Class of 2026 Business Honors Program Graduates

Six members of The University of Scranton’s class of 2026 graduated from its Frank P. Corcione Business Honors Program, which is one of Scranton’s programs of excellence. Students in this program undergo four years of honors studies in the areas of economics, entrepreneurship, operations management, accounting, finance, international business, marketing and management, as well as a series of personal development extracurricular activities in the areas of service and career building.

The Business Honors Program students presented their senior projects to a panel of judges in early May. Grace Boyle received the award for best senior project, and Colin Merriman and Frederick Rollo received honorable mention awards.

The following is a list of the class of 2026 Business Honors Program graduates and their majors, as well as their faculty mentors and research project.

Karleigh A. Capobianco, Long Beach, New York, graduated, magna cum laude, as a business analytics major. Capobianco was also a member of the Robert L. McKeage Business Leadership Honors Program. Capobianco worked with faculty advisor David Mahalak, Ph.D., professor of operations and analytics, on a thesis project titled "Uncovering the Impact of Social ESG Through Firm Clustering."

Dean J. Finan, Malvern, graduated, summa cum laude, as a finance and business analytics major. Finan was also a member of the Robert L. McKeage Business Leadership Honors Program and was the recipient of the University's four-year, full-tuition Presidential Scholarship. Finan worked with faculty advisor Pedro Monteiro, Ph.D., assistant professor of finance, on a thesis project titled "Government Spending Uncertainty and the Systematic Risk of Corporate Bonds: Asymmetric Effects Across Credit Quality."

Olivia N. Miller, Phoenixville, graduated, summa cum laude, as an operations management major. Miller was also a member of the Special Jesuit Liberal Arts Honors Program. Miller worked with faculty advisor Ozgur Isil, M.B.A., Ph.D., associate professor of operations and analytics, on a thesis project titled "Overproduction by Design: How Fast Fashion Supply Chains Drive Textile Waste and the Offsets of Secondhand Market Solutions."

Michael R. Nicotera, Mountain Top, graduated, magna cum laude, as an economics and philosophy major. Nicotera was also a member of the Special Jesuit Liberal Arts Honors Program, Robert L. McKeage Business Leadership Honors Program and the Undergraduate Honors Program. Nicotera worked with faculty advisor Andrew Lazella, Ph.D., professor of philosophy, on a thesis project titled "Marx the Economist vs. Marx the Philosopher: Limitations of a Popular Reading of Marx's Writings."

Camille C. Schwabe, Harleysville, graduated, summa cum laude, as a business administration major. Schwabe worked with faculty advisor John Ruddy, D.P.S. '91, associate professor of economics, finance, and international business, on a thesis project titled "Evaluating PRISM Portfolio Performance (2020–2025)."

Nicholas S. Tollefsen, Rockville Centre, New York, graduated, magna cum laude, as a finance and philosophy major. Tollefsen was also a member of the Special Jesuit Liberal Arts Honors Program. Tollefsen worked with faculty advisor Jinghan Cai. Ph.D., associate professor of economics, finance, and international business, on a thesis project titled "Local Sentiment and Alpha: Evidence from Country‑, State‑, and County‑Level Twitter Data."

Aram Balagyozyan, Ph.D., associate professor of economics, serves as director of the University’s Frank P. Corcione Business Honors Program.