By Joe Darrah
Melissa Quintana knows a thing or two about the power of effective communication. As a full-time marketing manager at Crown Holdings Inc., a Philadelphia-based global metal packaging company, the Penn State Abington graduate is part of a team that helps support some of the largest brands of consumer product goods. Likewise, as the managing partner of her own marketing consulting company, Acceleration Strategies, she utilizes her “spare time” to collaborate with small- and medium-sized business owners in making the best use of their staff members and resources, despite a lack of each, and to establish marketing agendas for their respective businesses.
“It’s really exciting to be able to see someone’s business develop, to see their customers grow and to see how your input can actually impact the success these businesses have,” said Quintana, 33, who resides in Richboro with her husband Sean and two dogs – Gigi and Milo.
So, naturally, when she became the most recently elected president of the Penn State Abington Alumni Society and assumed a myriad of responsibilities, she was inclined to take a similar approach to helping her fellow board members “market” themselves as a supportive group that can achieve important goals such as strengthening the relationship that the campus has with current and future students.
“As president, it’s very important to be able to provide a forum in which everyone feels comfortable to express themselves,” said Quintana, who graduated in 2006 with a degree in business management and marketing. “But at the same time you want to be able to lead a board toward actually getting things accomplished. I’m of the theory that if you’re going to participate in something you want to be able to utilize your time as best that you can.”
Quintana’s attempts at helping her fellow board members get more traction out of their time began almost immediately upon her presidency by way of increasing the number of opportunities she and the board have to interact — by deviating from the biannual in-person gatherings instituted by the group’s bylaws to a standard of monthly conference calls that now give everyone the chance to discuss pressing matters and ideas for change on a regular basis. Quintana believes the end result will be an alumni body that’s better equipped to strategize and communicate its collective message moving forward, much like her marketing customers and clients seek help in maturing their businesses and increasing their revenue streams.
“I am trying to change the overall ‘culture’ of the board,” she said. “It is inconceivable to expect actions to get accomplished when you are only physically meeting twice per year, so my hope is with the increased communication it will help us get more accomplished to support Abington.”
Her timing is a bit kismet considering the recent appointment of new school chancellor Dr. Damian J. Fernandez, PhD, whose well-documented goals for the school include improvements to retention and graduation rates, overall volume of students on campus, the building of new academic facilities, adding faculty members and as many as five new majors, and efforts to promote fundraising and “friend-raising.”
If her group’s support of the recent Give Day events carried out by the Office of Development & Alumni Relations this winter is any indication of what to expect, the latter of these goals is already off to a strong performance. Abington’s showing in the Give Day fundraising, which took place Nov. 29 and, encouraged current students, staff and faculty, as well as alumni, local residents and “friends” of PSU Abington to present a monetary gift to the college to be utilized in a number of ways, was certainly impressive. The school raised $11,789 through 184 donors, whom represented the third-highest number of gift-givers in the PSU network, behind only intercollegiate athletics and the Blue Band. All told, Abington’s success contributed to a total of 2,634 gifts and $653,977 raised.
“We were very happy to be able to support that event as a group,” said Quintana, who became a member of the board in 2008 and previously served as secretary. “We got a really nice turnout given that this was the first year that we promoted the event. We had some really positive engagement from the Abington Alumni Society. A few board members went above and beyond with some nice matching gifts as people donated, which was very generous when you consider what they already gave individually. It all just goes to show the amount of support that Penn State Abington has.”
Identified as a “growth campus” by State College, Abington has proven to be capable of raising support, according to Quintana, especially when considering the “competition” as it relates to Give Day goes well beyond the PSU community.
“People can give their money to anyone,” she said. “You’re competing not just with other Penn State campuses, but with nonprofits, big and small, that are doing everything to get everyone’s attention and donations. But to me it’s impressive that all those who decided to give decided that their money should support Penn State Abington. If we can garner that much support and exceed all the other campuses and alumni interest groups, that truly shows that people do want to see our campus grow. It also proves that those who gave very likely had a personal connection with Penn State Abington — that the campus had a positive enough impact on them that they’re willing to give back — and that’s just awesome.”
Further aiding the agenda of a growth campus, a portion of the recent proceeds are expected to be contributed to Abington’s Future Fund program, a pool of donated money that provides immediate support for university programs on campus to address the most pressing needs and to create opportunities for students. Examples of how these funds are applied include student aid, new academic initiatives and faculty recruitment.
