By Lacie Blankenship
Sarah Marvin and Mario Avila hug during the award presentation before kickoff at Vanderbilt’s football game against Missouri.
Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management proudly announces that Mario Avila, Assistant Professor of the Practice of Management and Director of the Turner Family Center for Social Ventures (TFC), has been recognized with a Vanderbilt Athletics Distinguished Faculty Award. This award recognizes Avila’s dedication to the professional and personal growth of Vanderbilt student-athletes.
“On behalf of Vanderbilt Athletics and the Ingram Center for Student-Athlete Success, we are thrilled to honor Mario Avila with a Distinguished Faculty Award,” says Alison Wenzel, Associate Athletic Director and Director of the Ingram Center for Student-Athlete Success. “His persistent dedication to nurturing student-athlete potential and his heart for social impact exemplify the spirit of Vanderbilt Athletics.”
Avila, known for his involvement and expertise in social impact and entrepreneurship, has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to developing Vanderbilt student-athletes. Motivated by his experience as a student-athlete at Dartmouth College, Avila’s connection to Vanderbilt athletics allows him to relate to current student-athletes and speak on navigating career pathways, and opportunities in entrepreneurship and business from first-hand experience.
August 2023 Impact Business Immersion participants helped fit Guatemalans for shoes as part of their service with Soles4Souls.
Notably, Avila played a crucial role in the founding of the Impact Business Immersion, a unique collaboration between Vanderbilt Athletics, Vanderbilt Business, and Soles4Souls, a nonprofit social enterprise turning unwanted shoes and clothing into opportunities, putting them to good use, providing relief, creating jobs, and empowering people to break the cycle of poverty. Impact Business Immersion is an opportunity for student-athletes to step outside the hustle and bustle of campus life and plug into international social impact.
Demi Washington (BS’23), a former Vanderbilt basketball player now at Temple University as a graduate transfer student, reflected on her Impact Business Immersion experience in a TFC blog.
“I experienced a handful of new experiences on this trip, but those that were most important to me included gaining a new perspective about the world of business, including social enterprise, and developing a better understanding of social impact through the world of volunteering, global impact, and aid,” she wrote.
While Avila was a key player in initiating Impact Business Immersion in 2019, he continues to lead the program through the TFC and conducts the lectures throughout the trip.
Mario Avila was formally recognized and presented with the award at a special ceremony before kickoff of Vanderbilt’s football game against Missouri on Sept. 30. Candice Storey Lee, Vice Chancellor for Athletics and University Affairs and Athletics Director, presented the award to Avila. Sarah Marvin, one of the student athletes that traveled to Guatemala in August 2023 with Impact Business Immersion, also participated in the award presentation.
