By many standards, Margaret Kukuyeva, FOX ’21, has already accomplished a lot as a young, successful professional working in the finance industry.
But, now back at Temple University’s Fox School of Business, she’s adding a new item to her resume on top of her Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree pursuit.
Student professional organization (SPO) president.
“Although I had opportunities as an undergraduate, I never held a student leadership position, but with our group I saw this as an opportunity to contribute to a community that truly resonated with me, and one that I would be incredibly proud to lead and represent,” Kukuyeva said.
That group is the Fox Graduate Women in Business (FGWIB) SPO, and Kukuyeva has been a leader within the group since fall 2025. In summer 2026, she was elevated from co-president to their sole president. Like the undergraduate Women in Business SPO , the chapter seeks to offer a supportive community for female graduate students at the Fox School who seek both personal and professional development.
Kukuyeva, a professional revenue accountant in Philadelphia, first joined the chapter as a member after learning about it in the first semester of her MBA program. She’s very proud to now lead the group and spotlight their mission.
“We are striving to create a space where graduate students can learn from one another, grow their confidence, expand their networks and have a like-minded community around them that supports them through their academic journey at Fox and their professional journey in their careers,” Kukuyeva said.
“While our members might come from different industries, different graduate degree pursuits at Fox or different career stages professionally, we all come together to share a common goal of supporting one another and creating an inclusive environment where everyone feels encouraged to succeed, all while also gaining valuable professional perspectives.”
On top of holding regular group meetings (both in-person and virtually), Kukuyeva and her leadership team accomplish these goals by providing members with opportunities to build meaningful relationships with peers, alumni, faculty and business professionals at networking events, guest speaker sessions and social gatherings. For example, the group held a public speaking and presentation workshop “Confidence in Communication” and a joint networking outing, “Sippin’ in the City” in summer 2026. In February 2026, the group held a virtual “Galentines Mixer” in celebration of Valentine’s Day.
While the SPO enjoys the success it has found, Kukuyeva shares her hopes to find continued and further growth under her leadership. She also recognizes the unique position of the organization, as only a handful of graduate-specific SPOs exist at Fox.
“Previous leadership has done a phenomenal job growing the roots of our organization and creating a solid foundation, and myself and fellow group leaders, Džana Badnjevicand Bethany Rutledge, are excited to continue building on that momentum,” Kukuyeva explained.
“We are currently focused on refreshing our brand and have already created a new logo, and we are now working on having more consistent marketing, having establishedmembers and, of course, hosting more events to create growth.”
In addition to offering female graduate students a strong community at Fox, she believes the group’s success positively represents the school as a whole.
“It’s incredibly rewarding to help shape the organization’s future while we support our fellow female graduate students,” Kukuyeva said.
“As president, I focus on ensuring that all our initiatives and events align with our mission of empowering and supporting graduate students. Like the Fox School community itself, I am proud of the work we are doing to foster an environment that is welcoming, connecting, collaborative and inclusive for everyone who wants to join our organization.”
Interested in learning more or getting involved with the Fox Graduate Women in Business SPO? Visit the organization’s LinkedIn or Instagram pages.