Teaching is one of the most meaningful aspects of being a professor and I am deeply committed to my students. In addition to instilling the fundamentals of management-related topic areas, I consider it my responsibility to advocate for the ethical application of course principles and to foster reflection within my students. Ideally, I would like my students to think critically about the world, but also maintain a sense of hopefulness and agency toward modern problems. Class discussion is essential in this process, and I rely heavily on the Socratic method, reflective writing exercises, and hands-on activities to encourage deep engagement with the material.
My hope for my students is that they recognize their inherent self-worth and are true to themselves, that they strive to be lifelong learners, and that they feel empathy and a sense of responsibility for all forms of life. Further, I hope that they might dare to imagine and work toward a better world than the one they inherited, undeterred by the challenges that they will inevitably face in doing so. These intentions—elusive though they are—underpin my pedagogy.
In 2026, UNC students nominated and selected me to be honored with a SUTASA award at the Chancellor's Award Ceremony for excellence in undergraduate instruction.
Courses I currently teach:
BUSI 405: Leading and Managing (UNC Chapel Hill)
This core undergraduate business course introduces students to the fundamentals of organizational behavior in order to prepare them to be more effective leaders and teammates in their careers. The course provides students with an overview of management and organizational theory, while also offering opportunities for practical application. The course covers a wide range of topics including: decision-making, proactivity, power, motivation, affect, culture & socialization, networks & social capital, conflict resolution, and the future of work.
Student feedback on this course:
"Professor Sonday is a model professor, probably my favorite teacher I've had at Kenan-Flagler. She made every course concept interesting and applicable, challenged my thinking, and inspired me to think deeper into aspects of my potential career with regard to leading and managing. Her life experience, personal anecdotes, engagement with every student and the course content made this class my favorite of the semester."
"Professor Sonday is one of the best professors I've had at both Kenan-Flagler and UNC as a whole, she really cares about her students and created such a welcoming and safe environment to participate in. I would recommend her classes to any business student."
"The readings in this class are very well integrated into the material and lectures, allowing for a better understanding of the material through real-world applications. I feel that I have learned strong life skills through this class that I will utilize, and I have gained a better perspective on why people act the way they do and how to address that for positive, motivating results."
Past courses:
MO 300: Behavioral Theory in Management (University of Michigan)
*Required introduction to management course for all Junior BBAs
This course is designed to improve students’ effectiveness as a leader and manager by introducing them to frameworks for understanding organizations and giving them experience in applying these frameworks. In this course, I teach a wide range of topics, including: decision-making, working in teams, organization design, culture & socialization, compensation systems, job design, new trends in employment (e.g. big data and the decline of large shareholder-owned corporations), persuasion tactics, networks and social capital, power, issue-selling, negotiation, and conflict resolution.
MO 319: Developing Global Competence (University of Michigan)
*A required course for junior BBAs who intend to study abroad
As the world becomes increasingly interconnected, managing and working effectively across different cultures is essential for business leaders. The objective of this course is to develop students’ global leadership abilities and learn how to effectively engage with individuals who see things differently than they do. In this course, I teach topics including: between-country cultural differences, within-country cultural differences, moral reasoning and the evaluation of cultural practices, cultural appropriation vs. cultural appreciation, and cross-cultural negotiation.