Campus News
Entrepreneur Pitch Challenge Winners
APRIL 27— From the latest in Italian soccer to a portable water fountain for dogs, St. Francis College student entrepreneurs pitched their best entrepreneurial ideas to a team of experts at the 2017 College-Wide Pitch Contest sponsored by Investors Bank.
“ The Pitch Challenge gives our student entrepreneurs an opportunity to polish their
Sydney Bell’ 19. business plans and pitches as well as earn some crucial start-up funds for their proposed
businesses,” said Eda Sanchez-Persampieri, Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship.“ From more than 50 entrepreneurial pitches, we had to choose the seven best. Any one of them could have taken home the top prizes.” ●
Pinning Ceremony for Nurses
MAY 12— The St. Francis College hosted its first Pinning Ceremony to celebrate the completion of the undergraduate program in Nursing. More than 30 students were on hand for the ceremony. With their undergraduate course work completed, many students have already passed their nursing NCLEX exams and are working as certified RNs, like Jahira Sepulveda’ 17 at Visiting Nurse Services and Dillon O’ Sullivan’ 17 at New York-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital. ●
Video
— https:// youtu. be / VZ-a5xPz3Hc
Dillon O’ Sullivan’ 17, Jeanine Capuana’ 17, Samantha Gosman’ 17, Brittany Palmieri’ 17.
Second Place winner John Rodriguez’ 19, for Hound20, a portable device dogs wear to give them water. First Place winner Sydney Bell’ 19, to help buy equipment for her photography company. Third Place and Audience Award winners Marco Messina’ 17 and Michael Kantaris’ 18 for their sports multimedia start-up Italian Football TV( IFTV). Also in the photo Investors Bank Senior Vice President Mark Noto and Claudia Vilardo’ 17.
New graduates Gabrielle Douglas’ 17, Tamika De Coteau’ 17, Jahira Sepulveda’ 17, and Gabriel Albazambrano at the May 12, 2017 Pinning Ceremony.
SFC a Leader in Economic Mobility
Students coming from families with low incomes have a great chance of making it big if they attend St. Francis College, wrote the New York Times in an assessment of a major new report conducted by The Equality of Opportunity Project.
Out of almost 600 selective private colleges, the Times writes that students from St. Francis were offered the 19th best“ chance a poor student has to become a rich adult.” The Equality of Opportunity Project found that a student coming from the bottom fifth of incomes had a 49 % chance to reach the top fifth of incomes as an adult.
“ Time and again, a St. Francis education has opened the door to a better future. Studies like this show that we are a proven path to success for those who dream of a better tomorrow,” said Interim President Timothy J. Houlihan.
The Upshot, a division of the New York Times which concentrates on using data to tell their stories, also writes that St. Francis ranked 13th out of 578 selective private colleges in their Overall mobility index, which“ reflects both access and outcomes, representing the likelihood that a student at Saint Francis College moved up two or more income quintiles.” ●
Go to sfc. edu / terrier for links to reports or visit https:// www. nytimes. com / interactive / projects / college-mobility / saint-francis-college( subscription site).
2 ST. FRANCIS COLLEGE TERRIER | FALL 2017 | VOLUME 81, NUMBER 1