2017 Best Brightest Alicia Craig, University of Pittsburgh

2017 Best Brightest: Alicia Craig, University of Pittsburgh by: Jeff Schmitt on April 09, 2017 | 0 Comments Comments 439 Views April 9, 2017Alicia CraigUniversity of Pittsburgh, College of Business Administrationâ€Å"Lover of puppies, a good book, social justice, chocolate, tennis, coffee, and equality.Fun fact about yourself: I’ve stood in two countries at the same timeHometown: Oshkosh, WisconsinHigh School: Oshkosh West High SchoolMajor: FinanceMinor: SpanishFavorite Business Courses: Corporate FinanceExtracurricular Activities, Community Work and Leadership Roles During College: Women in Business (President); Resident Assistant; Teaching Assistant; Freshmen Team Leader; Research Assistant; League of Emerging Analytics Professionals; Socially Responsible Investment Portfolio; Pitt Program Council (Director)Where have you interned during your college career: Finance Associate, UPMC (Pittsburgh); Intern, ILP Abogados (Madrid); Legislative intern, Office of State Repre sentative Ed Gainey (Pittsburgh)Describe your dream Job: My goal in life is to make the world a better place. I enjoy being challenged and solving problems, and I also like interacting with others. My dream job is one in which I can make a positive impact on as many people as possible.Who is your favorite professor? My favorite professor is Sara Moeller because she taught arguably the hardest class I’ve taken at Pitt (Corporate Finance) and yet I still enjoyed the course and her. She also has an adorable dog.Which executive or entrepreneur do you most admire? I most admire Andy Hannah because he’s an incredible role model who somehow manages to run a business, teach a Pitt course, respond to emails quickly, and dispense advice to students all while remaining a pleasant person.What did you enjoy most about majoring in a business-related field? I enjoy being able to better understand what’s happening in the world and how every event is interconnected.What is the b iggest lesson you gained from studying business? I’ve come to better appreciate the role that relationships play in the business world.Where would you like to work after graduation?  I have accepted a role with McKinsey Company as a Business Analyst in Pittsburgh.What are your long-term professional goals? When I look back at what I’ve accomplished in my life, I want to know that I helped others. I’m not sure where my career will take me, but I can envision myself working in government, for a non-profit, or starting my own company.What advice would you give to a student looking to major in a business-related field? The professors and executives that you meet in the business field are incredibly intelligent and interesting people. Get to know them.â€Å"I knew I wanted to major in business when†¦I picked up a book about investing to read for fun.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"If I didn’t major in business, I would be†¦in political science or psychology.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Before I entered business school, I wish I had known†¦that it’s ok to not know what you want to do with your life. â€Å"What was the happiest moment of your life? Tie between receiving a full-tuition scholarship to Pitt and getting a job offer from McKinsey.Which academic, extracurricular or personal achievement are you most proud of? I am most proud of my research about women’s rights and women in leadership, as well as my role as President of Women in Business.What animal would you choose to represent your professional brand? I would choose a bear because they are tenacious.Who would you most want to thank for your success? I want to thank Associate Dean Audrey Murrell for my success. She has been an incredible supporter and mentor during my college career and I respect her immensely. I try to mold my own leadership skills after her powerful example.What would you like your business school peers to say about you after you graduate from this program? I would hope that they would say I have left a positive impact and that I worked to promote women in leadership in the business world.Favorite book: The New Jim Crow Favorite movie: The AvengersFavorite musical performer: Beyoncà ©Favorite vacation spot: HawaiiWhat are your hobbies? I enjoy writing, reading, kickboxing, and playing the piano and guitar.What made Alicia such an invaluable addition to the Class of 2017?   Ã¢â‚¬Å"Alicia has taken on a number of leadership roles during her time at Pitt Business. Whether as president of the Women in Business Association or as project manager for the League of Emerging Analytics Professionals, she has a tremendous ability to gather students together toward achieving challenging goals.In addition to completing a very ambitious research project as an honors business student, Alicia also maintains a very rigorous academic schedule and will graduate as one of our top honors students.   Alicia will certainly leave a lasting impact that will benefit our students well into the future.†Audrey J. Murrell, Ph.D. Associate Dean for Pitt Business Kenneth R. Woodcock Faculty Fellow Director of the David Berg Center for Ethics and Leadership Associate Professor of Business AdministrationDONT MISS: THE FULL HONOR ROLL: THE BEST BRIGHTEST UNDERGRADUATE BUSINESS MAJORS OF 2017 Page 1 of 11

