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June 7: Colonnade at the Zoo June 4: National Volunteer Council Meeting Jun 18: New York Regional Alumni Event |
Colonnade Society members and guest of the College of Chemical and Life Sciences are invited to embark on a zoo scavenger hunt featuring encounters with wildlife and Maryland faculty partnering with the Smithsonian Institution to help protect endangered species. |
 Helping Students Reach for the StarsErnst & Young Gift Supports Freshmen Networking Program
But an orientation for the Freshman Fellows program, a learning community designed specifically for incoming business students, helped Lacey connect with the school and the people who are his classmates and teachers for the next three years. Now, a $250,000 gift from Ernst & Young will strengthen the program and ensure its future. An endowment will support the fellows’ orientation as well as guest speakers and presentations throughout the academic year. The donation brings the Big Four auditor’s total gifts to the Smith School to more than $1 million. Past donations have supported construction, professorships and scholarships for upperclassmen. “We are very excited to add our sponsorship of the Freshman Fellows orientation to the portfolio of programs we support at Smith,” says Anthony Calderazzi ’92, University of Maryland coordinating partner at Ernst & Young. “With this program, we are able to create connections with Smith students from their first days on campus and through scholarships, internships and ultimately, the start of their professional careers." The Freshman Fellows program was launched in Fall 2006 to bring students into the Smith fold early in their academic careers. Before then, many freshmen and sophomores didn’t necessarily know how to take advantage of the school’s resources and lost valuable time building networks. “We were finding that they really weren’t connected to the Smith School,” says Dave Wilmes, director of fellows programming. “Now this is the first real touch point we have with them.” The program begins at a two-day orientation prior to each fall semester. Wilmes says participants bond with 10 to 15 students they’ll likely have classes with, as well as the professor who will teach their Introduction to Business class. “Without this program,” says Lacey, an international business and government and politics major, “I feel like I might have been just another face in the crowd, but I've made connections that I think will definitely enrich my experience here.” This year, 273 of the school’s 407 freshmen took part in the program, which blends course work in ethics and corporate responsibility, professional development and career exploration with field trips and experiential learning like etiquette dinners. Students stay in the program through the end of their sophomore year; they can then apply to the school’s 19 other fellows programs that explore specific industries in small-group settings. For Ernst & Young, advising Maryland students on career exploration seems a natural fit. The company employs at least 180 alumni in more than 24 offices worldwide. Learn how you can make your mark on Maryland by supporting the Smith School of Business.  | ||||||
