April isn’t just the cruelest month for the poets, it is also a very busy time for academics of all sorts. Our seniors are finishing their theses (due Monday!), high school seniors are making their final decisions (we just fnished our last of 7 on-campus offer sessions), and everyone is nearing the end of another academic year with papers to write and grade.
This past week and on into the weekend is always particularly hectic, but in a wonderful way. Today is the Blue-White game, the Penn State football scrimmage, that also signals our spring meeting of the External Advisory Board, our Scholar Alumni Board, and our Scholar Reunion. We have over a hundred alumni and families joining us today (and in 5 minutes for Donuts with the Dean!) for what should prove to be a beautiful warm day with a tailgate starting at 11:30.
One of the best parts of these weekends is introducing our board members and alumni to our current students. At dinner on Thursday night 7 of our graduating seniors and our Student Council president met with the members of the EAB. Each spoke about their experiences as a Schreyer Scholar and their accomplishments leave me wondering what I did with the last four decades of my life! They have accomplished more in four years than many do in a life time. I will share some comments from one of our seniors later this week, but today I want to highlight the value of mentoring.
Many of our alumni and board members mentor our current students and yesterday we honored our first ever Outstanding Mentor Award to Ryan Newman, ‘01 Bus. Below are is part of the script I read at the award presentation. Ryan is a wonderful young man and very deserving of the award. Mentoring has become an integral part of the Schreyer experience, connecting our students with our alumni, and one that is incredibly beneficial for all concerned. Congratulations to Ryan and thank you to ALL our mentors!
Scholar Alumnus Ryan Newman a 2001 graduate from the Smeal College of Business. Ryan graduated first in his major with a B.S. in Economics and as a Schreyer Scholar. While at Penn State, he conducted research in Cameroon for his honors thesis in Demography. He presented his findings, which were subsequently published, at the Population Association Conference, held in Washington, D.C. While at Penn State, Ryan served as President of the Business Student Council and Chairman of the Business Roundtable. In addition, Ryan was Co-Founder of Smeal Survivor (later renamed, The Next CEO), a business simulation sponsored by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a non-partisan DC-based Think Tank and Penn State.
Ryan has served on the Smeal College of Business Alumni Society Board of Directors since 1998. He is a Board of Director of the Foundation for Student Enterprise which hosts a week-long simulation for High School students entitled, Pennsylvania Free Enterprise Week (PFEW). He is the Vice President of Finance for the Philadelphia Chapter of the American Jewish Committee (AJC), and serves on the Estate Planning Advisory Council of the Greater Philadelphia Jewish Federation. He is also a member of The Philadelphia Estate Planning Council and the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG).
Ryan was hired by Goldman Sachs in 2001, and began his career as a financial analyst, customizing and implementing asset allocation models for clients. Ryan is now a vice president for private wealth management in the investment management division.
In 2004, Ryan earned the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation. Since this time, he has personally advised family groups and non-profit institutions, consisting predominantly of owners of closely-held private companies, as well as public company executives and mid-sized institutions on asset allocation, investment management and wealth planning.
One friend describes Ryan as “approachable”, “extraordinarily successful”, and “inspirational.” He continues to share that “…if there is one thing Ryan doesn’t have is TIME. Yet, he is so passionate and self-less about paying it forward that he makes an exceptional amount of time to engage his protégés.”
… The plaque reads as follows:
SCHREYER
HONORS COLLEGE
The Scholar Alumni Society recognizes the
2009 Outstanding Scholar Alumni Mentor
Ryan Newman, 01
for his outstanding commitment and invaluable contributions
to the Mentoring with Honors program
April 24, 2009
The Pennsylvania State University
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