- Students from Illinois receive the St. Bonaventure Geographic Diversity Award, a $2,500 value, renewable each year.
- There are seven students attending St. Bonaventure from Northern Illinois, including students from St. Charles, Manhattan, Tinley Park, Hinsdale, Burr Ridge, and Geneva.
- On Dec. 7, 2011, the St. Bonaventure Bonnies men's basketball team played the Illinois Fighting Illini in Champaign, Ill. More than two dozen SBU alums attended the game, which was televised on ESPN2. Our fans were able to make #Bonnies trend nationwide on Twitter.
- Nearly 200 St. Bonaventure graduates live in the Chicago area. Thanks to the loyalty of our alumni, our new Career and Professional Readiness Center can help you search for internships and job placement in Chicago, or anywhere else your good journey takes you.
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Tim Cullen, '04, '05, is part of the Anderson-Cullen family that has sent 30 members to St. Bonaventure. Cullen settled in Chicago where he works at Thinkorswim, Inc. with several other SBU graduates. At one time, 17 SBU grads worked for the investor education firm. That number now stands at 10.
How did SBU prepare you to succeed in the competitive world of finance?
“Everybody goes out of their way to help you. The professors try to relate everything to you and put the material in terms you can understand. There's a camaraderie, and relationships you have with professors are more than the typical student-teacher relationship; you become a family.
“It goes beyond teaching. I can’t tell you how many times I look back to my courses at St. Bonaventure, whether it’s business law, or even Finance 301, my first course.”
What would you say to a high school student from Chicago looking at St. Bonaventure?
“One of the best selling points is that every single person at SBU is your friend. You aren’t just a number, it’s a family. Some people think they can’t transition from a big city, but everyone at St. Bonaventure is ready to make you feel welcome.
“One of the things that I cherished, and people from a city like Chicago can understand this, is the ability to build connections and be respectful of other people. Classes such as "World Views," for example, show you that it’s not just us out there. They provide the big picture. That is something that has been fantastic for me.”
What stands out about St. Bonaventure grads that helps them succeed at Thinkorswim, Inc.?
“I work with a bunch of Bona people that I’ve hired, or have been hired around me, and we feel comfortable talking to everybody. The attitude is ‘hey, we’re a family, we can do this together.’ We are all working get to the same place.
“The employees from St. Bonaventure show a different type of work ethic. They had this family togetherness and now want to support each other because of the St. Bonaventure connection. And it was obvious that the people from Bona’s were hungry to succeed.” |