SPOTLIGHT:
Cherie Scricca, Associate Dean for Masters Programs &
Career Services
Background
Cherie Scricca began her full-time career in higher
education as assistant director of admissions at the
Hastings College of Law at the University of California
from 1989 through 1994. She later joined the Haas School
of Business as associate director of admissions from
1995 to 1997. From 1997 to 1999, she served as assistant
dean of admissions and financial aid, for the School of
Law at Golden Gate University in San Francisco. During
the two years prior to joining the Smith School, Scricca
was the director of MBA admissions at the Haas School.
Scricca joined the Smith School in August, 2001 and was
promoted to associate dean for masters programs & career
services in March of 2002.
Change is Good
When asked about her thoughts on Smith since her
promotion, Scricca replied that there have been many
changes coupled with many constants. The main change she
mentioned was the involvement and attitude of the
student body. “Today’s students have a strong desire to
shape the community, get involved in change, and build
relationships with groups around them. There is greater
ownership of the experience and the environment than
when I began in 2001.” Scricca cited the creation of a
part-time MBA governing body (PTMBAA), and the changes
in the program curriculum as prime examples. The
positive energy at the school, willingness to help each
other, and closeness of the administration to the
student body in adapting to change have helped keep the
momentum going. Scricca also cited many constants at
Smith, most importantly the spirit of continuous change,
and interest in trying new things. “The willingness to
experiment, to learn, and to grow in an effort to
improve our students, school, and community are what get
me excited to come to work every day,” she says.
Most Improved Areas
Since Smith is constantly adapting to change and
trying new ideas, we asked Assoc. Dean Scricca about the
areas that have improved and grown the most in her time
here. A top area mentioned was the level, depth and
variety of partnerships that Smith has established with
businesses and the community. Scricca included the UIBE
(Executive Education program in China), The World Bank
partnership, and the career services partnerships
(Stanton Chase, Next Step Partners, and Drake Beam
Morrin) as prime examples of the broad relationships
fostered by the Smith School.
With The World Bank, Scricca outlined a win-win
partnership opportunity that enabled The World Bank to
reach a population that could impact global issues, and
allowed Smith to expose students to global issues – all
part of creating a global citizen. Scricca is also proud
of the relationships grown and fostered in the Career
Services arena. “The career management area has
undergone deep organizational change since 2002, and has
really moved away from traditional models of career
counseling to a more structured, professional career
placement approach that serves as a long-term asset to
our students.” With the Stanton Chase partnership,
Scricca highlighted three main goals that positively
impacted both organizations:
(1) Establish a program that helped students
prepare for the job market
(2) Help open doors into new industries
(3) Assess Smith and its students for change and
growth
Though only in its second year, Scricca is optimistic
about the benefits of the partnership and looks forward
to the change it will bring with ongoing focus. The Next
Step Partners and Drake Beam Morrin relationships grew
out of bringing in career coaching expertise, access to
professional coaches, and a suite of career tools
designed to assist students in a personalized way
throughout the process.
Areas of Continued Focus
Scricca mentioned two areas of continued focus for
Smith:
(1) The need to be broadening students’ perceptions of
school happenings
(2) Building stronger connections between the full-time
and part-time student communities.
“Students don’t often see, or have time to see, all
the different events and items happening at Smith. As a
result, perceptions of what are going on and what should
be going on often miss each other,” she says.
Life Outside Smith
Though life at Smith keeps Assoc. Dean Scricca
extremely busy, she makes time for personal hobbies that
take advantage of D.C. Metro area opportunities. She
enjoys visiting museums, theatre, Chinese brush
paintings, and reading. Her favorite books include “The
Age of Access” (recommended for all GA’s), and anything
from the classics.
Assoc. Dean Scricca closed with some thoughts for
students going through the Smith MBA experience, and
emphasized her open door policy to talk with students.
“It's rare in life that you choose who you work with,
have all the information you need, and like what you do
all the time. As part of the Smith experience, we want
our students to experience these types of efforts, which
will be reflected in their post-MBA lives, so that they
are not surprised, but are well prepared to be
successful in this type of environment.”
SPOTLIGHT:
International Club
 A
new idea was born this semester with the incoming
full-time MBA class of 2006. The idea had been tried
before, but never with this much success. A group of
first year students decided to form an International
Club to fill a need for a broad international
organization that spans multiple cultures and
facilitates communication between students and faculty
to broaden cultural horizons. Shinobu Kato and Tom
Nowacyzk, two of the club’s founders, stated “We saw a
need for an organization that could bring different
cultures together, and that would complement existing
cultural organizations to expand students’ global
perspectives." The International Club shapes its efforts
to drive three main goals:
1. Encourage and facilitate communication and social
interaction among graduate students, faculty and
administration in the Smith MBA program,
2. Promote and enhance the reputation of the Smith MBA
program.
3. Enhance the educational experience and professional
development of all members. The IC understands and is
committed to fulfilling its responsibilities of abiding
by University of Maryland policies.
At the time this article was published (early
November), the club has exceeded expectations of all
that touched it. The member size has grown to 120
full-time students, and is open to all part-time MBA
students as well. The club founders have different
backgrounds but share a desire to cultivate diversity
and culture in the Smith environment. Consequently, the
club brings prior international studies, travel, and the
sense of growth gained from international exposure to
all their endeavors. Club officers include:
- Shinobu Kato (President)
- Tom Nowacyzk (Co-President)
- Valerio Zanini (VP Marketing & External
Communications)
- Matt Adinolfi (VP Event Planning)
- Nicolas Gompf (VP Finance)
- Gautham Panchangam (VP Web Development &
Communication)
- Katherine Yon (VP Logistics & Operations)
The International Club has received tremendous
support from faculty and students – large contributors
of its success. Associate Dean Cherie Scricca serves as
the club’s faculty advisor. The club is working hard to
engage other administrative and student groups in its
cause, by co-sponsoring events, and teaming with faculty
to bring a professional development aspect to the club
on a global scale.
