Class of 2026: The key to Kaia Fagan’s success? Pushing herself every single day to do better

By Leila Ugincius

As a freshman at Virginia Commonwealth University in 2022, Kaia Fagan had no enthusiasm for school. In fact, since she had some credits under her belt already, she planned to graduate in three years and move on.

This was a major shift from the beginning of high school when Fagan was an eager student. Back then, she especially looked forward to her junior year, when students typically research and tour prospective colleges. Unfortunately, her junior year started in the fall of 2020 — at the height of the pandemic and quarantine.

“With everything being virtual, my academic motivation fell a good amount, and it was hard to get that back,” she said. Luckily, she had already heard a lot of good things about VCU. Still, “I was originally just thinking of VCU as getting my degree and getting out.”

Four years later, Fagan is graduating summa cum laude from the School of Business with a degree in business with dual concentrations in international management and supply chain management and analytics and a minor in economics. The college life so engaged her that she decided to stick around for the last year to add the second concentration to her major.

The change of heart came after visiting University of Pennsylvania and watching her friends push themselves “every single day” to do better.

“I took that as inspiration that I should be making the most out of my experience at VCU,” Fagan said. “While I didn’t get involved in clubs or have a clear direction during my first year, I refused to let that slow start define my experience and instead pushed myself to make the most of the time I had left.”

She set a personal motto for herself at the start of her sophomore year: “You get out of life what you put into it.” That mindset shaped how she approached her remaining time at VCU. She would make every moment count.

First, she joined Alpha Kappa Psi, the business fraternity. She is now the fraternity’s vice president of membership, after serving as fundraising director, warden and team lead. She joined the Women's Rugby Club, of which she is now president, and joined the Society of Human Resource Management, where she served as community outreach coordinator.

A study abroad program took her to the American University of Rome, where she gained international consulting experience with global clients like AON Italia, conducting market research, developing strategic recommendations and presenting deliverables to organizational leadership.

“That experience cemented my ambition to pursue a globally oriented career,” she said, “one that allows me to engage with diverse cultures, build relationships across borders and continuously expand my perspective through both professional and personal interactions.”

Fagan managed to fit so much activity into her schedule despite also working part-time. Much of her drive comes from inspiration from peers like fellow business student Fenix Camarillo, “one of the most driven and intellectually sharp individuals” Fagan knows. “Through collaborating on projects, including an ISM case competition, she has consistently pushed me to grow and elevate my performance.”

Fagan fully believes in fate, she said, and sees how each step she took led to the next.

While taking a supply chain management and analytics course in fall 2024, a classmate offhandedly encouraged her to join the Sustainable Supply Chain Society.

“I owe much of my journey to [that classmate] Meher Mohan, a VCU alum and Alpha Kappa Psi brother,” said Fagan, who attended the club’s next event and, just days later, applied for the social media chair position. This led to her serving as president the following year. 

After experiencing a high level of support and investment from the supply chain management and analytics department, Fagan made the decision to stay the full four years to add the second major. Last fall, she began the Accelerated Master’s in Supply Chain Management program to maximize her use of the resources and opportunities available at the VCU School of Business.

“This ended up being one of the best decisions of my academic career,” Fagan said. “The SCMA professors and faculty — especially my mentor, David Berdish — played a pivotal role in shaping my academic path and future goals, inspiring me to find my purpose: to make a meaningful impact and help facilitate a more sustainable future for generations to come.”