Business Honor Society Recognizes Top Students
Image by Ed Brennen
05/14/2019
By Ed Brennen
Vowing to uphold the principles of honor, wisdom and earnestness, 35 undergraduate and graduate students from the Manning School of Business were inducted into the Beta Gamma Sigma international business honor society on May 9 at the UMass Lowell Inn & Conference Center.
Student chapter president Shailey Doherty, a senior business administration major and Honors student from Pelham, N.H., welcomed the new inductees. Membership is open to the top 5 percent of students in the sophomore class, the top 7 percent of juniors, the top 10 percent of seniors and the top 20 percent of graduate students.
The 27 undergraduate inductees are seniors Raphael Alves, Claudia Brophy, Laura Christman, Thomas Gorman, Leaksmy Heng, Mya Neary, Dennis Patel, Kristin Richard, Abigail Tavernese and Yulisa Yu; juniors Ellis Bannard, Kyle Cloutier, Michael Gould, Danielle Jillson, Kaitlyn Kiley, Ayesha Khan, Katie Lynch, Christopher Marcello, Perla Ponce, Michael Rivers, Johnathan Ruggiero, David Seybert, Katherine St. Jean and Kyle Tremblay; and sophomores Taylor Kelley, Ryan Kreatz and Joao Souza.
The eight graduate inductees are Master of Business Administration students Diana Smith and Mangesh Teli Parulekar; Master of Science in Accounting student Shiqi Xing; and Master of Science in Finance students Douglas Bondeson, Linda Chea, Kishon Delancy, Devisha Gulati and Kinuthia Wanyee.
Image by Ed Brennen
Manning School Dean Sandra Richtermeyer, who is president of the university’s Beta Gamma Sigma chapter, encouraged inductees to take advantage of their new networking opportunities.
“Wherever you start your careers, I hope you can find a chapter to stay connected with, because it will provide you with a very strong professional network,” Richtermeyer said.
Keynote speaker Joanne Yestramski, senior vice chancellor for finance, operations and strategic planning, was named an honorary inductee.
“Making the world a better place is what all of you in Beta Gamma Sigma are trying to do,” said Yestramski, who stressed to students the importance of networking, finding mentors and continuous, lifelong learning.
For the past three years, the Manning School has sent student members to the Beta Gamma Sigma Global Leadership Summit. Last fall, Doherty attended the summit in Chicago along with the UML chapter’s three vice presidents – seniors Elizabeth Iacoviello and Mark Campanile and junior Kevin Coluci.
“That was an incredible experience,” said Doherty, who learned about Beta Gamma Sigma in her freshman year and was inducted as a sophomore.
Image by Ed Brennen
“Beta Gamma Sigma is a nice recognition on your résumé, and it’s something you can talk about in job interviews,” said Doherty, who will continue as the chapter’s student president next year while she pursues her master of science in finance from the Manning School.
Asst. Teaching Profs. Michael Beers and Cassandra Rohland serve as the chapter’s co-advisors. Beers said the induction ceremony is his favorite night of the academic year.
“I can say, on behalf of my fellow faculty, that having these students in the classroom makes teaching a joy,” said Beers, who thanked senior Kelly Bradford, a 2018 inductee, for helping put the induction dinner together.
Founded in 1913, Beta Gamma Sigma has more than 590 collegiate chapters with members in 190 countries. BGS membership is by invitation only, extended to top students at business schools accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) International.
The mission of BGS is to encourage and honor academic achievement in the study of business, cultivate and celebrate leadership and professional excellence, advance the values of the society and serve its lifelong members.