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SIA Holds Spring 2024 Stock Pitch Saturday
by Axel Grossmann
A big shoutout and thank you to the 25 members of the Southern Investment Association (SIA) at Parker College of Business-Georgia Southern University, who demonstrated a tremendous dedication toward their twelve presentations and thoughtful deliberation during Saturday’s (April 13) 9-hour stock pitch Saturday. A special thank you to Jacob Lord, SIA president, for leading Saturday’s event.
I also want to thank our graduating officers Cameron Naulta (Executive VP), Hunter Jones (VP Investment Strategy), and Anna Hewitt (VP Recruitment) for their commitment and hard work over the past semesters. Additionally, I want to thank our graduating members Nicholas Milcarek, Tate Bielenberg, and Zachary Roberts for their devotion to the SIA. You will be greatly missed!
Congratulations to Bent Berger for receiving this semester’s Ashcroft Scholarship for his extraordinary service to the group.
I want to thank Nathan Ashcroft (ACCT, 2017; MAcc, 2018) and Joel Varghese (FIN, 2021) who once again spent their Saturday with the group. Their tireless support and investment into the professional development of our students is highly appreciated. Finally, a big thank you to John Hatem, Ph.D., professor of finance, for all he does for the students and the SIA. I am honored to work with him and to learn from him every day.
I wish I had a bigger word than “Thank You” to express how grateful I am to everyone who makes this day possible!
Alumna in the Spotlight: Hanna Schmidt
Hanna Schmidt (LIT, 2020; MBA, 2023) began her career at Gulfstream as a co-op experience in 2018. Once she had obtained her undergraduate degree, she transitioned to a full-time position as a material planner in January 2021. After two years with the material planning group, Hanna moved into her current position as a master production scheduler. In this role, she is responsible for the G400, G500, and G600 wing production lines from start to finish. In short, Hanna meshes dates and machines to enable the airplane wings to be built in a timely manner so that the overall production of each plane meets its deadline. Since the wing manufacturing line has many different components, Hanna says no two days are the same. Though she likes to say she schedules machines and not people, Hanna admits she loves the people with whom she works and the level of collaboration they must share to be successful as they constantly try to determine the best ways to adapt to new manufacturing practices while being as lean as possible.
Hanna’s career has had its challenges, however. Beginning her career during the COVID-19 pandemic proved especially difficult. Learning to do her job while working mostly remotely and being unable to communicate with her team members helped Hanna to find new and creative ways to maintain contact with people. At the same time, these experiences helped her to realize just how lucky she was to have found full-time employment. Another challenge involved Hanna’s decision to return to school to earn her MBA. Although completing her MBA while working full-time is Hanna’s greatest accomplishment to date, spending her days working full-time and her nights doing homework and coursework was not easy. Despite the difficulties, she is thankful for the experience as it taught her to prioritize all 24 hours of each day.
Hanna credits the Parker College with where her career is today. Parker College and the Department of Logistics and Supply Chain Management provided her with many hands-on learning opportunities Hanna does not think any other program could have offered. She states that her logistics coursework gave her the solid foundation that allows her to tackle anything that occurs in the operations manufacturing sector. Hanna fondly recalls touring the Georgia Ports in Savannah, working as a co-op at Gulfstream, and participating in an Intermodal Association of North America (IANA) project with companies in the Savannah area as part of her logistics education. One of her favorite classes was the capstone logistics course taught by Marc Scott, Ph.D., former assistant professor of logistics and supply chain management. Hanna recalls that the final exam involved conducting a technical logistics interview with the professor. She acknowledges that this experience prepared her for the interviews she had in her senior year. Other great memories from Hanna’s time at Georgia Southern include participating in Greek life as a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma and working as a student athlete tutor. Her favorite memory, though, is of rushing the field with her friends at Paulson Stadium after the Eagles defeated App State in 2018.
Outside of work, Hanna likes spending time with her family and friends. She loves visiting new places but also loves returning to Statesboro in the fall to attend Eagles’ football games. In addition, Hanna enjoys being a part of the Parker College Young Alumni Board. She is also very fond of attending concerts and is looking forward to attending the inaugural GATA Jam headlined by Cole Swindell on April 20.
In the future, Hanna hopes to continue working at Gulfstream. She finds working in the aerospace and manufacturing industries very rewarding and has learned to call Savannah her home. Hanna’s highest goal is to continue living a happy and healthy life.
Finally, Hanna would like to advise current students to always pay attention to their emails. She admits that, while a student, she frequently deleted emails from career services without opening them. Fortunately, Hanna stumbled upon one with the co-op opportunity she ultimately completed with Gulfstream. Hanna knows that, had she deleted that email, she would not be where she is today.
Parker College Sales Students Earn Top Honors and Awards at the 2024 PSE National Convention
At the Pi Sigma Epsilon (PSE) national convention on April 16, Parker College sales students placed in The Interview Competition and The Pro-Am Sell-a-Thon Competition. In addition, Trent Williams received a $1,500 scholarship from 3M. This scholarship recognizes a student who consistently demonstrates strong leadership, has a GPA of 3.0 or above, has a high level of integrity, and is actively pursuing a career in sales. Congratulations to the members of Georgia Southern Parker College’s chapter of PSE. To learn more about this year’s competition, click here.
Manning Addresses Finance Association
On March 20, the Finance Association (FA) hosted Johnathan L. Manning, founder and chief investment officer of 88 Technologies, as part of the Spring 2024 Guest Speaker series. Johnathan earned his bachelor’s degree in management from Georgia Institute of Technology and an MBA from the Parker College of Business at Georgia Southern University.
Johnathan provided students with an overview of his professional development after graduation including working for Gulfstream and earning his MBA. He continued mentioning how he started trading for himself and how the experience eventually resulted in him starting his own hedge fund, 88 Technologies. He explained to the students the structure of hedge funds and discussed the ins and outs of establishing and running your own hedge fund. He gave students an abbreviated investor pitch for 88 Technologies, covering purpose, market strategies, performance benchmarks, and future IPO opportunities.
The event concluded with a student question and answer session. Question topics included the fund-raising methods employed by 88 Technologies, trading and fund raising in high-interest markets, and how to build an investor base. Johnathan carefully fielded each question and provided valuable insight to all students attending.
88 Technologies is a private asset management firm specializing in futures and commodities. It was founded on three core principles: Integrity, Transparency, and Results. The purpose of 88 Technologies is to provide investment opportunities for all investors, no matter their financial background.
Grossmann Named Student Organization Advisor of the Year
On April 10, as part of the University Excellence Awards Ceremony, Axel Grossmann, Ph.D., professor of finance, won the Georgia Southern Student Organization Advisor of the Year Award due to his tireless work with the Southern Investment Association (SIA). The members of the SIA nominated him and sent a letter to the selection committee.
