September 19, 2024
By Patrick Dunn
Mariella Simoncini has been fascinated by both business and golf since she was a child – and as a student athlete at OU, she got to pursue both interests at the same time. Simoncini, 22, played for the OU Women's Golf team while completing her bachelor's degree in finance, and her experience has proven impactful in her new career as a deals associate at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).
Simoncini recalls being obsessed with the TV show "Shark Tank" as a child, which led her to start her own businesses, such as selling flower-tipped pens and reselling towels she'd brought back to the U.S. from Italy. Her parents enrolled her in golf camps when she was in elementary school, and she says she quickly took to the sport.
"It was really satisfying to see my work pay off and to be outside and meet new people on the golf course and be competitive," she says.
Simoncini played golf throughout her time at Northville High School, and she knew she wanted to golf in college. She says she was immediately drawn to OU because the school had two 18-hole golf courses on campus – a rarity among the schools that were recruiting her. She enjoyed the opportunity to travel frequently for tournaments, playing some of the world's most renowned golf courses, such as the Kiawah Island Ocean Course in South Carolina.
"I liked the busyness and being surrounded by a bunch of hardworking, really talented student athletes and coaches who wanted to push you," she says.
That didn't stop Simoncini from also throwing herself wholeheartedly into academic pursuits. She joined the OU Business Scholars Program, a business leadership development group, through which she participated in case competitions, even traveling to Georgetown University under mentor Joy Jiang, examining real-life business case studies with a team and presenting recommendations to judges."
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I learned that I really liked problem solving, working with a team, understanding a business, helping them identify the problems and the strategy to go forward, and making a pitch to the investors or the company," she says. "And this is really what helped me decide I wanted to go into consulting as my career."
Simoncini also packed in athletic extracurricular activities, joining OU's NCAA Student Athlete Advisory Committee. As she juggled workouts, practices, tournaments, classes, homework, and extracurriculars, she says time management was key – and OU provided her crucial support.
"Being at Oakland, there's a lot of people who want to help you, give you opportunities, and get you involved," she says. "I think that my experience wouldn't have been the same if I went to a big school where your classes are huge and the professors will never meet you."
Simoncini says her golf coaches were also supportive, ensuring that she had time for homework even when she was on the road with the team. She gives particular props to Coach Alyssa Gaudio."
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She taught me a lot about golfing and strategy on the course," Simoncini says. "And she was very supportive of me when I was trying to interview for internships and my job."Simoncini interned at PwC the summer before her senior year. After she graduated in 2023 with the Women's Top Academic honor in OU Athletics' Black and Gold Awards, she went to work for PwC. She says she's found a "very interesting" career there, consulting for a constant rotation of new companies.
Simoncini has been pleasantly surprised to find that she works with several other student athletes, including a former OU swimmer. She says the values she learned as a student athlete, such as proactive time management and hard work, have been essential in her career.
"It wasn't always easy being a student athlete, always competing in golf and trying to get better, and then also trying to keep up with school and challenging classes," she says. "But I think that even the challenges teach you how to handle setbacks, and to not to give up. I am very proud to be a graduate of Oakland University.”
