneurial approach, building a personalized weighted spreadsheet to compare every school she’d applied to.
Eighteen applications. Eighteen acceptances. And still, Iowa stayed at the top of her list.
“It started as a feeling, but the more I learned about Iowa, the more it made sense,” Angelina explains.
A top business school? Check. Livability? Check. Food scene? Huge check. Airport? Essential check. “I love how easy it is to get around here, and getting home to New York is simple,” Angelina says.
And with her dad’s entrepreneurial influence shaping her decisions, Iowa quickly proved to be the right fit as she pursues a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) at Tippie with a double major in finance and entrepreneurship.
An entrepreneurial spark
Angelina has always thought like an entrepreneur—questioning how things work, finding better ways to do them, and stepping naturally into leadership roles. "I've always been someone who thinks, 'There has to be another way," she says, a mindset rooted in growing up around her father's business in marine construction.
As a finance major, she met with her advisor to discuss adding a double major. He told her about Tippie’s newly created entrepreneurship major and the opportunity to be part of the inaugural class.
"He told me I'd be one of the first to declare it. I liked that. I wanted to take the risk."
The decision felt natural. She'd already completed much of the required coursework and had fallen in love with classes taught by professors Daniel Newton and Lee Eilers.
"They were my favorite professors ever. I knew I wanted to take more classes with them.”
Adding entrepreneurship as a second major didn't replace finance—it strengthened it.
Those relationships led her to a unique experiential learning opportunity at Tippie: The Commercializing New Technologies Academy, a new year-long program designed for aspiring entrepreneurs to turn innovative ideas into market-ready ventures. Her team is currently in the process of licensing their concept.
“I never thought I’d be working on real contracts as a student,” she continues. “But here I am.”
Belonging that builds confidence
Still, the most meaningful part of the program wasn’t a single course or project, but the culture she found within the Tippie community.
“Honestly, the most special part of Tippie is the people,” she says. “It’s so close-knit. I can walk through the building, and there’s not a chance I won’t see someone I know.
I’ve grown so much. I’m not the same person I was when I first came here. I’ve built relationships with professors and classmates that actually matter. They saw potential in me that I couldn’t always recognize in myself.”
Looking back, Angelina says choosing entrepreneurship was one of the best decisions she's made at Iowa.
"Entrepreneurship was the path less followed," she said. "So, I took it."
Building what’s next
As graduation approaches, Angelina feels most inspired by project management in the construction field—leading teams, hiring talent, and building the kind of positive environment she watched her dad create. “I’ve always wanted to be my own boss, and a boss people look up to,” she says.
Angelina has explored many career paths and isn’t worried about choosing just one. She knows she’s prepared for whatever comes next.
“I’ve grown so much. I’m not the same person I was when I first came here.”