College of Business Celebrates Internships and Sponsors at Awards Banquet

The A&M-Commerce College of Business held its annual awards banquet December 1 to celebrate scholarship and internship recipients along with their sponsors and employers. The event also featured a silent and live auction that raised more than $1,500 for future scholarships.

“The College of Business's annual Scholarship and Internship Banquet provides us with the unique opportunity to highlight our best, most engaged students while at the same time showing appreciation for our scholarship donors and the employers who provide our students with impactful experiential learning opportunities,” said Dr. Shanan Gibson, dean of the College of Business.

L3 Technologies in Greenville, Texas, received the Impact on Education Award, and Carlos Rivers from A&M-Commerce received the Employer Appreciation Award for providing an outstanding internship experience for the College of Business.

The MVP Internship Award was given to students Malashree Basavarajaiah, Sabre Kalepu, and Sujatha Kalepu and sponsor HP, Inc.  The Outstanding Internship Award honored students Magaly Carreon Torres and Mang Tial.

Steven Dawson, president of Dawson Private Wealth and a certified financial planner, was the event's keynote speaker.  Dawson is a graduate of A&M-Commerce with a bachelor's in speech communication and a master's in managerial economics.

Dawson's speech emphasized the importance of finding commonality among people, even if it is not obvious.  He also encouraged students to consistently seek out more work and new projects to grow their skill set and become invaluable members of a team.

“This opportunity to bring together students, faculty, alumni and employers is a highlight of the academic year and we look forward to continuing the tradition for many years to come,” Gibson said.