Student Spotlight: Milan Oppewall

Jen Knox Shanahan (JKS): Milan, Congratulations on your role as President of Women in Business. Please share with us a little about your journey at Ohio State.  

Milan Oppewall (MO): Coming onto campus from high school, I went from being in a lot of leadership positions to being in none. My graduating class was just above 200 students, and now I am at a school with tens of thousands of peers. Being such an involved student in high school, I knew that involvement in student organizations would be important to me, so I did some online research and found Women in Business (WIB), which at the time was under the name of the Undergraduate Business Women’s Association (UBWA). The professional and social opportunities of the club are what drew me in, but it was the culture that kept me. Every meeting I found myself buying more and more into the mission of the organization. 

JKS: How did you find your way to leadership? 

MO: My freshman year I accepted onto the Philanthropy Committee where I had the opportunity to serve as a liaison between our student organization and a Columbus nonprofit. With this opportunity, I got to understand more of the innerworkings that support such a large and diverse organization. From there, I became the VP of External Relations, where I was responsible for communicating with companies and alumni. This role was a major confidence builder, because as a rising sophomore I didn’t already have the faith in myself to handle these important communications with massive corporations and esteemed alumni. However, with the belief and support of the executive board, I was able to really flourish in this role. And now, during my final full year at OSU, I’ve had the absolute honor to serve as President. 

JKS: Tell us a little about what this position has taught you. 

MO: The work of Women in Business has taught me the importance of passion and mission when stepping into a leadership role. This year as President I’ve been able to help foster that same drive that was instilled into me by previous executive boards of the organization and help to build upon our momentum to create an even better experience for members. Through my time with Women in Business I’ve grown so much, and I can’t wait to see how else I grow by the end of the year, as there’s always more exciting things to come with this organization. 

JKS: Thank you for taking the time to answer a few questions for us, Milan.

Milan Oppewall is working toward her BSBA in Human Resources at Fisher College of Business with a minor in Organization and Performance Psychology from the College of Arts and Sciences. She serves as the President of Women in Business (WIB) and FisherCares. Milan will graduate from The Ohio State University in December 2025. 

Jen Knox Shanahan is the current WIB Advisor and the Academic Programs Manager at Fisher Leadership Initiative, where she manages the Dean’s Leadership Academy. 

Click here to learn more about Women in Business at The Ohio State University.