Avoiding the Financial-aid Trap With Grandparent 529s

Financial Professional Content Numerous articles have warned families about the potentially devastating effect that grandparent-owned 529 plans can have on financial-aid eligibility. The story goes like this: The grandparent-owned 529 account is not reportable on the studentï ¿ ½s FAFSA, which is good for aid eligibility. However, any distributions to the student or to the studentï ¿ ½s school from a grandparent-owned 529 must be added to student income on the following yearï ¿ ½s FAFSA, which can be very bad. Estimate your financial aid eligibility here Several strategies may be employed for mitigating this negative effectï ¿ ½including a couple of ideas that will surprise youï ¿ ½suggesting that grandparents may use 529s with less to worry about. Here are four strategies: 1. Take distributions from a grandparent-owned 529 only after the student has filed her final FAFSA. January 1 of the studentï ¿ ½s junior year in college is Liberation Day for the grandparentï ¿ ½s 529 account. Distributions from a grandparent-owned 529 occurring on or after that day will have no impact on federal financial-aid eligibility. This represents the best of both worlds: the account value never gets reported on the FAFSA as an asset, and use of the account never gets reported as student income. Of course, this strategy only works if the grandparentï ¿ ½s 529 is not needed for the first 2 ï ¿ ½ years of college, and is not so large as to result in a leftover balance if used for only the last 1 ï ¿ ½ years of college. 2. Change owners on the 529 account If the 529 plan allows for a change in ownershipï ¿ ½some 529s do notï ¿ ½the grandparent can simply turn over the account ownership to the student, or to the studentï ¿ ½s parent. Qualified (i.e. tax-free) distributions from a student-owned or parent-owned 529 are not includable in the studentï ¿ ½s income on the FAFSA. The downside to this approach is that the 529 account value now becomes reportable on the FAFSA thus reducing aid eligibility by as much as 5.64% of the account value. (It is reportable as a parent asset whether the account is owned by the student, by the parent, or by a custodian for the student under the Uniform Transfers to Minors Act.) Even this modest negative impact can be avoided through a timing strategy involving a transfer of this yearï ¿ ½s college funds into a separate 529 account via partial rollover. Ownership of this separate account is then transferred from the grandparent to the student or parent, but only after student has submitted this yearï ¿ ½s FAFSA. The funds in this 529 account are spent before next yearï ¿ ½s FAFSA is filed and thus never get reported. 3. Gift any distributions from a grandparent 529 to the studentï ¿ ½s parents and let them use the money for their childï ¿ ½s college expenses. This strategy is adapted from financial-aid texts advising grandparents with non-529 funds to simply make gifts to the parents rather than pay student expenses directly. Because they are not directly supporting the student, an argument is made that these gifts do not get added to the studentï ¿ ½s income on the FAFSA. If it works for non-529 funds, it should work for 529 distributions as well. But if the distributions are not used directly for college expenses, you may question whether the distributions will still be qualified and tax-free. The tax code does not require that 529 distributions be paid directly for college expenses, or somehow be traced to the payment of college expenses. The only requirement is that the account beneficiary incur qualified expenses during the same year the distributions are taken from a 529 plan. 4. Retain any distributed funds from a grandparent 529 in the grandparentï ¿ ½s checking or investment account until Liberation Day (see Strategy 1 above), and then gift the money to the student to repay college loans. Similar to Strategy 3, this is a 529 version of traditional financial-aid planning for grandparents. Assume the grandparent withdraws $10,000 from his 529 account to cover the studentï ¿ ½s first-semester expenses. Instead of actually turning the 529 money over to the student or to the school, the student takes out loans to pay for first-semester costs. In a later year, after the student has filed her last FAFSA, the grandparent transfers the money to the student to repay the loans. The 529 withdrawal in Year 1 is tax-free even when the funds are used in a later year to repay student debt, owing to the fact that the account beneficiary incurred sufficient qualified expenses in Year 1. Important disclaimer: Strategies such as the ones described here are not immune from challenges by financial-aid administrators or the IRS, and even if not challenged can raise ethical concerns. They can also give rise to other consequences. For example, the gifts made under Strategies 3 and 4 are effectively double-counted for gift-tax purposes, first upon original contribution to the 529 plan and again later on when funds that had been distributed to the account owner from the 529 plan are gifted to the parent or grandchild. Your