When Russian-born Svetlana Itlyasheva (BBA ’09) saw her name on the program for the recent dinner for the 25th group of BBA+ Weekend graduates, she was confused. Although she is fluent in English, there was a word that she didn’t know: valedictorian.
“I was asking my fellow students, ‘why is my name there next to that word,’” she said.
She quickly learned that she was to be honored at the event for her academic accomplishments, having achieved the highest grade point average within the class of 39 students.
Itlyasheva completed her associate of arts degree at Miami Dade College, where she saw a brochure about the BBA+ Weekend program in the College of Business Administration at Florida International University (FIU). It’s a program designed for students like her: those with a completed associate degree. Now, with her undergraduate degree in hand, she plans to pursue her master’s in business and is applying to the top five business graduate schools for 2010 admission.
“When I complete my graduate degree, I hope to establish my own import/export company, a field about which I am learning in my current job as office manager at Limco Logistics in Miami,” she said.
Event includes traditional presentation of student and faculty awards . . . and a surprise.
The Leadership Award of Excellence went to Maggie Moreno (BBA ’09) and Constance Bates, who teaches courses on creativity, innovation and international business, received the Circle of Excellence Award from the group.
In congratulating the newest BBA+ Weekend graduates, the director of the BBA+ program, Donald Roomes—who received a surprise award acknowledging his 15 years of service to the BBA+ program—encouraged the students to “follow business guru Jim Rohn’s advice in choosing to become all you possibly can, and to accomplish as much as you possibly can.”
The dinner took place in the Graham Center’s Faculty Club on June 26, 2009.
