2025 Best & Brightest Business Major: Sam Beal
Poets&Quants For Undergrads, the premier news source for undergraduate business education, has released its 10th annual “Best & Brightest Business Majors” feature, honoring 100 of the most accomplished seniors in business-related fields such as marketing, finance, operations, and business administration. This year, Sam Beal and Amaya Jones have been selected as part of this prestigious group, representing the Raymond A. Mason School of Business.
The 2025 Best & Brightest list includes a balanced cohort of 51 men and 49 women, each recognized for their leadership, academic excellence, and contributions to their schools and communities. As part of this honor, Sam and Amaya each have a featured individual profile highlighting their achievements, extracurricular involvement, and defining college experiences. Faculty and administrators have expressed immense pride in their selection:
“As faculty, we are thrilled to see Amaya and Sam recognized for their spirit, leadership, character, and achievements. They represent our student body really well since so many students impress and inspire us every day. If there were an award for ‘business schools with the best students,’ I’d expect that we would be top-ranked in that category as well.” – Professor Michael G. Luchs, Chair of the Marketing Department, J.S. Mack Professor of Business
“Miller Hall is filled with greatness. You can sense the incredible talent and value of our students even as you brush past them in the halls. If you look at all that is happening in the world right now, it is easy to feel overwhelmed. But when you work with our students, it’s near-impossible not to be filled with hope for the future. Students like Sam and Amaya set the bar high and demonstrate to all of our students—present and future—what’s possible when you bring your story and your best to the table. They make us proud, and they make us better.” – Professor Phil Wagner, Clinical Associate Professor in Organizational Behavior
Sam Beal - Raymond A. Mason School of Business, Best & Brightest Business Major
“Big bicycle guy. When I’m not indoors, I’m outside! Railroad lover!”
Fun fact about yourself: I hold the record for the slowest 50 breaststroke at the Massachusetts Division II high school states swim meet!
Hometown: Scituate, Massachusetts
High School: Scituate High School
Major: Finance and Economics
Favorite Business Course: Advanced Investments with Vladimir Atanasov
Extracurricular Activities, Community Work and Leadership Roles During College:
- STEP Orientation Area Director
- Tribe Innovation
- Kappa Delta Rho Fraternity
- Dean’s List
- Two-time intramural indoor soccer champion (Y2S forever)
Where have you interned during your college career?
Tiger Capital Group – Financial Analyst Intern, Boston, MA
Where will you be working after graduation?
Currently, my plan is to take some time off after graduation and ride my bike from Colorado to Massachusetts, and then along the western coast of Europe. Afterwards, I’ll be heading back home to Boston to hopefully pursue a career in investment management!
Who is your favorite business professor?
I’ve had the privilege of working closely with Professor Luchs throughout some of the most definitive years of my college experience, and I can’t fully express my gratitude to him for the guidance he’s given me. I met Professor Luchs on the second day of my freshman year. Despite being the head of the marketing department, he’s always found the time to listen to a finance major. His passion for the topics he turns his focus to is palpable. Whenever I leave his office, I’ve learned something new about the intersection of business and something seemingly unrelated. Professor Luchs is always smiling and listening to his students, and never fails to brighten my day.
What is the biggest lesson you gained from studying business?
The ability to work in teams and collaborate with your peers is the foundation for everything in the real world. I’m so grateful to my professors for having a group-work portion in all the classes I’ve taken in business school. I know that developing the interpersonal skills required to make a group function is what I’ll end up using most in my professional career.
Looking back over your experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently in business school and why?
I would’ve taken my own advice and started earlier. In my freshman and the first half of sophomore years, I was too nervous to attend the events I was interested in because I didn’t think I was the intended audience. I know now that there’s no way to learn and grow without taking that first step. It can be natural to feel nervous, but you’re where you are because of the work you’ve put in to get there. You’re where you’re supposed to be, and you should take advantage of all the resources afforded to you.
What is one way that your business school has integrated AI into your programming? What is one insight you gained from using AI?
The Raymond A. Mason School of Business has integrated AI into most classes and every class has a policy concerning the use of AI. Where AI is so new a field, you find some professors act as early adopters and utilize AI as a tool to enhance learning, while others don’t like the perceived loss of agency in the learning experience. Some of the most fruitful class environments I’ve experienced and heard about were from the former category. I think that AI is still so new a topic that it’s going to take more time before all professors and departments can integrate AI into their curriculum in a truly meaningful way.
Which academic, extracurricular or personal achievement are you most proud of?
At this moment, it’s smashing my half marathon PR right here in Williamsburg with some great company (shoutout Max Stayton and Andrew Linton). The achievement I think that I’ll be most proud of when I reflect will be the work that I put in to develop and refocus the club that has formed the backbone of my business school experience, Tribe Innovation. I did not want to be president when I was tapped, but I came to love the role and the feel of being the point person for the whole organization. During my time, (I hope) I helped to define and establish a culture of intellectual curiosity and fun, while my executive board and I brought our clients-per-semester from 3-4 to 6-7, grew the club by over 20%, and left the next president with an organization in a better place than I inherited it (Thank you Owen Wooliever).
Which classmate do you most admire?
At W&M I’ve been extremely fortunate to have found a community and a group of best friends from day one of orientation (Shoutout to Y2S and Matthew, Milo, Jonah, and Jackson). As a classmate though, I’ve had the privilege of meeting the academic side of Jackson Maynard. As genuine he is as a friend, he is in the classroom. He makes everything I find difficult look effortless. Where I’ve struggled to answer he’s there to break the silence. He possesses a natural talent for leadership, a perpetual positive attitude, and he always knows how to make me laugh. Sharing my time at college with him and everyone else I’ve had the pleasure to meet has cemented my belief that W&M is a special place.
Who would you most want to thank for your success?
If I can only choose one person, it would be my dad. Besides being the one who got me on a bike, he’s the one who taught me the most about work ethic. All those days spent in the wood pile hauling, splitting, and stacking taught me that I never wanted to do it professionally, and that there was no substitute for hard work.
What are the top two items on your professional bucket list?
- Combine my love of bicycles with my interest in finance.
- I’m half Australian, so I’d love to spend some time working down under.
Professor Insights: What made Sam such an invaluable addition to the Class of 2025?
“Sam was the President of Tribe Innovation during 2024. His performance was superb. This student organization, co-sponsored by STLI, performed multiple workshops with a variety of W&M organizations and student organizations across campus. Under his leadership, a variety of initiatives have moved TI forward: better marketing, better client engagement, workshop and deliverables, and an even strong Facilitator in Training program. Under his leadership, TI has grown significantly this year, and the incoming Executive Board of TI is outstanding. They have really developed a cohesive and proud culture of great students who are developing confidence and practical skills. Sam has been a delight to support – he is enthusiastic, optimistic, and very organized. I couldn’t have hoped for a better leader for this organization. And, Sam has managed all this while excelling as a MSOB Finance student. He has been a wonderful role model for all his peers – the embodiment of Principled Achievement!” - Professor Michael Luchs
Through dedication, leadership, and impact, Sam exemplifies the excellence of the Raymond A. Mason School of Business and stands as an inspiring representative of the next generation of business leaders.
This story was written by Jeff Schmitt and lightly modified to better serve the Mason School community. It originally appeared in Poets&Quants on March 29, 2025.