clients should seek and rely on the advice of their own professional advisers. Financial Professional Content Numerous articles have warned families about the potentially devastating effect that grandparent-owned 529 plans can have on financial-aid eligibility. The story goes like this: The grandparent-owned 529 account is not reportable on the studentï ¿ ½s FAFSA, which is good for aid eligibility. However, any distributions to the student or to the studentï ¿ ½s school from a grandparent-owned 529 must be added to student income on the following yearï ¿ ½s FAFSA, which can be very bad. Estimate your financial aid eligibility here Several strategies may be employed for mitigating this negative effectï ¿ ½including a couple of ideas that will surprise youï ¿ ½suggesting that grandparents may use 529s with less to worry about. Here are four strategies: 1. Take distributions from a grandparent-owned 529 only after the student has filed her final FAFSA. January 1 of the studentï ¿ ½s junior year in college is Liberation Day for the grandparentï ¿ ½s 529 account. Distributions from a grandparent-owned 529 occurring on or after that day will have no impact on federal financial-aid eligibility. This represents the best of both worlds: the account value never gets reported on the FAFSA as an asset, and use of the account never gets reported as student income. Of course, this strategy only works if the grandparentï ¿ ½s 529 is not needed for the first 2 ï ¿ ½ years of college, and is not so large as to result in a leftover balance if used for only the last 1 ï ¿ ½ years of college. 2. Change owners on the 529 account If the 529 plan allows for a change in ownershipï ¿ ½some 529s do notï ¿ ½the grandparent can simply turn over the account ownership to the student, or to the studentï ¿ ½s parent. Qualified (i.e. tax-free) distributions from a student-owned or parent-owned 529 are not includable in the studentï ¿ ½s income on the FAFSA. The downside to this approach is that the 529 account value now becomes reportable on the FAFSA thus reducing aid eligibility by as much as 5.64% of the account value. (It is reportable as a parent asset whether the account is owned by the student, by the parent, or by a custodian for the student under the Uniform Transfers to Minors Act.) Even this modest negative impact can be avoided through a timing strategy involving a transfer of this yearï ¿ ½s college funds into a separate 529 account via partial rollover. Ownership of this separate account is then transferred from the grandparent to the student or parent, but only after student has submitted this yearï ¿ ½s FAFSA. The funds in this 529 account are spent before next yearï ¿ ½s FAFSA is filed and thus never get reported. 3. Gift any distributions from a grandparent 529 to the studentï ¿ ½s parents and let them use the money for their childï ¿ ½s college expenses. This strategy is adapted from financial-aid texts advising grandparents with non-529 funds to simply make gifts to the parents rather than pay student expenses directly. Because they are not directly supporting the student, an argument is made that these gifts do not get added to the studentï ¿ ½s income on the FAFSA. If it works for non-529 funds, it should work for 529 distributions as well. But if the distributions are not used directly for college expenses, you may question whether the distributions will still be qualified and tax-free. The tax code does not require that 529 distributions be paid directly for college expenses, or somehow be traced to the payment of college expenses. The only requirement is that the account beneficiary incur qualified expenses during the same year the distributions are taken from a 529 plan. 4. Retain any distributed funds from a grandparent 529 in the grandparentï ¿ ½s checking or investment account until Liberation Day (see Strategy 1 above), and then gift the money to the student to repay college loans. Similar to Strategy 3, this is a 529 version of traditional financial-aid planning for grandparents. Assume the grandparent withdraws $10,000 from his 529 account to cover the studentï ¿ ½s first-semester expenses. Instead of actually turning the 529 money over to the student or to the school, the student takes out loans to pay for first-semester costs. In a later year, after the student has filed her last FAFSA, the grandparent transfers the money to the student to repay the loans. The 529 withdrawal in Year 1 is tax-free even when the funds are used in a later year to repay student debt, owing to the fact that the account beneficiary incurred sufficient qualified expenses in Year 1. Important disclaimer: Strategies such as the ones described here are not immune from challenges by financial-aid administrators or the IRS, and even if not challenged can raise ethical concerns. They can also give rise to other consequences. For example, the gifts made under Strategies 3 and 4 are effectively double-counted for gift-tax purposes, first upon original contribution to the 529 plan and again later on when funds that had been distributed to the account owner from the 529 plan are gifted to the parent or grandchild. Your clients should seek and rely on the advice of their own professional advisers.