The Vitito Global Leadership Institute was established through an endowment gift from Bob and Bobbi Vitito. Bob began his service on the SVSU Board of Control in 1996 and concluded it as board chair from 2001 to 2003; he served as CEO of Citizens Banking Corporation from 1996 to 2002.
The members of the first class selected for the Vitito Global Leadership Institute are: • • • •
Nicholas Anderson, an accounting major from Midland Darrel Carter, a management and marketing major from Saginaw Rachel Chatfield, a management and French major from Holly Ashley Davis, a management and economics major from St. Johns
The Vitito Global Leadership Institute also began this year, selecting 12 third-year students with various business majors for the first cohort of the three-semester program. The institute features special classes, including Accelerated Leadership Laboratory, a course and lab blending leadership research with practical application. Students will also take statewide field trips to meet successful leaders of business and non-profit organizations, as well as travel internationally through a faculty-led study aboard experience that includes meeting foreign business leaders. This newest distinctive program was established through an endowment gift from Bob and Bobbi Vitito. Bob began his service on the SVSU Board of Control in 1996 and concluded it as board chair from 2001 to 2003; he served as CEO of Citizens Banking Corporation from 1996 to 2002.
LAYING A SOLID FOUNDATION
Two SVSU alumni who have completed the Foundation Scholars
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Emily Korn, an international business major from Midland Heather Matschikowski, an accounting major from Howell Colleen McClure, a management and marketing major from Novi Zach Parsons, a finance and political science major from Honolulu, Hawaii, and Waterford
program credit it for providing them with preparation to succeed in highly competitive environments when matched with others that hold degrees from universities with more recognizable names. The program currently selects 60 incoming freshmen each year through a competitive process. Applicants must have a high school GPA of at least 3.5 and a minimum 24 ACT composite score, as well as a record of leadership and service in their school or community. A hallmark of the program is the $1,500 stipend each student receives to study abroad or tackle a civic engagement or service-learning project. The program also includes two specially designated courses taken during students’ first year as part of the general education curriculum. For Stu Chipman, 2011, B.A., forming important relationships during his freshman year, spent far from his home of Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.proved valuable throughout his undergraduate years. “It helps you make friends and build relationships a lot faster,” he said.
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Hailey Paruszkiewicz, a marketing and general business major from Oxford Brendan Tulley, an international business major from Elk Rapids Heidi Vogel, a marketing major from Romulus Charlotte Wong, a management major from Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada
“You’re part of a social community immediately. Most of the clubs I was in or the things I started were populated and staffed by Foundation Scholars, because those were the people I knew. Those were the people who were catapulted into a life of extracurricular involvement.” Currently finishing his second year of law school at the University of Michigan, Chipman quickly realized he left SVSU well-equipped for the demands he would face. “My liberal arts education at SVSU has really helped me feel competitive in every way with the people here from schools like Harvard and Yale.” Chipman’s high marks in law school have already helped him secure interviews with several top law firms. He has accepted an offer from SchiffHardin LLP, a national firm based in Chicago; he will be the only 2013 summer associate in their Ann Arbor office. Such appointments usually lead to offers to join the firm as an attorney. Chipman says such an offer would not have come without his SVSU experiences as a Writing Center
REFLECTIONS2013 MAGAZINE 33