Think back to age five, what were you doing? Were you stamping envelopes all day at your Sesame Street desk? Or a few years later were you waking up at 4:30 a.m. during tax season and accompanying your dad to work? Amanda Sonzogni was. She is known for her incredible work ethic and as president of the Business Club she leads with confidence and poise. “Hard work pays off” is one of the key sayings Amanda stands by. Read on to learn more about her amazing accomplishments within and outside of the U.
Name: Amanda SonzogniDouble Major: Marketing & EntrepreneurshipDouble Minor: Operations Management & Business LeadershipYear: 2015Hometown: Long Valley, NJ
What made you want to run for President of the Business Club?I actually have wanted to run for President since my freshmen year. I went to the first Business Club meeting and knew I wanted to be an officer right away. After I went to the EXPO my freshmen year, I already had a vision of different parts of the event I would want to make better for the students. After the EXPO, less than a week ago, I’ve already received extremely positive feedback from students, faculty members and recruiters so I feel like I accomplished the goals I had when I was only 18 years old.
What is something that you wish to accomplish this term?The officers and I are hoping to gain as much feedback as we can to offer to the upcoming officers. That way, the new officers will have an even more successful year than ours!
Outside of schoolwork, I’ll be focusing on my involvement with the entrepreneurship club with on campus. We have our own student run business, Wayne House Designs, that designs and produces t-shirts for on-campus and off-campus events. All of our proceeds go to the Akilah Institute for Women in Rwanda so it is extremely enlightening to learn the in’s and out’s of running a business as well as giving back to others. I will also be training for my second half marathon this April. So I have a lot to do!
One word to describe University of Scranton is…Supportive
What’s something that you want everyone to know about you that they might not know yet?I owe my work ethic to my dad. I hated waking up early and going to work with him when I was young. But if it weren’t for my dad instilling this type of work ethic at such a young age, I wouldn’t be as determined as I am now. I also know for sure that when I own my own business, I will make my children stamp envelopes on a Sesame Street desk right next to me!
What’s your favorite part about the University of Scranton?The people, both students and faculty members. Everyone at Scranton supports each other and knows how much we are capable of even when we don’t see it in ourselves yet. I have really grown up since my freshmen year and have gained so much confidence in leading a life that I want to live, both professionally and personally. I have gained the most incredible friendships that I know that I will carry with me after I graduate. Also, the faculty members I have interacted with have become a lot of my mentors and I couldn’t be more thankful for those relationships.
How does it feel knowing you are going to be graduating soon?Bittersweet! I am going to miss being at Scranton so much and being surrounded by all of these amazing and supportive people. On the other hand, I am also ready to start a different chapter in my life being in the workplace. I definitely consider myself a workaholic but it will be an adjustment from having a college schedule to a full time employee schedule. I am ready for the challenge though, bring it on!
So we hear you have a job lined up at Goldman Sachs upon graduation. Congratulations, and how does it feel?Thank you! It was a pretty incredible feeling to find out that I had a job before I entered my senior year. When I got the call, it felt like tangible evidence that the saying, “hard work pays off” is actually true. I am extremely grateful for gaining this incredible opportunity but I also know I would never have gotten it if I hadn’t studied by butt off and been as involved with campus activities as I am now. I recently read a quote on LinkedIn by Derek Jeter that really explains it all. “There may be people that are more talented than you, but there is no excuse for someone to work harder than you.” I think if every individual followed that belief, we would have some incredible accomplishments.