5 Ruggiero Honors scholars selected in Huether School of Business

 

This year five outstanding Huether School of Business students have been selected by the faculty for the William and Camille G. Ruggiero ’37 Endowed Honors Internship.

The award supports the recipients financially during summer internships in the summer between their junior and senior year. Students must have a minimum overall GPA of 3.25 and no academic integrity issues.

This year’s Ruggiero recipients are Ahmed Lakrafli (business administration/MBA), Jolie Poulsen (marketing), Rae-Anne Richards (business administration), Sciorra Christania Saint-Louis (business administration), and Logan Simms (financial planning).

We talked with each of them about their plans.

Jolie Poulsen
Major: Marketing
Hometown: Carol, New York

In helping me with my academic success, I would like to thank [Sales Professional in Residence] Mark Michalisin and [Associate Professor] John Dion. They are great resources to have, and what makes them even better is that in the classes they teach, they use practical applications. This means we really get an understanding of how what we learn can be applied in the real world. They are always there to help and push us to be our best. As for this internship scholarship, I hope it takes me internationally because I want to see more than just what is here. For my career aspirations, I am aiming to be something along the lines of a marketing manager or coordinator for a company, such as ESPN, Warner Bros, or another company in production. I am not sure exactly where I’ll be interning yet though. An internship at a company like ESPN or Warner Bros would be amazing.

Rae-Anne Richards
Major: Business administration
Hometown: White Plains, New York

I would like to thank all of my professors in the business school. I feel like they have played a major role in my success, being so supportive of everything that we are trying to do in our career and our future. As for this internship scholarship, I hope it will lead me in the direction of having a career abroad since I’m doing my internship abroad back home, where I grew up.

I am also hoping this internship will allow me to create more connections to make my goals more achievable. Regarding my career aspirations, I am definitely still trying to sort that out. There are so many things out there that I want to do, but not enough time to explore them all. I will be interning in San Martin, an island in the Caribbean where I grew up, which I believe is on the French side. This will also give me the chance to improve my French.

Ahmed Lakrafli
Major: Dual BS/MBA
Hometown: An international student from Morocco

I would like to thank my family and my parents back home for their endless support, assistance, and trust. I would also like to thank my family here at school, specifically the faculty of the business school, and all the teachers for always offering support to make this education opportunity easy and accessible for me.

As for this internship scholarship, it is an amazing opportunity for me, and I hope that wherever it takes me will leave me with a very valuable experience that I can use to help me find a career in the future. As for career aspirations, or where I see myself in a few years, I am not sure yet. Life is short, and I want to enjoy my time, but I came from a family where family-oriented business was everything.

I would like to build my own business in the future though, but also involving myself in management, marketing, or finance. I have three internship offers back home in Morocco from a large finance company. I also have an offer from a nonprofit in NYC called Astoria, so I have to decide. There is still so much up in the air, because I want to make sure whatever I do is what is best for me. Regardless, this internship scholarship will be a key player in my success.

Sciorra Christania Saint-Louis
Major: Business administration
Hometown: International student from Haiti

I would like to thank the faculty and the business school. Betty [DiMaria, interim coordinator of professional development and internships for the Huether School of Business] helped me a lot specifically with building a strong resume, as well as my academic advisor. My internship is in finance, but I have more of a concentration in human resources. I am aiming to work with Capcom, beginning that road with my current internship with them. As for career aspirations, I certainly want to work in human resources. One of my goals is to try to create more diversity and inclusion within the workforce, which is why I believe human resources is a good fit. I also plan to start my own business at some point, most likely in my home country of Haiti.

Logan Simms
Major: Financial planning
Hometown: Green Ridge, New York

I would like to thank Dr. Avis [professor of finance]. She is absolutely brilliant and really cares for her students. Dr. Avis always makes sure everything gets done when it needs to be done and gives excellent advice.

As for this internship opportunity, I simply hope it will help me get a job. Saint Rose has a very good image within the business field, which is something I hope I can use to my advantage. As for career aspirations, I am definitely a little late. I am currently 28 years old, and getting a degree is certainly going to help me so much and will make a substantial improvement in my life. I wanted to do things with my life that required a slightly better job.

I had previously traveled to Kenya to teach, where I had applied my traditional methods of teaching. I was taught traditional hand methods, where no electricity was needed. Just the basics.

As for my future, I am aiming to be somewhere within financial planning. The current people I am working with are not about getting the super-high-end net worth clients and just managing their funds for fees and percentages. The folks I am with are about helping the Average Joe, just making a plan to be able to live confidently within their means. I have a lot going on to be excited for. I will be interning at Blue Jean Financial Group on Wolf Road here in Albany.

By Peter Galica