SUNY Oswego - Alumni Association

June 2010 • Vol 6 No 3

Graduates Celebrated at Traditional Torchlight Ceremony

The Oswego Alumni Association welcomed some of its newest members during Commencement Eve Torchlight Ceremony, which drew more than 650 alumni, graduating seniors, parents, faculty and staff to the north lawn of the Campus Center.

Donna Goldsmith speaks

Some 200 seniors celebrated their pending graduation and symbolically shared a flame from the Torch of Learning with candles May 14. World Wrestling Entertainment COO Donna Goldsmith ’82 emceed the event, a campus tradition for more than seven decades.

“Now go proudly and take your knowledge into the wider world,” SUNY Oswego President Deborah F. Stanley said during her remarks. “Turn your thoughts to the problems that beset our society. Unleash your creativity in the service of humanity.”

Goldsmith, recently named the second most powerful woman in sports by Forbes magazine, encouraged students to give their time and talent back to Oswego at the Torchlight Dinner that preceded the ceremony.

“Even with the demands of my job ... I take time to help steer SUNY Oswego graduates in the right direction,” the WWE chief operating officer said. “It’s really important that alumni connect with students.”

Goldsmith said she was “proud and privileged” to have career success rivaling that of high school classmates who went on to Ivy League institutions.

“SUNY Oswego played a major part in getting me where I am today,” said Goldsmith, whose career has also included executive positions at Revlon, Swatch Watch and the National Basketball Association. True to her words, she shared some straightforward advice with the graduates-to-be.

“Cut the text talk,” Goldsmith said, referring to the grammatically challenged mobile phone medium of communication. “You’re asking to get into business in a very competitive environment and you need to be your best.”

The 2010 senior class honored one of their best during the Torchlight Dinner. Business administration major Allison Rent ’10 was named Outstanding Senior, an award established in 2005 by Alice Massimi '02.
Rent, Vega co-president, Omicron Delta Kappa honor society member and Phi Beta Lamba honor society executive board volunteer, thanked her classmates, professors and parents in a short speech.

Karly Armstrong ’10 was Torchlight Dinner student mistress of ceremonies; Katie Margensey Batchelor ’10, Torchlight Ceremony student mistress of ceremonies; Janell Dutchess ’10, student speaker; Matt Slimowicz ’10, torchbearer; and representing the Class of 2010 in the Inner Circle were Meghan Agars ’10, Stefanie Beekman ’10, Brian Trahan ’10 and Matt Wysocki ’10.

Seniors also unveiled $10,500 they raised for their Class Gift, topping every total from the last decade. The money will be distributed to campus causes of each donor’s choosing.

— Shane M. Liebler

PHOTO CAPTION:
World Wrestling Entertainment COO Donna Goldsmith ’82 speaks during the Torchlight Ceremony.

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Oswego Alumni Association, Inc. • King Alumni Hall - SUNY Oswego • Oswego, NY 13126
315-312-2258 • 315-312-5570 (fax) • E-mail: alumni@oswego.edu • Web site: oswego.edu/alumni

Who doesn’t want to save the world? Michael Kite ’02 does that for a living through World Wildlife Fund.

As marketing specialist for one of the world’s leading conservation organizations, Kite and his team of three work to raise more than $5 million each year. The majority of that money comes from licensing partnerships and promotions with the likes of Barnes & Noble, Gap, Hewlett-Packard, Dial and Coinstar.

Retail partnerships help WWF spread its message to the general public and raise funds for its conservation work around the globe. For example, Bank of America contributes $100 for every special Visa account opened and Nabisco is supporting WWF’s “Year of the Tiger” initiative with special packaging and a $100,000 donation. The new CVS Green Bag Tag program rewards reusable bag-toting customers, and generates five cents for WWF for each tag sold.

All support WWF’s mission of protecting the future of nature, down to the finest details, Kite said.

“We like to see that the product is made from recycled material and is recyclable itself, and somehow ties into our mission,” Kite said. The Green Bag Tag, for instance, is made from a corn-based material and features a 100 percent recycled silicone lanyard.

As a broadcasting major at Oswego, Kite got involved with WRVO-FM and WNYO-FM.

“I think it gave me a lot more confidence in talking to people,” he said. It was an important part of his early career in broadcast sales and remains an important piece in the message he “sells” today.

“The best part of my job is seeing a product in the store with the WWF logo after months of working with a company to launch it,” said Kite, who joined the organization in 2006. “It’s rewarding to give people a fun, unique way to protect our planet.”

— Shane M. Liebler