Julianna Vukaj

Class of 2026

Pronouns: she/her/hers

Currently Studying: BBA Finance, BS Economics

Member (Clubs): Founder and President of Women in Lubin, Investment Team Member, Chief Events Director for Honors Advisory Board (HAB)

Why did you choose Pace University and the Lubin School of Business?

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Having been born and raised in New York, I always knew I wanted to go to college in Manhattan. Interestingly, my sister graduated from Pace in 2013, so at first, I actually tried to make my own path and looked elsewhere. But when it came down to making a final decision—one that would provide real access to opportunities and resources to help me stand out in the business world—I found myself drawn to Pace and Lubin. Lubin has a reputation for strong internship and post-graduation career success rates, cutting edge facilities such as our Bloomberg Lab, notable professors who support you every step of the way, and—most importantly—being located at the center of the business world.

How have clubs on campus helped enrich your student experience?

Aside from having the opportunity to found an organization, existing clubs on campus have tremendously enriched my experience. As Chief Events Director of the Honors Advisory Board—an organization run through the Pforzheimer Honors College—I’ve had the opportunity to lead a team that creates exclusive events for 750 honors students and contributes to delivering a distinguished honors experience, all while building my leadership capabilities. Additionally, being on the Investment Team has allowed me to surround myself with like-minded individuals I can learn from and engage with in market-driven discussions—contributing directly to my goals for a future career.

What inspired you to create Women in Lubin?

A “Women in Business Society” was the first thing I searched for when I came to Pace, and I knew we had to have one—especially since Pace was initially founded as a business school. It only made sense to create an environment where undergraduate women studying business could connect and work toward a common goal: breaking into male-dominated industries. Although I was happy to see we had other women’s groups, it turned out we didn’t have one that specifically represented women business majors or catered to their needs. That’s what led to the idea of creating the organization from scratch.

What have been the major takeaways from your current role as President of Women in Lubin?

One of the biggest takeaways from my role as President of Women in Lubin has been learning how to turn rejection into redirection. The first time my e-board and I pitched our organization, it was rejected—we needed more structure, stronger ideas, and a clearer niche. It was disheartening, but instead of walking away, we took the feedback seriously and spent the next semester building a brand that couldn’t be overlooked. We developed a social media presence, connected with potential event speakers, and refined our mission to reflect what was missing on campus. After receiving approval and launching 18 successful events in our first semester, I’ve learned that resilience is just as important as vision—and sometimes, it’s not about changing the goal, just the approach.

How has being a member of the Pforzheimer Honors College benefitted you?

Being a member of the Pforzheimer Honors College has allowed me to attend exclusive honors events and build close relationships with friends and professors in my honors courses. Most significantly, the Honors College has helped me thrive in what I’d call a “small pond, big fish” environment—where I’ve had the chance to stand out, take on leadership roles, and contribute meaningfully to my community.

You’re Chief Events Director of the Pforzheimer Honors College, what has been the most rewarding part of this position?

The most rewarding part of being Chief Events Director has been the opportunity to shape—and be part of—a team where everyone’s creative ideas are heard and valued. From brainstorming themes to executing final details, I’ve learned that the best events come from open communication and mutual respect. Helping our team grow together and take pride in what we create has made this role especially meaningful.

What has been your favorite opportunity at Pace?

There are numerous opportunities I’d characterize as stellar; however, my favorite has been founding and launching Women in Lubin with an amazing e-board. With support from the Office of Student Engagement and the Lubin School of Business, we had a successful first semester and laid the groundwork for a lasting organization.

Do you have any advice for other Lubin students?

My greatest piece of advice for Lubin students is to keep up with events and programs hosted by Lubin and its student organizations. You’d be surprised at the opportunities and ideas that can come from simply having conversations with peers and professors in the Lubin community.

What does #LubinLife mean to you?

In my experience, #LubinLife has meant not only being surrounded by people who strive for success—but also by those who lift others up along the way. For that, I am truly grateful.

Connect with Julianna:

• Connect with Julianna on LinkedIn
• Follow Julianna on Instagram

When Vidhi Kothari ’25 began her journey at Pace University, she didn’t expect to become the founder of a startup. But what she did know, was that she wanted to create meaningful value in the world. That desire—to build, to contribute, and to empower through employment—became the foundation for her path as an entrepreneur, innovator, and student in Pace’s BS in Computational Economics program at the Dyson College of Arts and Sciences and the Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems.

“I realized early on that the more skin I had in the game, the more driven I became,” Vidhi said. At Pace, she found the freedom to explore a wide range of interests, from cybersecurity to finance, renewables, and healthcare. This multidisciplinary experience helped her shape her understanding of what it takes to build and innovate in the real world. Now, Vidhi is building Pigeon, a tool for developers that makes it easy to deploy AI agents to automate workflows for enterprises.

