Seniors Attend Class Luncheon; Karl Vogt Winner Announced

Graduating seniors gathered for their Graduation Luncheon and Time Capsule Ceremony with one last opportunity to enjoy conversations with their classmates.  The seniors heard their “Last Lectures” from two professors they selected – Dr. Dan Klein, finance, and Dr. Mary Ellen Benedict, economics.

Dr. Klein gave the graduating seniors some personal and financial advice.  His general advice included the following tips:

• Establish a set of beliefs and live by them.
• Seek advice from those ahead and help those behind you.
• Be positive. If you say “I can,” you will.
• Be decisive and if you make mistakes, learn from them.
• Success is the result of good judgment.
  
• The more effort and time you put in, the more credibility you will have.

As for financial advice, Dr. Klein urged students to start saving right away and take advantage of a company’s 401-K program.  He also suggested diversification of funds, buying at the right time in the market, and not borrowing money to make an investment.

Dr. Benedict gave “Three Pieces of Wisdom:” 1) Learn when “no” means “no” and when it doesn’t. 2) Find what you’re good at and be passionate about it. 3) Stay unwritten. She said to be persistent when you believe in something and pursue it regardless of the no’s you get.  Dr. Benedict gave an example of someone who went to prison for drug dealing and found out he was good at cooking.  Now Jeff Henderson is one of the most well-known and well respected chefs in the U.S.  She also asked the seniors to not plan out their life too far ahead and let life’s twist and turns guide them onto different journeys.

During the luncheon, Dean Ray Braun recognized the finalists for the College of Business’s Karl E. Vogt Outstanding Senior Award, named in honor of a former dean of the College of Business Administration.  The award was presented to Ben Zauski who is earning his Bachelor of Science in Economics as well as a bachelor’s in statistics from the College of Arts & Sciences. Zauski has been a leader in the Actuarial Science Society and had an actuarial internship with Cincinnati Insurance Companies. He is a mathematics and statistics tutor and was promoted to the position of tutor mentor, managing the University’s tutoring center.  As an honors student, Zauski became a College Reading and Learning Association Certified International Tutor through a year-and-a-half training process. He is also active in community fundraising activities including serving as coordinator for the ARUNA Project 5K to help end sexual slavery in Mumbai, India. After graduation, Zauski will earn his master’s in financial economics from BGSU.

The other finalists for the Vogt Award included the following students:

• Kara Harmeyer is specializing in management and is an honors student.  She has been active in the National Society of Leadership and Success and has worked at the Genoa Branch Library.
  
  
• Kelsey Music is a marketing student who is also a College of Business Student Ambassador and has leadership roles in the professional business fraternity Delta Sigma Pi as well as a member of the National Society of Leadership and Success.  She has participated in internships at Imagination Station in Toledo, the Findlay-Hancock County Community Foundation, and The Horsburgh & Scott Co. Music also spent two years on the Executive Board for Colleges Against Cancer serving as the marketing/PR chair.

• Erica Nieminen is a member of the Falcon swimming and diving team and she is specializing in international business.  A native of Vaasa, Finland, Nieminen received honorable mention as an Academic All-Mid-American Conference student. She is also the president of the BGSU Global Management and Leadership Society.  Nieminen spent a summer studying international marketing, intercultural management, and the European business environment at Audencia School of Management in Nantes, France. She also is the co-founder of Krepperi that sells sweet and salty crepes.
  
  
• Accounting senior Sadie Purk will be continuing her graduate education at BGSU in the Master of Accountancy program. She is a tax intern at Gilmore, Jasion Mahler and has been part of the Volunteer   Income Tax Assistance program completing training and advanced certification through the IRS. Purk placed 5^th in the Capsim Foundation Simulations and has been an active member of BGSU’s Beta Alpha Psi.
  
  
• Alexandria Shock is a supply chain management and accounting senior who has had extensive internship experience. Currently Shock is an accounting intern at Petkwitz and Ketner, Inc. and has had two internships in supply chain at Marathon Petroleum Company and John Deere.  Shock was awarded one of the prestigious national R. Gene Richter Scholarships given to top supply chain talent in the U.S. She has also been active in BGSU’s Supply Chain Leadership Management Association and the Supply Chain Management Institute, earning her professional development certificate. Shock was also a member of the BGSU supply chain case team at the General Motors/Wayne State competition.
  
  
• Chad Sultz is specializing in both finance and accounting. He was presented the Toledo Chapter’s Financial Executive International Award and is a member of BGSU’s Financial Management Society and Beta Alpha Psi. Sultz is also on the International Dean’s List. The senior is a tax intern with Rehmann and will work at Cooper Tire this summer and then enter BGSU’s Master of Accountancy program.
  
  
• Senior Jane Swartz  is specializing in both sales and service marketing and supply chain management. She has held internships at Dana, Enterprise, and Lakeside Produce Distribution. Swartz is a leader in several student organizations on campus including Women in Business Leadership, Delta Sigma Pi and the American Marketing Association. She also competed at the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire Great Northwoods Sales Warm-Up and was #10 out of 60 students competing. Swartz was selected as the BGSU Marketing Department’s Top Sales and Services Marketing Student of the Year.
  

The graduating students also heard from two College of Business Young Alumni Board members, Irshad Bannister ‘06 and Adam Davenport ‘05.  They explained a new philanthropic program called the 1935 Society which the Young Alumni Board has initiated.  With the BGSU College of Business established in 1935, the Young Alumni Board encourages alumni and current undergraduates to become a member of the 1935 Society. This will generate funding designed to enhance the current and long-term curriculum, programs, and services. Undergraduates will be asked to make a gift of $19.35 each year and then giving $19.35 with increased frequency the longer the alum is out of college.

The Graduation Luncheon was sponsored by the Young Alumni Board.