Sharilyn is a Senior at the University of North Texas and is studying Home Furnishings Merchandising with a minor in Marketing. She is excited and humbled to serve as Vice President for the Professional Leadership Program in its 25^th year. Sharilyn currently works on the Merchandising team at IKEA in Frisco, TX and loves learning about and gaining experience in the Home Furnishings industry.

She loves traveling and experiencing new cultures and hopes to visit all 50 states and all seven continents. Sharilyn also enjoys spending time with family and friends, cooking (and eating), trying new things, and adventuring, and she would rather spend more time outside than inside.

Some of the most important things Sharilyn has learned through her college journey are that it’s okay to fail, be willing to try anything once (as long as it’s not hurting anyone), and be genuine and intentional. “I’ve grown so much this past year because of PLP. I started setting goals for myself and following through on them, and I started taking better care of myself physically, mentally, and emotionally. PLP has done a lot for me, and I’m so glad I get the chance to pour into the next generation of PLP students. With PLP, we get the opportunity to grow not only as leaders but also as individuals.”

Mashrooba Rashid serves as one of the Marketing and Communications Coordinator. She is pursuing her undergraduate degree in Finance, while minoring in Marketing. Mashrooba chose finance because she has a huge interest in finding the most profitable and efficient ways to expand a company and maintain its success whether it’s through investing in different projects, collaborating with other companies or etc. Mashrooba is also a recipient of the PLP Frank Bracken Scholarship.

Some of her biggest interests include the music and fashion industries. Outside of school, she loves reading about the business aspects of these industries.  Mashrooba says that “learning about how designers and artists gained notoriety is so inspiring and has motivated me to continue to work on accomplishing my own goals”. She finds the influence of the both the fashion and music industries on the today’s culture to be quite fascinating.

Mashrooba looks forward to meeting the incoming members and guiding them! In its 25^th year of developing leaders, she has full confidence that PLP will have yet another successful year.

David Cruz is a senior majoring in Accounting, here at UNT. He is Residence Assistant at Maple Hall and serves as a Student Assistant with UNT G-Force. He is also a proud member of Omega Delta Phi, service/social fraternity. His career goal is becoming a Certified Public Accountant, working for one of the “Big Four” accounting firms as an internal auditor. In his free time he enjoys dancing, fine arts, solving puzzles, and exploring." David is also a 2018-2019 recipient of the PLP Alexia Ardeleanu Scholarship.

Yingchao Sun serves as the Project Manager for the Professional Leadership Program. She is also an active member of the local CPA, IMA and ALPFA societies here at UNT. As an MBA student with a concentration in Auditing, Yingchao desires to pass both the CMA and CPA exams before her graduation in the May 2020. During her past year with the PLP family, Yingchao developed valuable professional and personal relationships with the mentors and her peers. As a 2018-2019 recipient of the PLP Alexia Ardeleanu Scholarship, she is grateful and inspired to serve the new members. Yingchao encourages the incoming PLP students to absorb all that PLP has to offer. In her spare time, Yingchao enjoys spending time with her husband and friends. Her hobbies include cooking, reading and yoga.

Aliya will be serving as one of the Social Coordinators for the Professional Leadership Program. She is a Senior, pursuing a BBA in Finance. Aliya is also a Residence Assistant for College Inn Residence Hall, where she is striving to help students get acclimated to UNT and make it feel like home. Aliya is a recipient of the PLP Frank Bracken Scholarship. Upon graduation, it is her hope to pursue a career in finance, specifically in oil and gas industry. Aliya also aspires to get an MBA in her near future. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with my friends and family. Her hobbies include cooking, baking, swimming and traveling.