From Wall Street to a Computational Mindset

Since New York is the finance capital of the world, Vidhi naturally gravitated toward the finance industry at first as she spent summers in sales, trading, and investing. "In New York, finance is everywhere," she said. "But I didn’t want to just analyze systems—I wanted to build them."

This realization as a junior at Pace led her to pivot into tech and startups, seeking out innovation in those industries and figuring out ways to bring societal impact through them. Switching majors to Computational Economics was, in Vidhi’s words, a “game-changer.” The program allowed her to merge two worlds—finance and coding—giving her the tools to tackle complex, real-world problems through a technical lens.

The program deepened my understanding of how data drives decisions and innovation in fast-moving industries. It gave me the technical chops to thrive in the startup world.

Connecting Energy, Cybersecurity, and AI

Settled into her new major, Vidhi began examining financial incentives for energy companies in the Southeastern U.S. during a Dyson Summer Research project. But the work led her somewhere she hadn’t anticipated: cybersecurity. “I realized that securing infrastructure was just as critical as the transition to clean energy,” Vidhi said. That insight led her to a cybersecurity class taught by Professor Joe Acampora—and eventually to an internship at Copia Automation, a Series A industrial automation startup.

In that cybersecurity course, a light bulb went off. Vidhi discovered how edge computing could secure industrial systems more efficiently than traditional cloud-based models. “We explored how digital twins and AI agents could detect anomalies at the edge,” she said. “It was a whole new way of thinking about infrastructure protection—decentralized, reliable, and secure.”

An Applied AI course was another key experience in Vidhi’s Pace journey as her machine learning-based solar forecasting project used LSTM (Long Short-Term Memory) networks and further deepened her focus on energy optimization. The project focused on reducing energy costs, and while the group didn’t meet their original goal, it gave Vidhi invaluable insights into how inefficiencies in energy management can have real financial impact.

A Startup is Born

Vidhi’s experience across industries prepared her for what came next: launching Pigeon, a startup that helps enterprises deploy AI agents more efficiently to tackle complex challenges. The inspiration came while working at different startups, where she noticed a surprising problem:

Everyone was building AI agents—but no one was solving how to deploy them.

A conversation with a friend at Bell Labs in Munich crystalized the potential of this opportunity, leading to the birth of Pigeon. Vidhi has a very clear idea of how this startup can change the world: “Think Jarvis from Iron Man. Pigeon is making AI agents a reality, seamlessly integrating them into industries to automate workflows and solve problems like never before.”

A Go-Getter in Action

Vidhi’s path from finance to tech, from student researcher to startup founder, reflects not only her personal ambition but also the kind of multidisciplinary, forward-looking education that defines a Pace Go-Getter. Along this rewarding personal journey, Vidhi’s biggest breakthrough came from realizing that true innovation doesn’t just mean pushing forward, but often requires stepping back and rethinking the problem at hand, building it from a different angles. This is a mindset that she intends to carry into all of her future projects, and that she encourages in others looking to make their mark in tech. “Take risks. The more you invest in an idea, the more meaningful your impact will be.”

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Pace’s Master of Public Administration (MPA) program has been recognized by the U.S. News & World Report (USNWR)’s 2025 rankings as one of the Best Graduate Public Affairs Schools, an increase in 61 spots since 2019, and reflecting the Public Administration Department’s growing impact in public service education through the excellent work of faculty and students.

 “While USNWR is one of the many indicators to measure the quality and reputation of our public affairs education, earning this important milestone is a huge accomplishment for our small but mighty department,” said Gina Scutelnicu Todoran, PhD, chair and professor of the Public Administration program.

The STEM-designated, interdisciplinary MPA curriculum at Pace offers flexibility across sectors such as government, healthcare, and nonprofits, and the program was one of the first in the nation to integrate experiential learning and a strong public service focus. Hands-on experiences allow students to gain practical skills, engage in policymaking, build professional networks, and make a meaningful impact in their communities.

Scutelnicu-Todoran, also chair of the Northeast Conference on Public Administration (NECoPA), and recent recipient of the 2025 Rita Mae Kelly Distinguished Research Award, has collaborated over the years with MPA Professor and Interim Associate Provost Rebecca Tekula, PhD, to drive meaningful change in various communities through grants and external Pace partnerships.

Examples include a nearly $30,000 grant by the Council of Family and Child Caring Agencies to assess the financial status of approximately 75 New York State agencies under its umbrella; conducting a new comprehensive survey targeting the Latino community, with the Hispanic Advisory Board, and under the leadership of Westchester County Executive George Latimer; and identifying, along with other MPA faculty, mental health, counseling, substance abuse, and suicide prevention services needed in lower Westchester through a partnership with The Community Fund.

MPA student-faculty research has also enabled students to turn real-life research into impactful advocacy, with the program’s alumni, such as Andrea Grenadier ‘16, succeeding in rewarding careers that demonstrate the value of the program.

With its enrollment continuing to grow, we expect to see many more students and alumni thriving in careers in the public sector where they will make significant contributions to the world we live in.