ASEF Junior Fellow Genevieve Gregorich's Research Visit and Academic Journey

We are beyond proud that our ASEF Visit Slovenia Junior Fellow, generation 2025, Genevieve Gregorich, had also completed her research visit in Slovenia. She is a PhD student at Columbia Business School, where she specializes in Strategy and Organizational Behavior. She conducted her research visit at the University of Ljubljana’s School of Economics and Business (SEB LU) under the supervision of Professor Tomaž Čater, PhD, whose expertise in corporate social responsibility aligned perfectly with her own research focus.

In the following, read her portrait.

An ASEF Fellow’s Perspective: A Journey of Layers and Light

Genevieve Gregorich’s journey – from the Federal Reserve to a PhD at Columbia Business School and an ASEF fellowship in Slovenia – is a testament to a deeply layered approach to life, research, and self-discovery. Her narrative is woven with threads of academic ambition, a search for human potential, and a profound connection to her Slovenian heritage, all illuminated by a vibrant, imaginative spirit.

Genevieve describes her diverse academic experience as giving her a “very layered approach to thinking about social dynamics in the social world.” Her path began with economics at Macalester College and the Federal Reserve, but her time at Columbia introduced her to psychology and sociology. Today, her entrepreneurial work adds yet another dimension: a “more mystical or metaphysical perspective.”

This blending of disciplines fuels her strategy research on why organizations and leaders engage with socio-political issues, a calling that crystallized during the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests: “I think how deeply we all felt that showed how important of a topic it was.”

Her research extends into the realm of human potential, which she and her business partner have dedicated the past two years to exploring. Genevieve is excited to blend this work, which helps individuals break through mental limitations, with her academic focus on organizational behavior. She sees organizational life as a space for untapped power:

There’s a whole sea of this energy potential within organizations, which are just these awesome collaborative agglomerations of people working together and interacting, that would be really interesting to explore more.

Her PhD program at Columbia, while “highly ambitious,” is characterized by genuine camaraderie and intellectual rigor: “Among our PhD students, we’re such a team with each other and we’re really, really good friends. And there’s not really that underlying, at least I don’t feel that underlying competition between us.”

Echoes of Heritage: The Legacy of Slovenian Grandparents

Genevieve’s Slovenian-American family has profoundly shaped her worldview, instilling lessons in strategy, love, and gratitude.

She cherishes a core childhood memory of her grandfather, who died when she was ten, teaching her to play the card game tarok. The moment she saw him win every single trick, achieving a velot, was a turning point.

I remember at that moment, for whatever reason, 10-year-old me thinking, realizing how much I wanted to be like him.

This early experience ignited a foundational appreciation for strategy and ambition. Her grandfather’s history as an immigrant who left Slovenia during World War II also instilled a deep sense of gratitude and perspective: “I think that I’ve always had a lot of gratitude for that and I’m trying to live the happiest life I can. I think a lot because of those sacrifices.”

From her grandmother, Genevieve learned a simple, non-verbal expression of love. Because her grandmother preferred not to speak English, she communicated through small, joyful gestures: “She used to take the bread, the free bread from the restaurants and then she’d always have this purse full of treats. She’d have Starbursts and stuff and it was her little way of showing love.”

The Serendipity of the ASEF Fellowship

Genevieve’s decision to apply for the ASEF program was an enthusiastic embrace of her roots: “It’s a no-brainer. Go to Slovenia for free for three months. I knew everything else was going to work itself out.”

Her fellowship proved “uncannily serendipitous.” She was matched with a mentor who shared her interest in corporate social responsibility and was introduced to a department whose research touched on all her core interests, including sports, personal development, and even spiritual awareness. This experience reinforced her conviction in following her curiosity.

It really showed me that there’s an audience for everything … It made me more sure that you can just trust you can study what you find interesting and that it will pay off.

Looking ahead, she is driven to become an ASEF mentor herself, viewing it as a mutually beneficial opportunity: “I think it really can be such a mutually beneficial opportunity because… if I can teach them absolutely anything or give them an experience that helps them get where they want to go and they’re obviously going to be helping me by bringing new energy, new excitement and curiosity to something.”

Finding a Sense of Home in Slovenia

Genevieve’s time in Slovenia was a deep dive into her heritage, characterized by both adventurous exploration and a feeling of warmth and reconnection. The natural wonders were a major draw: “I was really excited about first of all exploring all the natural wonders of Slovenia: the rivers, the mountains, the sea.”

When asked to choose a photograph to represent her experience, she chose a powerful image of new beginnings and perspective:

The sun-like sunrise from almost the top of Mount Triglav… that’s because… a sunrise is just kind of a new beginning, a fresh day, and that’s what this trip and this experience felt like for me. Plus it puts this magical pink and orange glow over the landscape, which is how this experience felt and how being in Slovenia and getting to actually experience it more deeply. And then also the perspective of being on top of a mountain and just being able to look at life back home from a bird’s-eye view and getting to just zoom out for a second on everything.

She particularly values the European balance of work and life, hoping to bring that energy back to the US.

There’s also that balance of just wanting to experience life that was really helpful for me. I think it even improved my work while I was over here so I think hopefully trying to bring that energy back to the US.

This journey of heart and mind, epitomized by her enthusiastic adoption of the word palačinka (eng. pancakes) and her love for the majestic Soča River, has clearly left an indelible mark: “I’m never going to call pancakes or crepes pancakes or crepes again. All of my American friends will now know them as palačinkas.”