UB School of Management celebrates career partners for impact on student success

By Alexandra Richter

BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Career Resource Center — an exclusive resource for nearly 4,000 students in the University at Buffalo School of Management — hosted a celebration at The Mansion on Delaware Ave. on May 8 to honor several recruiting and internship partners for their considerable impact on student success and career development.

Caroline Organ, MBA ’07, chief human resources officer at BS&P CPAs and Consultants was named CRC Alumnus of the Year for her dedication and support of students’ professional and career development, and for her deep involvement with the school. Championing UB within her firm for more than 15 years, Organ and members of her team engage in panel discussions, networking events, programs in collaboration with the UB Accounting Association and Beta Alpha Psi, and more.

Carey Petruso, group talent manager, Enterprise Mobility and Jody Giarrusso, talent acquisition manager, Enterprise Mobility were named Recruiting Partners of the Year for their commitment to promoting a strong recruiting partnership with the school.

On the internship side, the CRC honored two pairs of Interns and Supervisors of the Year. The awards recognize productive, meaningful collaborations between students and their mentors — and are chosen based on their nominations of one another. Interns often write about how they grew professionally by completing challenging assignments and hearing about their supervisor’s career path. Meanwhile, supervisors frequently share how impressed they were with their intern’s work, dedication and integrity.

This year’s Interns and Supervisors of the Year were: Claire Ritchie, BS ’24, and Melissa Boland, BS ’07, owner, Casa Bella Management LLC; and Akshay Prabhakar Koltewar, MBA ’24, and James Luciani, associate director of business reporting, Linde.

West Herr Automotive Group was recognized as 2024’s Outstanding Internship Organization for the design, breadth and depth of internship opportunities as well as the quality of learning objectives and mentoring provided to students. Since the start of West Herr’s Internship Experience Program in 2023, 16 students have interned and multiple students hired into part-time roles. Mary Borgognoni, director of internships and career development, and Scott Bieler, president, West Herr Automotive Group, accepted the award on behalf of the company.

“Students described our partners at West Herr Automotive Group as welcoming, informative, supportive, and interested in their success, from training to completion,” says Carrie Gardner, director of internships and experiential learning in the School of Management.

Techtronic Industries was honored with the New Recruiting Organization of the Year award for the organization’s dedication to the recruitment of students and alumni as well as their commitment to building a strong partnership with the UB School of Management. Representatives are a regular presence in the school for information sessions, on-campus interviews, working with student clubs and more. James Burke, territory manager, accepted the award on behalf of the organization.

For ways you or your company can engage with the UB School of Management’s Career Resource Center, visit management.buffalo.edu/career.