Welcome to the C-Suite
The Executiv Award for Women in Leadership is showing female Master’s and MBA students it takes a community to land the corner office
Cassandra Drake (Tech MBA ’26) was in the back of a cab in Medellin, Colombia when a Schulich email changed everything.
“It was the very last day of our study tour. I had elected to take this extra course, which I had to pay for on top of my expensive tuition,” remembers Drake, a Schulich Tech MBA student who participated in the School’s nine-day MBA International Study Tour in April 2026.
Her worries diminished with the news that she was the inaugural recipient of Schulich’s Executiv Award for Women in Leadership.
“We had a mini celebration, the three of us,” she says of her Schulich travelling companions. “They knew how special this was.”
The Executiv Award for Women in Leadership was established in 2025 by Executiv, a women’s leadership platform and network founded by Samira Amin Udugampola (MBA ’12). It is awarded annually to a distinguished female Master’s-level or MBA student who demonstrates exceptional leadership potential. The award grants the recipient $5,000 and one year’s exclusive access to the Executiv Women’s Leadership Network.
Executiv award recipients receive personalized networking support, monthly executive coaching, leadership master classes, peer learning opportunities and invitations to member-only events featuring the network’s 200+ C-suite executives, founders and industry leaders.
“More than anything, we provide something that is often difficult to find early in a career: a trusted community of accomplished women executives who are invested in opening doors, sharing their experiences and helping the next generation of leaders succeed,” says Udugampola, who started Executiv after realizing she was unlikely to crack the “inner circle” on hard work alone.
She needed a community of women who understood her journey up the corporate ladder.
Drake was introduced to that community at a July networking event for women in the tech sector.
“I felt lucky and grateful to be in the room with women who are in a space I aspire to be,” Drake says, adding that she has already reached out to several Executiv members for support and advice.
But it’s Udugampola who earns her deepest respect and gratitude.
“What you started isn’t easy,” Drake tells her. “Thank you for being brave and for seeing me in the same light. I’m very grateful to be a beneficiary of your generosity.”
The Schulich Student Access Fund continues to help more high-potential students experience all Schulich has to offer. To learn more about supporting the Fund and expanding access to transformational learning opportunities, contact Anthony Tomizza, Interim Director, Advancement at advancement@schulich.yorku.ca.
