Financial Executives International Honors Three FIT Students
Guest Blogger: Dr. Joan Wiggenhorn, Associate Professor Nathan M. Bisk College of Business
Three FIT students were honored on April 11, 2013 at the Financial Executives International Academic Night. Two students, Jennifer Harvey and Brock Bontrager won scholarships and Clem Healy won an award for the FEI Distinguished Scholar Program. Students that attended the Financial Executives International Academic Night enjoyed an excellent opportunity to network with Central Florida executives and discuss important issues in the fields of finance and accounting.
Jennifer Harvey is an Accounting Major with a 4.0 and plans to graduate May 2014. Before coming to FIT, Jennifer owned and was CEO of a contracting firm in Melbourne. While working, she was a charter member of Space Coast Chapter #355, National Association of Women in Construction, and served two terms on the Board of Directors. At FIT, she is the recipient of the Larry Davis scholarship and has been active in the accounting field attending numerous seminars on ethics and related business topics. She is interested in forensic accounting and hopes to combine that interest with a focus on corporate sustainability.
Brock Bontrager is double majoring in accounting and marketing, while on a baseball scholarship at Florida Tech. He received the 2011-2012 Outstanding Junior in Business Administration and Marketing and was named to the Florida Tech Athletic Director’s Honor Roll for the last two years. He has also performed community service helping at the Relay for Life, the Alta Vista Elementary School Reading Program, and the Daily Bread Soup Kitchen. This summer he has an internship with an accounting firm in Gainesville and hope to work for one the “Big Four” accounting firms after graduation with the ultimate goal of becoming an investment banker.
Clem Healy, the medallion winner, will be receiving his M.B.A this spring and he was also a FIT undergrad with a major in Business Administration. His work experience is varied, being the founder and brew master of Inner Circle Brewery in West Melbourne, working for the Deputy Direct of the Technological Research and Development Authority in Melbourne in 2011, and he has recently been hired by a local software development company Modus Operandi. His long range plans include becoming a project manager at a software development firm where his main duties would be financial and strategic analysis of the projects. He would like to eventually become a CFO or an executive in charge of the major accounts for a firm that specializes in government contracts.
Prior to the dinner, students submitted questions that were discussed at each table. Executives served as moderators, and were able to provide students with an insight as to where the job market stands in the industry, what career goals are appropriate, and the effects of globalization on industry standards. The keynote speaker of the evening was Dr. Paul Jarley, the Dean of the College of Business at UCF. His talk was directed to the students and he stressed that unlike their parents, today’s graduates would have to accept more risk and learn from failure in order to ultimately be successful in the long run.
