2025 School of Business and Management

Catrina Utter is a senior from Rochester, NY, majoring in business administration with a concentration in management and a minor in music business. She transferred to Brockport in January 2023, seeking a transformative undergraduate experience.

Catrina seeks ways to embrace opportunities to connect, give back, and grow, first by joining the Leadership Development Program to improve her leadership skills, gaining certifications in both Green and Gold levels. She also volunteered to join the Leadership Conference Committee to help organize the 2024 Annual Leadership Conference, which gave her valuable experience planning events. Later, she became involved at the Academic Success Center as a freshman registration assistant and evolved into roles such as peer mentor coordinator and office assistant. She is also a student ambassador for the School of Business and Management and serves on the Dean’s Student Advisory Board. She participated in Brockport’s student-led marketing agency, Brockport Brand Builders, and held the role of consumer discretionary industry director for the Wade Student Investment Fund.

This year, in addition to this award, Catrina was honored with the Marion Schrank Student Leadership Award. Last year, Catrina was the recipient of the George Rich Student Philanthropy Award, which recognizes a student who made significant contributions to the College community. This award presented the opportunity to contribute to a cause, which led to a donation to the Leadership Development Program. She also received the Robert J. and Nancy Marino Business Leadership Scholarship, highlighting her commitment to leadership and academics.

In her senior year, Catrina stays committed to building connections and helping students through her internship at the Career Design Center, where she supports them in their professional development journey. One of her most significant projects was the development of a financial literacy workshop. She generated interest in the project by surveying students about which topics were important and their preferred learning methods. The survey was then included in the Career Design Center Newsletter and distributed to staff, faculty, and the Brockport Student Government president. The response rate exceeded expectations, and she is now formatting the workshop to focus on investing and retirement options – information that students will need post-graduation as they begin their careers.

One referee described Catrina as “by far, the best student I have ever hired… she wants to know how and why things are done the way they are and assisted in creating new processes that helped us work more efficiently.” Catrina has managed to engage in these activities while still maintaining a 4.0 GPA, earning her a spot on the President’s List. These experiences have allowed her to make a lasting impact and support hundreds of fellow students. As Catrina’s time at Brockport concludes and she embarks on her Human Resources Information System (HRIS) summer internship with Constellation Brands, she remains committed to upholding integrity and leaving a meaningful, positive impact in her new role.

Ryan Danielak is no stranger to being an award-winning student. Just last year, she received the School of Business and Management Outstanding Undergraduate Student Award, the Honors College Scholar Award, and the New York State Society of CPA’s Outstanding Accounting Student Recognition Award. She has also received many Brockport Foundation Scholarships and was a recipient of the 2023 Financial Executives International Award.

Graduating Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting in 2024, Ryan earned an Honors College distinction, where she completed an honors thesis with Dr. Yin Liu titled “Forensic Accounting vs. Financial Exploitation of Older Adults.” She continues to soar as she completes her Master of Science in Accounting degree with a 4.0 GPA. Ryan’s academic triumphs have gained her membership in numerous honor societies, including Beta Gamma Sigma, Omicron Delta Kappa, Alpha Chi, and the National Society for Collegiate Scholars.

During her time at Brockport, Ryan has made significant contributions to her college community. She served as treasurer of the Accounting Society (2022-23), then advanced to serve as president in 2023-24. Currently, she supports her peers as a teaching assistant for the School of Business and Management, working directly with students to enhance their academic experience.

Ryan’s professional journey began in 2022 as a general accounting intern for SUNY Brockport’s Division of Advancement and Communications. While in this position, she also began an internship at Insero & Co. CPAs. During her time at Insero, she completed five internship rotations in various departments including tax, audit, and outsource accounting. The internship at Insero & Co. has led to a full-time position as a staff accountant in their tax department after graduation. Additionally, she is already on her way to obtaining her CPA license having passed all four parts of the exam and only needing to complete the education and experience requirements.