Fredonia alumnus scholarships for business students

With SUNY Fredonia as a foundation for his successful career in business, 1975 graduate George Simmons created four scholarships for three students and one recent graduate — all enrolled in business school.

Mr. Simon, a senior partner at Derby Management, a Boston-based sales and marketing consulting firm, returned to his alma mater in January to present a $500 scholarship to Morgan Giglio, who graduated Dec. 22 with a degree in business administration. Rachel Dunn, a junior in business administration: management major; Sarah Slate, majoring in public accounting and business administration: management; and Cody Flett, a senior majoring in Business Administration: Management.

All four students excelled in BUAD 350: Special Topics: Business to Business Sales in the Fall 2022 semester.

The course is formally approved as BUAD 246: Professional Business for Commercial Sales and is offered in the fall semester.

Simmons and Charles Cornell, director of the Fredonia Technology Incubator, are working together to foster student interest in professional business to business sales. “This was an opportunity to attract well-qualified students and expose them to the professional sales process, which many will use throughout their careers, no matter what field they choose to pursue,” Simmons said.

Almost all universities offer degrees in marketing, Simmons noted, but only a few offer courses in professional sales. “In most organizations, sales professionals are the highest paid employees,” he said.

Each recipient plans to put their education to good use.

For Hornell’s Ms. Gillio, the scholarship will allow her to start making student loan payments. “Beyond the monetary value, this scholarship and award helped me become a better salesperson through the B2B sales course I took to achieve this success,” she said.

Giglio said SUNY Fredonia taught her how to conduct herself in a professional business environment and how to handle difficult situations that often arise in management. She noted that she was always there for help when needed and encouraged in her journey to graduate school this past fall, and she couldn’t be prouder to be a Fredonia alumna.

Ms. Dunn will use her Orchard Park scholarship to pay for tuition in the fall semester of her senior year and continue her education beyond SUNY Fredonia with a career in business. “As a business student, the scholarship will benefit me because it can be added to the scholarship to highlight my academic performance,” Dunn said. “This will help me when I’m looking for internships and graduate school.”

The curriculum in business school is preparing Dunn for career success. “As an accredited business school, Fredonia offers a high-quality business program that exposes students to a variety of business disciplines such as marketing, management, finance and accounting,” Dunn said. The classes taken so far have given her a good perspective on business, which Dunn says will be invaluable as she begins her career.

The scholarship will help Ms. State, of Marion, NY, continue her studies at SUNY Fredonia. “I have one more year left and this scholarship will take away my worries about buying next year so I can finish my degree,” she said.

State credits the “fantastic and supportive faculty” in the business school for preparing her for a career in public accounting. “The professors really care about student success and go out of their way to help students prepare for the future,” she says. State has some amazing opportunities to start connecting with companies through personal connections and career expo opportunities, such as the Professional Night held in the fall.

Mr Flett, a resident of Eden, said the scholarship would benefit him in two ways. “Not only will it help me financially, but after I graduate, I can put it on my resume to show my academic achievements to future employers,” he said.

According to Flett, resources and people in various capacities at SUNY Fredonia are helping him prepare for the future. He credits the Career Development Office with helping him edit his resume and LinkedIn profile. The number of connections students can make at SUNY Fredonia is immense, Flett said.

Simmons plans to work with the new business school dean to develop and implement a minor in professional sales. Moreover, he wants to expand the program to a broader range of liberal arts majors. These students can use their oral, written and presentation skills to help both for-profit and nonprofit organizations, Simmons said.

“Fredonia has been the cornerstone of my business success,” Simmons said. “I’ve been very fortunate for the advice others have given me, career-wise. It is my turn to provide insights and encouragement to the students to consider a viable career in professional sales,” he said.

“There’s a lot of potential here,” Simmons said.