A former four-year student of Abington, Quintana, whose sister, Rebecca DiSalvo (nee: Quintana) also studied on campus, benefitted from the Future Fund herself. With her sister enrolled just one year after Quintana began her studies in 2002, assistance was needed, even with the help they both received from their parents.
“My parents were more than willing to help us, but when you receive a letter that says your loan is approved for a certain amount, it can still result in a deficit because the state capped us at what we could take out for student loans per year and per semester,” Quintana said. “And that can be deflating, looking at that letter and thinking, ‘How am I going to be able to afford school?’ The Future Fund really provides for that need so that we can keep these bright students on our campus and ultimately graduating.”
While each incoming class of students will possess its own unique characteristics and face its own adversities, Quintana said she can still relate to the student body as a whole and on an individual level, due to the lifestyle that’s incumbent with attending a “commuter” campus (without disregarding the dormitory planned for construction). One who earned her first internship as a sophomore and worked part time throughout her collegiate career, Quintana doesn’t see much difference in the level of determination she needed to maintain to complete her studies and the dedication today’s students must have in order to graduate.
“That really is one of the reasons that I stay involved with Penn State Abington —because I get to see these types of students, and they remind me of how I was as a student,” she said. “I can remember looking at my school schedule trying to figure out when I could work. I had no other choice. I know the types of students who attend this school every day and what the goal is: To get the best education that they can in whatever manner that they can. And these are the types of hard-working people employers are looking for. They want people who can juggle multiple responsibilities, who kept a good GPA, and managed things like working and completing internships. You become this ‘prime candidate’ that companies want to have. ”
As the expected growth of the campus continues, there will continue to be students who will require support, which will make the need for the alumni society to improve awareness of its mission and value to the community that much more important. To that end, Quintana and the board are preparing to present a strategy of initiatives pursuant to the aforementioned goals laid out by Dr. Fernandez during the month of March.
“We have taken the goals he has outlined and identified how the board could support these objectives,” she said. “It looks like the two buckets that the board has the most interest and passion for is the retention-and-graduation goal and the fundraising/‘friend-raising’ goal. We are hopeful we can have a solid set of actions to show Dr. Fernandez [this month].”
But at some point, Quintana also understands that the board requires her to lead them into success, not just create opportunities for interaction and brainstorming. That’s the requirement she’s set for herself for living up to her nomination and election.
“I think one of the key considerations to my being named to this position is my ability to take a leadership role,” she said. “Even during my capacity as a general board member and as the secretary, I always tried to be a leader amongst the group and focused on keeping the momentum of the group moving forward. I feel confident in our board’s abilities, and I am truly looking forward to the overall positive impact we can have for the campus we all love and support. ”
“As president, it’s very important to be able to provide a forum in which everyone feels comfortable to express themselves,” said Quintana, who graduated in 2006 with a degree in business management and marketing. “But at the same time you want to be able to lead a board toward actually getting things accomplished. I’m of the theory that if you’re going to participate in something you want to be able to utilize your time as best that you can.”
Quintana’s attempts at helping her fellow board members get more traction out of their time began almost immediately upon her presidency by way of increasing the number of opportunities she and the board have to interact — by deviating from the biannual in-person gatherings instituted by the group’s bylaws to a standard of monthly conference calls that now give everyone the chance to discuss pressing matters and ideas for change on a regular basis. Quintana believes the end result will be an alumni body that’s better equipped to strategize and communicate its collective message moving forward, much like her marketing customers and clients seek help in maturing their businesses and increasing their revenue streams.
“I am trying to change the overall ‘culture’ of the board,” she said. “It is inconceivable to expect actions to get accomplished when you are only physically meeting twice per year, so my hope is with the increased communication it will help us get more accomplished to support Abington.”
Her timing is a bit kismet considering the recent appointment of new school chancellor Dr. Damian J. Fernandez, PhD, whose well-documented goals for the school include improvements to retention and graduation rates, overall volume of students on campus, the building of new academic facilities, adding faculty members and as many as five new majors, and efforts to promote fundraising and “friend-raising.”
