Giving Undergrads the Edge

An important question has continually been raised at The Mason School of Business: How can the School give its undergraduate business students the polish and insight they need in the business world? Last year D. Scott Mackesy ('91) suggested one answer lay in providing professional development. "I wanted to help students understand the depth and relevance of their exceptional William & Mary education by engaging them in a process of self-assessment from which they could highlight their strengths and compete successfully with students from other excellent programs."

Mackesy, a Mason School graduate himself and member of the William & Mary Foundation Board, agreed to fund a new full-time position dedicated to professional development - to support students as they connect their curricular choices in the Mason undergraduate program with their experiences in student organizations, the College Career Center and other career related activities. In January, Peggy Gesing, formerly with the Career Center at Case Western Reserve University, was hired as Associate Director of Professional Development.

"It is my job to take students to the next level and help them synthesize and articulate what they have accomplished here as well as understand how relevant it all is to their future work and studies," said Gesing. "It goes beyond superior academics and includes skills they have developed in social awareness and responsibility through activities like studies abroad and volunteer experiences."

In addition to helping students work on their professional image and package, Gesing helps them target specific business employers. She also works with Career Services to bring employers on campus that fit with students' specific interests and capabilities.

Mackesy's gift in support of professional development comes from seeing firsthand the value of the William & Mary experience and degree, having earned his B.B.A. in finance from the College and going on to an impressive career with Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe, the largest and most successful private equity firm specializing in information/business services and healthcare. Mackesy wanted to give in a way that would have direct impact on students and make a difference in the way they approached their future. By bringing this resource into the Mason School, he hopes to help continually improve the perceived value of Mason students in the marketplace.

"Mason students are unique," said Gesing. "They possess some unusual critical thinking skills developed through the liberal arts program here. They are big picture thinkers, tremendous volunteers, internationally experienced. They just don't always know it at first. Thanks to Mr. Mackesy, we are able to make sure they understand the talent they have and how to make it work in their future."