{"id":4795,"date":"2006-10-01T10:36:06","date_gmt":"2006-10-01T14:36:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/?p=4795"},"modified":"2014-11-14T16:04:12","modified_gmt":"2014-11-14T21:04:12","slug":"new-scholarship-endowment-sparks-the-entrepreneurial-spirit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/2006\/10\/new-scholarship-endowment-sparks-the-entrepreneurial-spirit\/","title":{"rendered":"New scholarship endowment sparks the entrepreneurial spirit."},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
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\nMargarita Gonzalez<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Student and entrepreneur Margarita Gonzalez<\/strong> rarely follows the traditional path.<\/p>\n

Already the chief financial officer of AccuBANKER, the company she and her husband founded in Miami in 1981, Gonzalez decided to pursue her Bachelor of Business Administration degree at Florida International University\u2014at the same time her own children were heading off to college.<\/p>\n

Now she is going one step further with her commitment to the university: creating the AccuBANKER Scholarship Endowment to support students in the College of Business Administration who are taking classes offered in partnership with the Eugenio Pino and Family Global Entrepreneurship Center.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy goal is to help a young person with an entrepreneurial spirit get the right education right from the start,\u201d said Gonzalez, who is slated to receive her own BBA this December.<\/p>\n

The AccuBANKER Scholarship Endowment totals $71,000, including a $50,000 endowment to be paid out over the next seven years, plus $21,000 in direct annual scholarship funding.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are tremendously appreciative of Gonzalez\u2019s generosity and philanthropic support,\u201d said Annabelle Rojas<\/strong> (MBA \u201998, BBA \u201987), director of external relations and resource development. \u201cShe represents such an important part of the non-traditional student community, and her story is an energizing inspiration for all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

A personal business philosophy gets put into practice.<\/em><\/p>\n

When described as a \u201csuccessful businesswoman,\u201d Gonzalez quickly and modestly objects to that phrase.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe truth is, it takes a community to build a business,\u201d she said. \u201cThe success we have achieved at AccuBANKER belongs to many. My husband\u2019s mother and my mother were there when we were first starting out, helping to take care of our children when we had to put in long hours at work. Credit for our success also goes to our employees, who share our vision, as well as to the bankers who always have had faith in our business plan, and, of course, to our loyal customers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Today, AccuBANKER is recognized as a leading provider of cost-effective cash-handling equipment designed to reduce human error, boost productivity, and avoid losses due to counterfeiting. The company serves customers in the United States and forty-two other countries around the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe strongly in sharing resources with others who might benefit from them\u2014and in giving back to the greater community,\u201d Gonzalez said. \u201cThat\u2019s what motivated my decision to create this endowment and scholarship fund for the university. I know that my husband and I could have benefited from the business school experience. Now I can help tomorrow\u2019s entrepreneurs get the quality education needed to help start them on their way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Making room for the classroom in a hectic business and travel schedule.<\/em><\/p>\n

Going back to school has required some juggling on Gonzalez\u2019s part.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur business demands much of my time and attention,\u201d she said. \u201cI also travel quite frequently. And, I\u2019m a goal-oriented person\u2014and I am proud to say that getting this degree is a goal I have achieved.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the subject of travel, Gonzalez said she journeys frequently to China and has, in fact, been doing business there since 1989\u2014long before the current awakening to China\u2019s expanding role as a player in the global marketplace.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember that, when I first started going to China, no one wanted to do business with a woman,\u201d she said. \u201cI was neither a man nor did I speak their language, so they were reluctant to negotiate with me. I told a prospect, \u2018If you don\u2019t want to deal with me, there will be no business. All purchase orders are approved by me.\u2019 Of course, he immediately changed his attitude and, with his new perspective, we were able negotiate. Today, the commercial climate has changed. Many more business associates in China now speak English and are getting used to women in business like me\u2014and that\u2019s a good thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

And what has it been like for Gonzalez to be back in classroom?<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted the classroom experience,\u201d Gonzalez said. \u201cI really enjoy being with the younger students. They are smart and full of new ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n

No doubt, the students also are benefiting from her global business experience and insight.<\/p>\n

Generous gift helps take college one step closer to its goals.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThe AccuBANKER Scholarship Endowment supports two of the three initiatives under the Building for Business Campaign<\/em> in important ways,\u201d Rojas said. \u201cIt supports the Securing our Future <\/em>initiative in that it establishes a scholarship endowment; it supports the Growth and Excellence<\/em> initiative in that it will provide $3,000 annually for a scholarship during the seven years the endowment is being built. Growth and Excellence<\/em> is all about raising annual funds for the many projects that the college undertakes.\u201d<\/p>\n

The first AccuBANKER Scholarship is scheduled to be awarded for the 2007-2008 academic year.<\/p>\n

To learn more about the AccuBANKER Scholarship, other scholarships in the college, and ways to give to the Building for Business Campaign,<\/em> visit: http:\/\/business.fiu.edu\/Spotlights\/support_our_school.cfm<\/a> <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Margarita Gonzalez Student and entrepreneur Margarita Gonzalez rarely follows the traditional path. Already the chief financial officer of AccuBANKER, the company she and her husband founded in Miami in 1981, Gonzalez decided to pursue her Bachelor of Business Administration degree at Florida International University\u2014at the same time her own children were heading off to college. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":71,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[282,813,1700,2386],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4795"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/71"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4795"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4795\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24374,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4795\/revisions\/24374"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4795"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4795"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4795"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}