If her group’s support of the recent Give Day events carried out by the Office of Development & Alumni Relations this winter is any indication of what to expect, the latter of these goals is already off to a strong performance. Abington’s showing in the Give Day fundraising, which took place Nov. 29 and, encouraged current students, staff and faculty, as well as alumni, local residents and “friends” of PSU Abington to present a monetary gift to the college to be utilized in a number of ways, was certainly impressive. The school raised $11,789 through 184 donors, whom represented the third-highest number of gift-givers in the PSU network, behind only intercollegiate athletics and the Blue Band. All told, Abington’s success contributed to a total of 2,634 gifts and $653,977 raised.
“We were very happy to be able to support that event as a group,” said Quintana, who became a member of the board in 2008 and previously served as secretary. “We got a really nice turnout given that this was the first year that we promoted the event. We had some really positive engagement from the Abington Alumni Society. A few board members went above and beyond with some nice matching gifts as people donated, which was very generous when you consider what they already gave individually. It all just goes to show the amount of support that Penn State Abington has.”
Identified as a “growth campus” by State College, Abington has proven to be capable of raising support, according to Quintana, especially when considering the “competition” as it relates to Give Day goes well beyond the PSU community.
“People can give their money to anyone,” she said. “You’re competing not just with other Penn State campuses, but with nonprofits, big and small, that are doing everything to get everyone’s attention and donations. But to me it’s impressive that all those who decided to give decided that their money should support Penn State Abington. If we can garner that much support and exceed all the other campuses and alumni interest groups, that truly shows that people do want to see our campus grow. It also proves that those who gave very likely had a personal connection with Penn State Abington — that the campus had a positive enough impact on them that they’re willing to give back — and that’s just awesome.”
Further aiding the agenda of a growth campus, a portion of the recent proceeds are expected to be contributed to Abington’s Future Fund program, a pool of donated money that provides immediate support for university programs on campus to address the most pressing needs and to create opportunities for students. Examples of how these funds are applied include student aid, new academic initiatives and faculty recruitment.
A former four-year student of Abington, Quintana, whose sister, Rebecca DiSalvo (nee: Quintana) also studied on campus, benefitted from the Future Fund herself. With her sister enrolled just one year after Quintana began her studies in 2002, assistance was needed, even with the help they both received from their parents.
“My parents were more than willing to help us, but when you receive a letter that says your loan is approved for a certain amount, it can still result in a deficit because the state capped us at what we could take out for student loans per year and per semester,” Quintana said. “And that can be deflating, looking at that letter and thinking, ‘How am I going to be able to afford school?’ The Future Fund really provides for that need so that we can keep these bright students on our campus and ultimately graduating.”
While each incoming class of students will possess its own unique characteristics and face its own adversities, Quintana said she can still relate to the student body as a whole and on an individual level, due to the lifestyle that’s incumbent with attending a “commuter” campus (without disregarding the dormitory planned for construction). One who earned her first internship as a sophomore and worked part time throughout her collegiate career, Quintana doesn’t see much difference in the level of determination she needed to maintain to complete her studies and the dedication today’s students must have in order to graduate.
“That really is one of the reasons that I stay involved with Penn State Abington —because I get to see these types of students, and they remind me of how I was as a student,” she said. “I can remember looking at my school schedule trying to figure out when I could work. I had no other choice. I know the types of students who attend this school every day and what the goal is: To get the best education that they can in whatever manner that they can. And these are the types of hard-working people employers are looking for. They want people who can juggle multiple responsibilities, who kept a good GPA, and managed things like working and completing internships. You become this ‘prime candidate’ that companies want to have. ”
As the expected growth of the campus continues, there will continue to be students who will require support, which will make the need for the alumni society to improve awareness of its mission and value to the community that much more important. To that end, Quintana and the board are preparing to present a strategy of initiatives pursuant to the aforementioned goals laid out by Dr. Fernandez during the month of March.
“We have taken the goals he has outlined and identified how the board could support these objectives,” she said. “It looks like the two buckets that the board has the most interest and passion for is the retention-and-graduation goal and the fundraising/‘friend-raising’ goal. We are hopeful we can have a solid set of actions to show Dr. Fernandez [this month].”
But at some point, Quintana also understands that the board requires her to lead them into success, not just create opportunities for interaction and brainstorming. That’s the requirement she’s set for herself for living up to her nomination and election.
“I think one of the key considerations to my being named to this position is my ability to take a leadership role,” she said. “Even during my capacity as a general board member and as the secretary, I always tried to be a leader amongst the group and focused on keeping the momentum of the group moving forward. I feel confident in our board’s abilities, and I am truly looking forward to the overall positive impact we can have for the campus we all love and support. ”