 The
club’s first event, Italian Night, was hosted in
Van Munching Hall on Thursday, October 28, 2004 to a
receptive audience. Over 100 people attended the event,
including Dean Howard Frank, Assoc. Dean Scricca,
Professors Lele, Windle, and Krapfel, as well as many
full-time students. The event was promoted throughout
the week, and boasted a wide palate of Italian cuisine,
beverages, and published material such as Italian travel
magazines. The club secured sponsorship from two
restaurants and two publications, including:
Twenty volunteers assisted the club officers with
cooking, logistics, set-up/clean-up, and various duties
during the event. In retrospect, the club officers
commented that attendance was far beyond their
expectations; they received enormous support from
faculty and students to pull the event together, and
were glad to have struck a chord within the student
community. Club officers commented that they have been
in discussions with viBe and other groups regarding
potential synergy opportunities, and hope to keep the
momentum going for future events.
Looking ahead, the International Club hopes to host
three different types of events, and a professional
development area that builds on the club’s vision.
Types of Events:
1) Global Events: similar to Italian nights across
multiple cultures
2) Targeted Events: smaller, more intimate opportunities
for interaction
3) Marquis Event: once a year intense cultural
experience
Professional Development Focus
The club is building towards a professional
development area that would broaden club activities to
include functional areas. Examples include expand job
opportunities abroad, foster easier international
students assimilation to U.S. (i.e. informational
sessions “how to get a visa,” guest speakers from
multi-nationals, international travel advice), and
collaboration with administration to advance prospective
international student participation within the
orientation / admissions process. To this end, the club
is working with existing organizations to cosponsor
events with other clubs, gain faculty assistance with
the strategic direction, and collaborate with the MPO
(admissions, orientation) and viBe on new endeavors.
Upcoming Events
- American Thanksgiving (Week of 11/22)
- Japan Night (12/2)
To Join the Club
If you are interested in being a member of the
International Club, please e-mail your name and contact
information to:
thomas_nowacyzk@rhsmith.umd.edu or
valerio_zanini@rhsmith.umd.edu.
STUDENT ADVICE
Tips for First-Year MBA Students From Second-Year MBA
Students
On Your Summer Internship…
“One way to make contact with a company is by going
to the Employers section on SOURCE. Usually there
is a Contacts link, which will give you
information on anyone who has visited Smith representing
that company. By doing this, I was able to make contact
with someone at Legg Mason who helped me to land my
job.”
Ignacio Rodriguez
Intern, Equity Research for Legg Mason
“This summer I had the opportunity to work for The
Walt Disney Company in Burbank, CA, in the operations
department of their DVD/VHS distribution division, Buena
Vista Home Entertainment (BVHE). The position called for
the creation and implementation of a balanced scorecard
with 13 key performance indicators and 24 additional
metrics. The internship allowed me to work and network
with some of the most influential people at Disney and
in Hollywood.
This company is well known for its strength in
marketing and customer service, as well as its movies
and theme parks. Therefore, securing an internship at
Disney required performing due diligence on the company.
By understanding their business model, values, strategic
direction, and most recent movie releases, I was able to
impress them with my knowledge of the company.
Leveraging my past experience was key to convincing them
that I was the perfect person for the job, ahead of MBAs
from some top ten b-schools. My suggestion for securing
an internship at any company is to make sure you know
their business and the positions they are offering
before speaking with them. In other words, do your
homework!”
David Cusamano
Intern, The Walt Disney Company
“Build strong relationships with the OCM and alumni.
They really helped me to build my network, which gave me
an edge when applying for internships on SOURCE or
elsewhere. An alum or a second-year student that can
give you a recommendation because of a personal
relationship is invaluable.”
Sowmya Murthy
Intern, JP Morgan Chase Credit Card Services in
Marketing Retention Strategy
“I worked as a program specialist for the Boston
Public Health Department. Advice I would give to a first
year looking for their internship is to continue to tap
their classmates for opportunities. First years and
second years have had a wide variety of careers and a
large amount of contacts. It's a great network to tap
into.”
Rebecca Ratnow
Intern at the Boston Public Health Department.
“Rule No. 1 – Work with the OCM Account Managers -
let them have a good idea of the types of companies you
are interested in and your target list of companies.
Their job is to generate companies to recruit on
campuses and send them resume books - with their
favorites marked. I got my internship through SOURCE -
but they actually pulled my resume from the resume book
(with some guidance from OCM Account Managers) and gave
me an interview. After that, the rest was having a good
story and sounding incredibly passionate and focused
about wanting to do investment banking. Mine was
probably an anomaly since Sandler O'Neill hires more on
cultural fit and personality than past experience - they
gave me a chance to prove my worth.”
Maya Rao
Investment Banking Intern at Sandler O’Neill
“As an international student, I had limited
connections here in the U.S. Instead, I was able to use
my network in Thailand to find my internship this past
summer. I contacted my old boss, who was able to put me
in touch with Thai colleagues in the U.S. By doing this
I was able to secure an internship in New York, doing
sales trading for a Singaporean bank.”
Nuttaluk Polchan
Intern, DBS Vickers Security Firm
“When you start your internship, make sure to set
realistic goals and a timeline to complete your
deliverable for the summer. While you want to challenge
yourself and learn a lot, you also want to finish your
project(s) before summer is over!”
Sparkle Douglas
Intern, Small Business Development for Manna
Community Development
|
