Molloy celebrates Capstone business course

Molloy University’s School of Business invited former clients, alumni, students, professors, and administrators together for a reception on April 20, to mark the 10-year anniversary of the Capstone program.

For the past decade graduate and undergraduate business students put their skills and expertise to the test by working with a not-for-profit or governmental entity to help solve a problem with a turnkey solution that will provide continued value to the organization for years to come.

Dawn DiStefano, associate dean of Molloy Unviersity and director of undergraduate programs at the School of Business, said the Capstone program is provided to students during their final semester, and is the culmination of everything taught in finance, economics, marketing, management and accounting courses. 

She began teaching the course in 2015, and said she has found it to be extremely rewarding, because it not only prepares students for the real working world, but it helps provide them with the acumen and disposition to be successful at anything they set their sights on.

Mike Russo, a Molloy School of Business alum and chief growth officer of Wild Bill’s Craft Beverage Company, was one of DiStefano’s first students to complete the program seven years ago.

“Everything we talk about in the project we apply to our work with the nonprofit,” Russo said. “It taught us, not only the skills we need to emulate, but social responsibility and entrepreneurship as well.”

Taylor Curran, who graduated in the fall of 2017, described the Capstone program as a “one-of-a-kind experience” that provides a more hands-on approach to learning about the type of work that has an impact.

“Working with a client and seeing all the expectations provides students with their first real business experience,” Curran said. “Whether it's meetings, presentations, or public speaking, it teaches you how important these skills are no matter what industry you’re in.”

During the event, students and alumni networked and shared all of the good work they have done over the last 10 years of the program, with one common thread — DiStefano and her drive to help students become the “sought-out leaders of tomorrow.”

“She’s not just a mentor,” Curran said, detailing the bond she has built with DiStefano, who she said she continues to call 2 to 3 times a week. “The program may be the hardest class you take, but it’s also the most rewarding.”

To find out more about Molloy University’s School of Business, the Capstone program, and the many different nonprofit organizations it has helped over the last decade, visit Molloy.edu and search “Capstone program.”