Six students honored as Beeghly Fellows

Yana Flider, Jessica Marando, Alex McFarland, Fadi El Chammas, Nicholas Conti and Jimmy Garvin, all students from the Williamson College of Business Administration at Youngstown State University, have been selected as John D. Beeghly Fellows for the 2016 Spring Semester. The John D. Beeghly Fellows program provides students with a paid fellowship working with the Ohio Small Business Development Center at YSU. Projects include marketing research, preparation of financial statements, export readiness studies, country research, business plan development, cash flow analysis, and sales forecast. Students gain valuable career-related work experience, and are able to position themselves to be competitive in the job market upon graduation. The program is made possible by an endowment established at the YSU Foundation by Beeghly’s wife and children. Beeghly was a lifelong resident and businessman in Youngstown and son of area industrialist and philanthropist, Leon A. Beeghly. From 1967 until his death, Beeghly served as vice president and director of Standard Slag Co. and Stancorp Inc., a holding company for industrial businesses. “We are extremely grateful to the John D. Beeghly Family for making this generous investment in our business students,” said Betty Jo Licata, WCBA dean. “Providing our students with career-related experience contributes to the success of our regional businesses and the professional preparation of our students.” This semester’s fellows are: Yana Flider of Youngstown is a senior International Business major, graduating in the fall 2016. She is currently a part of the Ohio Export Internship Program, taking a specialized export class in preparation for a summer export internship. Flider is treasurer of Enactus, an entrepreneurial organization, and is a part of the Emerging Leaders Program. Upon graduation she plans to apply for the Mountbatten program, studying towards an MBA and working in London for a year. Jessica Marando of Hubbard is a senior Marketing Management major and Accounting minor. This is Marando’s second semester as a Beeghly Fellow. She completed a marketing internship in Lexington, Ky., for Vapor Stockroom prior to her Beeghly Fellowship. Marando is a member of Enactus, an entrepreneurial organization on campus, where she has served as public relations chairwoman for the past 2.5 years. Working for Modern Builders Supply since 2008, Marando runs the mailroom while completing a full course load throughout her entire college career. She plans to graduate this May. Alex McFarland of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is a senior Business Economics major. She recently completed a payroll associate internship at Future Systems Inc. McFarland is involved in the Economics Club and is a member of Phi Kappa Phi honor society. She plans to attend graduate school at YSU for a master’s in Financial Economics and continue on as an Economic Development Advisor for the Peace Corp. in the Burkina Faso region. This is McFarland’s second semester as a Beeghly Fellow. Fadi El Chammas, originally from Beirut, Lebanon, and now residing in Poland, Ohio, is a senior who will graduate in December 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a major of International Business. Chammas is currently part of the Ohio Export Internship Program, and will be placed with a company doing exporting work this upcoming summer. He is fluent in Arabic and French, and gained professional selling experience and customer service skills working in the food industry for more than five years. He has been an intern at the Small Business Development Center since June of 2015. Nicholas Conti from New Castle, Pa., is a senior Finance major with a minor in Accounting. He is actively involved with the Student Investment Fund and the YSU Racquetball Club, which he founded. He has served in organizational fairs, Crash Days, and student leadership summits at YSU. Conti has worked in the highway construction industry over the last several years and is currently interning with the Ohio Small Business Center as a Beeghly Fellow. He plans to graduate in December. Jimmy Garvin of East Palestine is a senior Finance major who is interested in small business entrepreneurship and financial planning. Garvin currently is president of the honorary accounting and finance organization, Beta Alpha Psi, and an active member in the Student Investment Fund. Additionally, he tutors at YSU with the Center for Student Progress and is a manager for the Telischak Company, McDonald’s. Upon graduation Jimmy will be relocating to St. Louis to work with Edward Jones to become a financial advisor.