Whitman class marshals make Poets&Quants’ business recognition list
Seniors Talia St. Angelo and Evan Kalish credit their successes to the leadership, curiosity and sense of community they’ve developed at Syracuse University’s Whitman School of Management. The class marshals were named to Poets&Quants' “Best and Brightest” list earlier this month. Alicia Hoppes | Staff Photographer
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After being named as Syracuse University’s Whitman School of Management class marshals, seniors Talia St. Angelo and Evan Kalish were selected to the Poets&Quants’ “Best and Brightest” list earlier this month.
“It’s one of the coolest honors I’ve ever been given in my life,” St. Angelo said. “To be able to represent Syracuse has definitely been awesome.”
Poets&Quants, an online publication focused on college business news, curates the list to highlight 100 undergraduate business students for academic achievement, leadership and influence. For both students, the recognition reflects their personal accomplishments over the past four years and their broader contributions to the Whitman community.
St. Angelo was previously awarded Chapter Collegiate Brother of the Year for co-ed business fraternity Delta Sigma Pi and served as external philanthropy chair for Alpha Xi Delta. She said she prioritizes relationship-building in her leadership roles.
“My real impact is talking to people and just being a real person, and that’s all I’ve ever wanted to do in life,” St. Angelo said. “I value relationships so much, and that’s exactly why I’m going into sales marketing.”
Originally from Rhode Island, St. Angelo recalled the initial challenges of coming to college, highlighting the difficulties of transitioning from a small high school to a large research university. She found her place by embracing the discomfort and putting herself out there.
She said she approaches her business education “creatively,” and is pursuing a minor in public communications to blend her passions in marketing, finance and media. She chose her coursework throughout her time at SU, ranging from classes on internet memes to communication law, to challenge her in creative marketing.
Now as a class marshal, St. Angelo credits her changed mindset to saying yes to every opportunity in and out of the classroom.
“We’re going to have jobs for the rest of our lives,” St. Angelo said. “You have to show up every day and do the same thing every day. So make it something you really want to do and something that’ll make you inspired every day.”
St. Angelo and Kalish say Lindsey Quilty, an assistant dean at Whitman, played an important role by guiding them through the marshal and “Best & Brightest” nomination process. Whitman always nominates the class marshals for the award.
“The marshals are chosen from that process based on academic excellence and schoolwide engagement,” Quilty said.
Similar to St. Angelo, Kalish said he found purpose beyond the classroom through his extracurriculars. One of his most impactful experiences was with Balancing the Books — a program where Whitman undergraduates mentor local middle and high school students in financial and life skills.
“Getting the chance to get out into the community and make an impact and make kids smile each Friday has been something that’s honestly made me super happy,” Kalish said. “It’s the type of thing I’m not doing to be performative. It’s just because it’s fun, and I’m learning from it as well.”
He said the program is a meaningful way to engage with the broader Syracuse community and step outside the campus bubble. Within the classroom, Kalish focused on business analytics, leadership and using data to drive real-world decisions. He says his interest in business stems from social interactions.
“Whatever the problem is, I enjoy trying to create a solution to something that people are struggling with,” Kalish said. “It’s also just finding a way to actually create meaningful value in whatever situation.”
In addition to the “Best and Brightest” recognition, Kalish said one of his proudest accomplishments this year was completing his capstone project. For the project, he used artificial intelligence tools to identify common consumer issues, brainstorm product ideas and generate product solutions.
Looking ahead, Kalish said he believes AI will fundamentally transform the business world. He emphasized the importance it is for business students to have a strong foundation in business principles along with technical proficiency.
“You still need to have that foundational understanding of finance, business, all of the different things,” Kalish said. “But AI is going to exponentially speed up the process and make things so much easier.”
Both Kalish and St. Angelo have had significantly different opportunities during their time at SU, but both said studying abroad was the most transformative and eye-opening experience they’ve had as students. Kalish studied in Florence and St. Angelo studied in Madrid.
“I definitely feel like a different person in two big ways,” Kalish said. “I have more of a global mindset and am more culturally aware of everything going on around me. I learned to appreciate the little things and not take everything so seriously.”
As they prepare for graduation, the two said they’ve reflected on what advice they’d give to their freshman-year selves. St. Angelo said she wished she knew to live in the moment and stop worrying about the next steps.
Kalish advised remaining curious and asking questions, saying his own curiosity has opened doors for new opportunities.
“Curiosity applies to anything and everything,” Kalish said. “It’s going to be that thing that drives you one extra step compared to the person sitting next to you.”
